As Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith and top-ranked Ohio State march toward greatness this year, a country wonders what would have happened to Texas’ national championship last season if the Buckeyes had Smith start in their showdown in Columbus, Ohio. Would the Longhorns have won 25-22?
Well, in Oklahoma, there’s another twist to the riddle. Would Texas have ended its embarrassing five-game losing streak to the Sooners if tailback Adrian Peterson had been healthy? Could the Longhorns really beat an Adrian Peterson team 45-12?
Saturday’s Red River Rivalry in Dallas won’t give any true answers to last year’s question, but it will emphasize Peterson’s worth to an improved Oklahoma team that’s one blown call in Oregon from being a national title contender.
Last year, Oklahoma limped into the Cotton Bowl with a freshman quarterback and a Heisman Trophy finalist who could barely walk. Peterson ran three times for 10 yards then nursed his sprained ankle while his Sooners rushed for a season-low 77 yards.
This time Peterson is healthy and Texas has a freshman quarterback. However, Texas’ Colt McCoy won’t be under the microscope as much as Peterson. He is in position to knock seventh-ranked Texas (4-1, 1-0 Big 12) out of the Big 12 South race and put No. 14 Oklahoma (3-1) in position for a BCS bowl and himself on Smith’s heels in the Heisman race.
Texas coach Mack Brown saw enough of Peterson as a freshman two years ago to know he can do it.
“He’s the best player in the country, possibly,” Brown said Monday. “Anytime you take a guy who dominates every ballgame and touches it 30 times a game, with a really good player behind him, it does change the dynamics. It’s like taking Vince Young out of our offense last year.”
While Young might have led Texas over any team last season despite Smith’s or Peterson’s 60-minute presence, Peterson has the same impact. He’s third nationally at 160.75 rushing yards a game, with seven touchdowns, including 211 yards at No. 11 Oregon.
Of those 211, 140 came in the fourth quarter. That’s not because Oregon’s defense gave up. Of his 3,676 career yards, 2,226 – or 62 percent – have come in the second half.
Oregon has faced a healthy Peterson each of the past three years, including a 185-yard effort as a freshman, Peterson’s coming-out party on his way to finishing second in the Heisman balloting.
What’s the most impressive thing about the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Peterson?
“It’s the speed he generates by the time he hits the line of scrimmage,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. “He lines up 10 yards behind the quarterback. By the time he hits the line of scrimmage he’s going full speed. He’s a workhorse-type guy, who has 25, 35, 40 carries in a game, and he’s stronger in the fourth quarter.”
Peterson will be comfortable with 75,000 crimson- and burnt orange-clad fans staring at him. He has moved gracefully in the national eye since Oklahoma signed the national high school player of the year out of Palestine (Texas) High School in February 2004. First, he snubbed his native Longhorns. Then, word got out that the father he idolized, Nelson Peterson, was in a federal prison in Texas for money laundering, and as a 7-year-old Adrian watched his brother get hit by a motorist and killed.
His whole childhood became a made-for-the-sports-pages tragedy, then he gained 1,925 yards and placed higher in the Heisman vote than any freshman in history.
A happy ending is apparent. His father recently moved to an Oklahoma City halfway house. He can’t travel to Dallas but will be in Norman, Okla., next week to watch the Sooners play Iowa State. He never has seen his son play in college in person.
“I’m pretty sure it’s been tough, but the past two years he’s been watching on TV, so it’s not like he’s not used to it,” Adrian Peterson told The Associated Press. “But it’s tough because he’s 20 minutes up the road and you can’t come down and see your son playing.”
Too bad Nelson didn’t see him in Dallas two years ago. His son rolled over Texas for 225 yards in the Sooners’ 12-0 win. Bad news, Longhorns: Peterson is even better.
“He’s a little bit of everything,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “His work in the passing game is really good. In his protections, he understands where he needs to be. He’s catching the ball really well. He’s in there on critical third downs. His protection is good, but he’s a big, strong guy who can move his feet.”
Then again, Texas’ defense might be improved, too. It’s second nationally against the run (36.6 yards per game) behind Michigan and has given up only one rushing touchdown all season. Meanwhile, Peterson might have to make up for an Oklahoma defense that’s 56th overall (321.0 ypg), despite shutting out Middle Tennessee, 59-0, two weeks ago.
That could be the difference in the game. Then again, Oklahoma hopes to show the biggest difference in any game is Adrian Peterson.
John Henderson can be reached at 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
