No. 13 Sooners Win Big 12 South Title

Saturday, November 25th 2006, 5:15 pm

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) Allen Patrick ran for 163 yards and a touchdown to help #13 Oklahoma survive another Bedlam scare and win the Big 12 South title with a 27-21 win against Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Patrick's biggest run of the game came on the opening play of the 2nd half, when he took a handoff, bolted through a crease on the right side and then down the right sideline for a 65-yard touchdown that put the Sooners up 20-7.

Oklahoma State forced an Oklahoma punt with 1:38 left, but couldn't upset the Sooners for the third time in six years.

Backup quarterback Zac Robinson guided Oklahoma State to the 25-yard line in the final minute, but his desperation throw to D'Juan Woods on the final play sailed high and incomplete.

The win clinched a berth in next week's Big 12 title game for the Sooners (10-2, 7-1 Big 12), who won their last seven games after a loss to Texas in early October.

Star tailback Adrian Peterson, still out with a broken collarbone, rushed onto the field and leaped into the arms of defensive end C.J. Ah You in celebration.

The Cowboys (6-6, 3-5) knocked Oklahoma out of the national title picture in 2001 with a 16-13 win in Norman, and then eliminated any chances a once-beaten Sooners team could make it in 2002 with a 38-28 upset in Stillwater.

This time, the Sooners used a ball control offense and a key goal line stand to escape with a win.

Patrick, who missed the past two games with an ankle injury, had 23 carries as the Sooners ran the ball 47 times while throwing only 11 passes. Freshman Chris Brown added 74 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground as the Sooners continued to run strong without Peterson, the 2004 Heisman runner-up who could be back as soon as next week.

The Sooners had 238 yards on the ground and held the Big 12's top rushing offense to 119 yards on 39 carries.

The Cowboys trailed by 13 in the 4th quarter when three Sooners stacked up Robinson on an option play just short of the goal line on 4th down and forced him to fumble into the end zone, where linebacker Demarrio Pleasant recovered.

Oklahoma State's defense responded with the first of three straight 3 & outs, and the Cowboys pulled to 27-21 on Bobby Reid's 2-yard touchdown pass to Woods with 6:41 left.

Reid, who left the game with an apparent left shoulder injury earlier, was sacked on 3rd down on Oklahoma State's next drive and didn't play the final series with the game on the line.

Robinson, who had been playing in no back shotgun sets, sparked Oklahoma State's offense with a 55-yard pass to Woods down the right sideline in the 3rd quarter. That set up Reid's 1-yard bootleg to bring Oklahoma State within 20-14.

The Sooners answered by grinding out another long drive, going 74 yards in 11 plays, with Brown scoring his second touchdown from 1 yard out.

Robinson finished with 149 yards on 8-17 passing, while Reid was 8-12 for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Oklahoma's Paul Thompson threw for 77 yards and a 13-yard TD that Juaquin Iglesias leaped to grab with 1:08 remaining in the 1st half to make it 13-7.