Mark Bradley said his juggling-act catch on a play that turned into a 72-yard touchdown pass against Oklahoma State last week was no big deal.
"It's not like it's anything real big, nothing highly praiseworthy," he said. "We're here to make big plays in critical situations."
PHOTO: AP
The Oklahoma wide receiver's matter-of-fact attitude has cause for justification. Each of the Sooners' talented pass catchers has big-play capability, as Bradley's turning of an 8-yard crossing pattern into a long-distance touchdown illustrates.
And that disturbs Texas A&M defensive coordinator Carl Torbush, who must fine-tune a unit that has given up six passing touchdowns in the past two weeks in time for today's 2:30pm kickoff against the second-ranked Sooners.
"They are outstading athletes that not only catch the ball well and block extremely well, but they are able to do a lot of damage with the ball after the catch," Torbush said. "And that's the thing that scares you to death about those guys.
"And they're not just limited to two or three. They've got five guys they can alternate in there, and they all do a nice job."
They're doing as good a job as any group of receivers coach Bob Stoops has had at OU. That includes the group that quarterback Josh Heupel threw to during the 2000 national championship seaon.
"Nothing against those guys," Stoops said. "But this group is even better. And I'm always careful to compare players, because I appreciate what the 2000 group did. But this group is much more athletic, faster and they have more ability for big plays. Without question."
The national championship corps was led by Antoine Savage, Curtis Fagan, Andre Woolfolk (later to move to cornerback) and Josh Norman. All caught between 31 and 48 passes in 2000 and all averaged more than 12.5 yards per catch. Mark Clayton was a redshirt as a freshman that season and not only watched those players from the sideline, but worked out daily with them.
"They were a group that weren't actually receivers," Clayton said. "They came in as quarterbacks and defensive backs and were converted to receivers, and they did really good just taking on that position at the time.
"Now we have guys coming in who have learned the trade from junior high on. Our group has pure receivers. We have a great grop of guys who can all makes plays. Mark Bradley comes up big (against OSU), but any one of us can have a game like that any day."
More than likely, Clayton is the one who does. But Bradley's four catches for 128 yards and three touchdowns in the 38-35 victory over the Cowboys marked the third time in eight games that someone other than Clayton has led the Sooners in receiving yards. It was the fourth time someone else led in number of receptins. Travis Wilson has done it twice, and he leads the group with seven touchdowns. Clayton has scored five times, Bradley four. Brandon Jones has a pair of TDs and Will Peoples one among the wideouts.
"The beauty of this offense is that someone emerges every week," offensive coordinator Chuck Long said. "Guys know it could be their turn this week and they'd better be ready for it.
"It also enables us to keep flexible. It keeps people more spread out and balanced on defense. It also keeps them from double-teaming Mark Clayton and hels our running game."
Led by Clayton's school-record 2,916 career receiving yards, OU boasts three career thousand-yard receivers. Jones has 1,143 and Peoples 1,043. The 2000 team would have four, but that included tight end Trent Smith and running back Quentin Griffin. Eight receivers have reached the career thousand-yard plateau under Stoops.
OU receivers coach Darrell Wyatt believes he has the most versatile and deep group in the country.
"When you can go six deep with quality guys that have played quality minutes in big games and have all made big plays," Wyatt said, "it would be hard for me to think of anyone who has that kind of depth."
No. 14 Louisville 56, Memphis 49
Eric Shelton scored his fourth touchdown with 37 seconds left, and No. 14 Louisville held off Memphis 56-49 on Thursday night.
The Cardinals (6-1, 4-0 Conference USA) and their high-powered offense did just enough to keep the Tigers (5-3, 2-3) from beating a ranked opponent for the first time since 1996.
Shelton, who ran for 136 yards on 14 carries, scored three rushing touchdowns in the second half, and Stefan LeFors added three touchdown passes.
LeFors, the nation's most efficient passer, wasn't as sharp as his 76 percent season completion rate, but he still hit on 24 of 34 attempts for 321 yards and didn't commit a turnover.
It was a wild game that featured 10 lead changes, capped when Shelton scored from the 1 to put Louisville ahead 54-49. LeFors ran in a 2-point conversion, and the Cardinals then intercepted a pass to seal it.
Steve Spurrier won't be returning to coach the Florida Gators.
Spurrier removed his name from consideration Thursday to replace Ron Zook, who was fired last week after the latest in a series of embarrassing losses.
Zook was hired at Florida after the 2001 season, when Spurrier left the Gators to coach the Washington Redskins.
"When I departed three years ago, there were several reasons why I believed it was time to move on," Spurrier said in a statement.
"Other than simply wanting to coach in the NFL someday, I also believed that 12 years at Florida was probably long enough.
"Many people in football believe that around 10-12 years in the same job is about the maximum time a coach should stay."
The Gators won six Southeastern Conference championships and the 1996 national title under Spurrier.
He posted 122 victories over 12 seasons, tormented opponents with his offensive flair and witty one-liners, and left town with the best winning percentage in league history.
Spurrier said athletic director Jeremy Foley called him several times this week to set up a meeting after the season with him and school president Bernie Machen.
"They were obviously making an effort to meet with me," Spurrier said.
Spurrier left the Redskins after last season.
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