NORMAN, OKLA. — A matchup between two of the nation’s top passers came down to who could run the ball down the stretch. Chris Brown proved to be the man for Oklahoma.
Brown ran for three second-half touchdowns, Curtis Lofton returned a fumble for a score and the No. 6 Sooners knocked No. 11 Missouri from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 41-31 victory Saturday night.
“The fourth quarter, that’s all we preach around here,” said Brown, Oklahoma’s third-leading rusher behind DeMarco Murray and Allen Patrick. “The difference from this year and last year, we’re more of a fourth-quarter team. We can go the distance and get the job done.”
Brown put the Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) ahead to stay with his 1-yard touchdown run with 12:26 remaining, and Lofton scooped up a botched handoff and returned it 12 yards for a score 46 seconds later as Oklahoma kept the Tigers from entering the national title picture.
Brown, who finished with 67 yards on 13 carries, sealed the win with a 17-yard TD run with 2:39 remaining.
“I thought Chris Brown was sensational in the fourth quarter,” Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. “Everybody has their opinions on who should be playing. I think Chris showed tonight why he deserves his snaps as well.”
Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who ranks third in the nation in total offense with a 380-yard average, was equally good as a setup man for the Tigers.
He delivered key blocks on both touchdown runs by NCAA all-purpose yardage leader Jeremy Maclin, and then pitched the ball to Jimmy Jackson on a 4-yard option run that put Missouri up 24-23 late in the third quarter.
After that, Brown and Oklahoma’s running game – which had totaled only 40 yards in the first three quarters – took over.
Brown finished the ensuing drive with three rushes for 23 yards and the go-ahead score.
“In big games like this, generally the team that makes the fewest mistakes is going to win, and that’s what happened,” Tigers coach Gary Pinkel said. “With games of this magnitude, mistakes are generally going to dictate how the game is going to come out.”
No 20 Kansas 58, Baylor 10
LAWRENCE, KAN. — The Jayhawks have their first 6-0 record since the 1995 team started 7-0, and the Bears (3-4, 0-3), who shocked Kansas last year by coming back from an 18-point deficit for a one-point win, managed only 202 total yards.
No. 23 Texas 56, Iowa State 3
AMES, IOWA — The Longhorns ended their longest conference losing streak in 51 years and the Cyclones suffered their worst loss since a 77-14 pounding by Nebraska in 1997.
Texas Tech 35, Texas A&M 7
LUBBOCK, TEXAS — The Red Raiders held the Aggies scoreless the final three quarters.
Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree, who came into the game with a nation-leading 17 touchdown catches, failed to score but had eight catches for 170 yards.
Standings, schedule, summaries 18B
