Rapid Reaction: Oklahoma Throttles Kansas Behind Perine's Record Day

Rapid reaction from Oklahoma's big win over Kansas on Saturday.

The Good: Samaje Perine. What more is there to say about the freshman running back who came to OU considered by many to be the second-best back in the Sooners' recruiting class. But when the whole Joe Mixon situation went down, Perine was given a lot more time on the field. Now, he holds the single-greatest rushing performance in NCAA history. Perine finished the day with 34 carries for an astounding 427 yards and five touchdowns. Wisconsin back Melvin Gordon set the record at 408 yards last week against Nebraska, but after the old record stood for 15 years, the new record lasted just a week. Perine was incredible, but his offensive line played a large part in the record-setting performance. While Perine had plenty of tackle-breaking runs, but Perine had several runs where he hit the line of scrimmage and found nothing but green in front of him. More on Perine's performance in the game recap. The OU defense also dominated on Saturday, holding Kansas to just 103 yards and seven first downs, as well as zero offensive points.

The Bad: We definitely know Trevor Knight is going to be starting for the Sooners against Oklahoma State if he's healthy. Cody Thomas wasn't any better than he was a week ago, although the driving rain clearly affected the passing ability of both teams. Thomas finished just 3-of-13 for 39 yards, but wasn't helped by his receivers, who dropped about half of those 10 incompletions. Sterling Shepard also appeared to reinjure his groin on the first punt return of the game. There was no reason for him to play against Kansas and this probably puts his availability for Bedlam in question. Not smart.

MVP: Samaje Perine

Duh.

Game-Changing Play: Aaron Ripkowski's 3rd down conversion.

Midway through the second quarter, the Sooners led 10-0, but had been pretty stagnant on offense for much of the first half. But on 3rd and 9, Thomas flipped a low pass out to Ripkowski who made a nice snag and then bowled over two KU defenders for the first down. Perine capped the drive with a 33-yard touchdown run and then scored on a 34-yard run on the next possession to send OU into halftime with a 24-0 lead.

What's Next: The Sooners have a bye week for Thanksgiving before taking on Oklahoma State in Bedlam on Dec. 6. Oklahoma could put themselves in position for a trip to the Alamo Bowl with a win.