Hurricanes blow into Norman to take on fifth-ranked Oklahoma

Sep 5, 2007, 16:10 GMT

Norman, OK - The Randy Shannon era in Coral Gables got off to an impressive start, as the Miami Hurricanes made light work of Marshall in the season-opener, routing the Thundering Herd, 31-3. The road gets much tougher this week and the 'Canes will really see where they stack up, as they invade Norman to tangle with the fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. Bob Stoops' troops showed why they are considered a national title contender with their 79-10 whipping of North Texas. The score represented the most lopsided decision in a season-opener for Oklahoma since 1989 and was the second-highest point total since 1919. These two teams had some memorable battles in the 1980's. Miami won all three games in that decade, while Oklahoma prevailed in two matchups in the 70's (1973) and 1975).

The Hurricanes were able to establish the run early and often against Marshall and used the punishing ground game to its advantage in the victory. Young tailbacks Graig Cooper (freshman) and Javarris James (sophomore) were a potent one-two punch, with Cooper rushing for 116 yards on a whopping 9.7 yard per carry and James adding 99 yards on 7.1 yards per carry. James also found the end zone twice in the victory. It was a good thing the ground game was working to perfection, because the play under center could definitely use some improvement. Junior Kirby Freeman was anointed the season starter early last week, but did little to impress, as he completed just 42.9 percent of his passes (9-of-21), for a mere 81 yards. Better play from the QB position is instrumental in Miami's ability to keep things close in Norman this week. A slow start by Freeman could pave the way for senior QB Kyle Wright to get his job back.

While the offense struggled in certain areas against Marshall, the defense excelled in every aspect of the game. The Hurricanes have long been known for a stingy defensive unit and this year is no different. The Herd were able to generate very little in terms of offense, coming up with just 234 yards of total offense (51 yards rushing and 183 yards passing). In addition, Miami was able to record two interceptions, six sacks and 15 TFLs. The best player on this side of the ball for Miami is All-American candidate Calais Campbell up front. The standout defensive end did not get in on the sack brigade against Marshall, but did finish with eight total tackles, with 1.5 TFLs. He must be accounted for by every offensive coordinator, who must scheme to double and triple team him, especially on passing downs. Against Marshall, it was rush ends Vegas Franklin (two sacks) and Eric Moncur (1.5 sacks) that made things tough for Marshall in passing situations. Leading the team in tackles was veteran LB Tavares Gooden, who recorded 10 total stops. He was followed closely by fellow LB Colin McCarthy's nine tackles.

Oklahoma couldn't have started its offensive season any better than last week, as the team had several records fall in the lopsided win over the Mean Green. It was a total effort on this side of the ball, with freshman tailback DeMarco Murray becoming the first player in school history to score five TDs in his debut, while another freshman, QB Sam Bradford threw for a whopping 363 yards and three TDs in just over a half of work. In the process, Bradford broke Josh Heupel's school record for passing yards in a half, amassing 350 yards in the first 30 minutes of action last week. In all, Oklahoma amassed a ridiculous 668 yards of total offense, churning out 265 yards on the ground and 403 through the air. Benefiting from Bradford's steady hand under center was wideouts Juaquin Iglesias (seven receptions, for 128 yards) and Malcolm Kelly (four receptions, for 118 yards and two TDs).

Little went right for North Texas offensively, as Oklahoma's defense was swarming from the opening kickoff. The Sooners did a particularly good job against the run, yielding a mere 15 yards rushing, on 0.5 yards per carry. In addition, OU was able to amass 12 TFLs, six sacks and three interceptions. Six different players recorded sacks in the game, showing the multiple weapons at Stoops' disposal on this side of the football. Junior linebacker Curtis Lofton was all over the field, pacing the team in tackles with 11 total stops. Fellow linebacker Lewis Baker was next in line with eight stops, with two TFLs.

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