Jason White's four TDs help Oklahoma beat Kansas State 31-21 and stay unbeaten.
By wire services
Published October 17, 2004
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Jason White spent much of last week touting a young Oklahoma teammate for the Heisman Trophy.
Saturday, he played, with one exception, like a front-runner for a second straight award of his own.
White's third-quarter interception was returned for a touchdown. But he rebounded to toss two touchdowns to Mark Clayton and lift unbeaten Oklahoma to a 31-21 victory over Kansas State.
"I knew I made a mistake, but you wanted to make up for it," said White, who threw four touchdowns. "The pass game was there all day, and we had to take advantage of it."
White, among others, had been touting freshman Adrian Peterson, who had 130 yards rushing, all but 26 after halftime.
Kansas State, which beat Oklahoma 35-7 for the Big 12 title last season, led three times but dropped to 0-3 in conference play for the first time since 2001.
"We are not finished and not focused all the way," receiver Jermaine Moreira said. "We're making a lot of little mistakes right now, and it's killing us."
A big mistake about five minutes into the second half could have done in the Sooners.
White, who finished 20-for-31 for 256 yards, threw into the left flat on first down from the Sooners 27. The pass went straight to linebacker Brandon Archer, who returned it 27 yards for a touchdown and 21-17 Kansas State lead.
But White redeemed himself on Oklahoma's next possession, throwing a 15-yard touchdown to Clayton for a 24-21 lead. Clayton's 8-yard touchdown with 7:06 left, capping a drive on which Peterson carried seven times for 46 yards, made it 31-21.
"I had to be real patient," said Peterson, the only Oklahoma freshman to go over 100 yards in his first six games. "The guys kept me going and told me that it would open up."
Running back Darren Sproles was held largely in check both by Oklahoma's defense and Kansas State's pass-first game plan.
Sproles, who ran for 235 yards in the Big 12 title game last year, had 34 yards on 13 carries and has not gone over 100 in three conference games. One of those carries was a botched halfback pass attempt in the first quarter.
The Sooners had six penalties for 60 yards in the first 16 minutes and fell behind 14-7 on Dylan Meier's 38-yard pass to Yamon Figurs. But on their next series, White hit Travis Wilson twice for 55 yards, the second a 14-yard touchdown to tie it.
Meier finished 20-of-38 for 242 yards but left the game late after being knocked down hard by defensive ends Larry Birdine and Jonathan Jackson.
Meier lay on the field for several minutes after the sandwich hit and had to be helped off. He appeared dazed and blinking after the game and did not attend the team's interview session.
"He had too much pressure," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. "I think he just got knocked around a little bit. We don't know about his health status yet."
