No. 3 Oklahoma 47, Kansas 17
Bob Stoops knew that Ryan Broyles was one catch away from becoming the NCAA's career leader, so the Oklahoma coach called for a pass play that sent his All-American wide receiver on a deep post route.
Might as well set the record in style.
The senior hauled in a 57-yard touchdown pass from Landry Jones in the first half Saturday night, and Broyles finished with 13 catches for a school-record 217 yards and two scores as the third-ranked Sooners rolled to a 47-17 victory over Kansas.
''Ryan Broyles was just out of this world,'' Stoops said. ''When you set a national record, that's pretty special, but to do it with over 200 yards is unreal.''
Broyles has 326 catches in his career, and the two touchdown grabs gave him 44. He came into the game tied with former Oklahoma State star Rashaun Woods for the Big 12 record.
''I was just in the moment out there,'' said Broyles, who admitted to getting a bit emotional on the sideline after setting the NCAA mark. ''I've been blessed to be around some great quarterbacks.''
Many of his early catches came from Sam Bradford, who is now throwing passes on Sundays for the St. Louis Rams. These days they're coming from Jones, who threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns against the Jayhawks' struggling pass defense.
''I can't say enough about the way he's grown over the past couple of years,'' Jones said. ''It's not just his stats. He's a great wide receiver.''
Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0) was coming off a 55-17 Red River rout of Texas, and may have been looking for some style points with the initial BCS standings out Sunday. Instead, the Sooners had to slog through a lackluster victory in a game that didn't end until 11:58 p.m. local time.
Dominique Whaley added 165 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Michael Hunnicutt hit all four of his field-goal attempts for the Sooners, who didn't put away the Jayhawks (2-4, 0-3) until Broyles' second touchdown catch with 10:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.
''It was good to see our players come out and execute,'' Kansas coach Turner Gill said. ''They played pretty well against a very good offensive football team and that's always good to see.''
James Sims and Darrian Miller combined to rush for 141 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas, but Jordan Webb endured constant pressure and was sacked five times. Webb finished 13 of 25 for 108 yards, and the Jayhawks managed just one first down and six yards total offense after halftime.
''We didn't feel we were far off from playing really well,'' Stoops said.
Oklahoma's offense didn't start off at its usual torrid pace. Jones missed his first four passes against a defense that allowed 56 points in the first half alone against Oklahoma State.
''Playing one of the top teams in the nation was motivation for our defense to go out there and show that last week wasn't our real defense,'' Kansas cornerback Tyler Patmon said.
Jones eventually got on track, though, hitting his next two pass attempts to Kenny Stills. The second went for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 11:32 left in the first quarter.
Hunnicutt's 36-yard field goal made it 10-0, and it looked as if the Sooners were off and running.
Kansas center Jeremiah Hatch was hurt on the ensuing possession when he was blocking downfield on a short pass completion. Hatch was immobilized and removed from the field on a stretcher, but returned to the stadium and was walking on the sideline by the end of the game.
On the first play after Hatch was hurt, with the Jayhawks facing fourth-and-1, Webb pitched the ball to Sims around the corner and he went untouched 56 yards for a touchdown.
Whaley fumbled early in the second quarter but Kansas could only manage a tying field goal, and Roy Finch capped a nine-play, 70-yard drive with an 8-yard run that made it 17-10.
The Jones-to-Broyles connection really got going after that.
After catching a few short passes on the perimeter, Broyles went flying downfield on a post route and Jones hit him in stride for his record-setting reception. The touchdown made it 24-10.
''Now I can just play ball,'' Broyles said, ''and not have to worry about it.''
Kansas answered with Miller's touchdown plunge moments later, but Hunnicutt added another field goal just before halftime and two more in the third quarter to make it 33-17.
Broyles finally put the game away when he got wide open and hauled in a 43-yard pass with 10:22 left in the game that put the Sooners ahead 40-17.
Whaley added the exclamation point when he scored from 10 yards out in the closing minutes.
''We kind of were up and down, you know? But that's the game of football,'' Jones said. ''We just kept playing. Kansas is a good team. They came out here and played hard at home.''