Murray’s 5 TDs lead Oklahoma to win
NO. 6 OKLAHOMA 49, UCLA 21
NORMAN, Okla. — UCLA Coach Chip Kelly said he believes his day against Oklahoma might have gone better with some help from the Oakland Athletics.
The A’s selected Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the ninth overall pick in the Major League Baseball Draft. They signed him for nearly $5 million but allowed him to come back to school and play football.
Kelly wished negotiations had gone differently. Murray passed for three touchdowns and ran for two, and No. 6 Oklahoma defeated UCLA 49-21 on Saturday.
“The only guy I would say I’m disappointed in is Billy Beane,” Kelly said, joking about the A’s executive. “I wish he gave the kid more money. If there was a little bit bigger prize, maybe number 1 wasn’t out there because he’s a real talented player.”
It wasn’t all smooth for Oklahoma. The Sooners lost star running back Rodney Anderson to a leg injury. Anderson ran for 10 yards on the final play of the first quarter, and then got up slowly. He limped off on his own, and trainers tended to the preseason All-Big 12 pick before he headed to the locker room. He was back on the bench later, out of uniform.
Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley was unsure of Anderson’s status going forward.
“We’re hoping for the best, but we will get in and see how he’s doing,” Riley said.
Murray picked up the slack with 306 yards passing and 69 yards rushing. Kelly was impressed with how Murray has stepped in for No. 1 overall NFL draft Dick Baker Mayfield.
“You think there would be a big drop off when you go from a Heisman Trophy winner, but that kid’s very special,” Kelly said.
CeeDee Lamb had 7 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown and Marquise Brown added 88 yards and a score on 4 catches for the Sooners (2-0).
Despite losing Anderson, Oklahoma ran for 179 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. Oklahoma reserve running back Marcelias Sutton called Anderson the team’s “heart and soul.”
“That was hard for me to see him go down, but at the end of the day when it’s time to step up, it’s time to step up,” Sutton said. “We have a lot of talent and we’re all close. We all just teach each other. We feed off each other.”
Oklahoma led 21-7 at halftime. The Sooners held the Bruins to 133 yards before the break and sacked UCLA freshman quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson five times. Thompson-Robinson started in place of the injured Wilton Speight.
Thompson-Robinson completed 16 of 26 passes for 254 yards in his first start. Bolu Olorunfunmi ran for 56 yards and two touchdowns for UCLA, which fell to 0-2 under Kelly.
Lamb didn’t even start and ended up having one of the best games of his career.
The sophomore finished with 209 all-purpose yards. His touchdown grab in traffic was one for the highlight packages. He put a video game-caliber shake on a UCLA defender during a 66yard punt return.
His best play didn’t even count. He went up for a pass on the sideline and stabbed the ball out of the air with one hand as he extended his right arm behind his outstretched body. He barely landed out of bounds.
In other Top 25 games Saturday, Dwayne Haskins Jr. threw four touchdown passes and No. 4 Ohio State rolled to the 900th victory in program history, routing outmanned Rutgers 52-3. … Jonathan Taylor ran for a career-high 253 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 5 Wisconsin asserted its dominance over New Mexico 45-14 after allowing a score on the game-opening drive. … Jalen Elliott had a pair of interceptions that No. 8 Notre Dame turned into touchdowns and the Fighting Irish held off stubborn Ball State 24-16 on a day when its offense was frustrated much of the game. … Jake Browning threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, Ty Jones had two touchdown receptions, and No. 9 Washington pulled away from North Dakota in the second half for a 45-3 victory. … Bryce Love ran for 136 yards and a touchdown and No. 10 Stanford made talented quarterback JT Daniels look like a freshman in a 17-3 victory over No. 17 Southern California. … Steven Peoples had two first-half touchdown runs and No. 12 Virginia Tech made quick work of William & Mary in a 62-17 victory. … Trace McSorley threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as No. 13 Penn State pulled away for a 51-6 victory over sloppy Pittsburgh. … Will Grier threw three of his four touchdown passes to Gary Jennings to lead No. 14 West Virginia to a 52-17 victory over Youngstown State. … Adrian Killins Jr. ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 19 Central Florida rout South Carolina State 38-0 for its 15th consecutive victory. … Shea Patterson threw three touchdown passes, one in each of the first three quarters, to help No. 21 Michigan coast to a 49-3 victory over Western Michigan. … Malik Rosier threw for two scores and rushed for another, N’Kosi Perry came off the bench to throw the first three touchdown passes of his collegiate career, and No. 22 Miami set a school record for margin of victory in a 77-0 victory over Savannah State. … Justin Herbert threw for 250 yards and four touchdowns before heading to the bench in the third quarter, and No. 23 Oregon routed Portland State 62-14.