Oklahoma, No.7 in the nation, struggles on offense and falls to TCU 17-10.
By Associated Press
Published September 4, 2005
NORMAN, Okla. - His ankle injured and his team defeated, Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson had few words to explain what happened.
"Right now, I'm kind of shocked," he said.
TCU came up with its biggest upset in 45 years, stifling Peterson to win 17-10 Saturday. It last beat a team so highly ranked Oct.29, 1960, 14-6 against No.7 Baylor.
For the No.7 Sooners, who have appeared in the past two national title games, it was their first home loss since 2001 and first loss in September under coach Bob Stoops.
"I think that nine times out of 10, Oklahoma wins this game," Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson said. "(Saturday) was our one."
Peterson, the Heisman runnerup as a freshman last season, left the game late in the third with a right ankle injury. He returned early in the fourth with it heavily taped, losing yards on three of his five carries. His status is unknown.
But Peterson was ineffective long before the injury. He had only 5 yards on eight first-half carries, finishing with 63 on 22 carries against a team coming off a 5-6 season.
His offensive teammates also struggled. Paul Thompson missed a wide-open Travis Wilson on the Sooners' first play and fumbled inside the TCU 5 on the next series.
Peterson briefly showed his previous form, running six times for 43 yards on the first series of the second half, including an 11-yard touchdown that pulled the Sooners to 10-7. Garrett Hartley's 21-yard field goal tied it with 1:40 left in the third.
But after that, the Sooners' offense went flat again. Thompson threw an interception, and Lendy Holmes couldn't handle a high fourth-down pass.
"We just didn't have good execution," Thompson said. "TCU did a good job of putting a stop to us."
TCU took advantage of one of Oklahoma's three fumbles to take the lead. Backup quarterback Rhett Bomar lost it while trying to spin away from Jamison Newby, and David Hawthorne recovered at the Sooners 17.
"When we got the turnovers, their heads dropped," Hawthorne said. "It wasn't the same OU team that you saw last year."
Four plays later, with 11:56 left, Robert Merrill took an option pitch and scored untouched from 2 yards.
The Sooners' final chance started with 2:05 left. But Thompson, charged with replacing 2003 Heisman winner Jason White, fumbled on fourth down with 1:03 left.
"We studied Oklahoma all offseason," said Cory Rodgers, who had game highs of 10 catches for 79 yards. "We studied that secondary and studied Adrian Peterson. Our coaches did a great job of giving us confidence."
After the game, Stoops, in his seventh season in Norman, denied Oklahoma's mystique was gone but admitted he was probably the most disappointed he has been in his team.
"I felt we were stronger and had a little more attitude than what we showed," he said. "The toughness wasn't there."
