Peterson out for Big 12 title game

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ No. 8 Oklahoma will be without star tailback Adrian Peterson when it faces No. 19 Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. <br/><br/>Peterson, the 2004 Heisman runner-up,

Tuesday, November 28th 2006, 2:12 pm

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ No. 8 Oklahoma will be without star tailback Adrian Peterson when it faces No. 19 Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game Saturday.

Peterson, the 2004 Heisman runner-up, has missed six weeks after breaking his collarbone Oct. 14 on a touchdown run against Iowa State.

``Adrian is not going to play,'' Sooners coach Bob Stoops said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. ``Without being too technical, he's close. He could be cleared to play, but each week that passes the likelihood of it reoccurring is less and less.''

Peterson, the nation's No. 2 rusher at the time of his injury, initially was expected to miss six weeks.

``There's enough healing that, yes, he could possibly play,'' Stoops said. ``But there's still a chance if he fell on it wrong or took a severe hit _ I don't know if they're ever totally sure will it hold up at this point? We're not going to take that chance.''

Oklahoma (10-2, 7-1 Big 12) has won all six of its games without Peterson, who set an NCAA freshman record in 2004 with 1,925 yards rushing. He had 935 yards and 10 touchdowns in six games this season and is 150 yards shy of Oklahoma's career rushing record, held by 1978 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims.

He possibly could go for that record in a bowl game.

``The bowl game is a very likely possibility and very likely to happen,'' Stoops said. ``Talking to Adrian, he absolutely wants to play. And by that time, that's another four weeks of healing that they're really sure that he'll be fine and there's a really small chance of anything happening to it.''