TicketsSept. 6, 2008
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NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) - Sam Bradford passed for 395 yards and five touchdowns as fourth-ranked Oklahoma toppled Cincinnati, 52-26, on Saturday.
Cincinnati's Mardy Gilyard returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to break one of the longest runback droughts in college football. The last score by the Bearcats (1-1) on a kickoff return came in 1995, and only two schools have gone longer than Cincinnati's 145 games without one.
Gilyard finished with a school-record 365 all purpose yards, including 119 yards receiving on seven first-half catches.
Cincinnati's turnover-happy defense kept it close for a while, clamping down after allowing the Sooners to get off to a 14-0 start.
The Bearcats (1-1), who led the nation last season with 26 interceptions, got interceptions from Brad Jones and Ohio State transfer Brandon Underwood. Both led to touchdowns to get Cincinnati back within 21-13.
But Oklahoma pulled away in the third quarter, as tight end Jermaine Gresham hauled in a 22-yard TD reception with 3:30 left in the quarter to extend the advantage to 42-20. Gresham, who also scored in the first, finished with 93 yards and seven catches.
The Bearcats (1-1) proved to be a tougher opponent for the Sooners (2-0), who recorded a 57-2 victory over Chattanooga last week after jumping out to a 50-point halftime lead. Cincinnati quarterback Dustin Grutza ran for a 1-yard score and connected with Dominick Goodman for a 14-yard touchdown to pull within 21-13 in the second before kicker Brandon Yingling missed the extra point.
Ryan Broyles, Juaquin Iglesias and Matt Clapp each caught a touchdown pass from Bradford, who completed 29-of-38 passes.
While the Sooners played Cincinnati for the first time, they have made quick work of non-conference opponents at home since coach Bob Stoops took over in 1999. Oklahoma is now 28-2 at Owen Field in such games.