Preparing to face Oklahoma’s football team is one heck of a challenge.
Do you try to stop star freshman running back Adrian Peterson? Or do you focus on reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jason White and his fleet of athletic receivers?
Kansas University’s virtual football team apparently decided to put their attention on stopping Peterson as White and crew put up huge numbers in OU’s 78-33 victory in this week’s X-Factor simulation.
Peterson finished with 28 yards on 12 carries, including just 17 yards in the first half. He also threw an interception on a halfback option pass early in the game.
The Sooners didn’t need the incredible freshman before intermission, though – or at all.
White passed for 534 yards and six touchdowns before halftime as the Sooners raced out to a 51-16 lead at the break. The sixth-year senior ended up torching the Jayhawks to the tune of 32-of-64 passing for 738 yards and seven touchdowns.
Mark Clayton was White’s primary target, grabbing nine passes for 167 yards and two scores. Brandon Jones also had a big day with 233 yards on four receptions, including three touchdowns. Travis Wilson was White’s other main target, with seven catches for 198 yards.
Oklahoma took a 7-0 lead less than four minutes in on an untouched 73-yard punt return down the right sideline by Jejuan Rankins.
Kansas took a 13-7 lead midway through the first quarter after two touchdown passes from Adam Barmann to Brandon Rideau. Scott Webb missed the point-after kick on the first touchdown, but the Jayhawks took a six-point lead on the second – a 74-yard scoring play down the left sideline.
White answered one play, 12 seconds and 76 yards later with a pass to Jones over Theo Baines, giving Oklahoma a 14-13 lead with 6:38 left in the first period.
The Jayhawks drove down field on their next drive, but OU safety Brodney Pool made the first of his two interceptions deep in KU territory. Trey DiCarlo ended the Sooners’ 10-play drive and extended their lead to four points with a 22-yard field goal.
DiCarlo missed field goals on OU’s next two possessions, and the Jayhawks drew within a point on a 20-yard field goal by Webb with just more than seven minutes left before halftime.
White again had an answer for the Jayhawks, leading the Sooners downfield and hitting tight end Willie Roberts with a one-yard scoring pass.
After a KU punt, White found another backup tight end in the end zone. This time, it was Joe Jon Finely for a four-yard score and a 30-16 lead.
White kept piling it on for the rest of the half, leading the Sooners on scoring drives on each of their final three possessions. He hit Clayton with a 17-yard pass that was deflected by Charles Gordon, Jones with a 57-yard pass and Clayton with a 32-yard score just 17 seconds before halftime.
The Sooners continued their arial attack after the break. White hit Jones with another long bomb, this one a 74-yard pass less than 30 seconds into the third quarter.
Kansas got back in the game a bit with the next two scores – a 30-yard field goal by Webb and a 28-yard pass from Barmann to Rideay – but Oklahoma answered with two DiCarlo field goals and a 37-yard interception return by cornerback Marcus Walker.
The Jayhawks finished their scoring with a 23-yard pass from Barmann to Mark Simmons with 6:33 left in the game, and the Sooners added one final touchdown on a late nine-yard run by backup fullback Dan Thompson.
Barmann finished 27-of-64 passing for 465 yards and four touchdowns, but was picked off five times. He also rushed 11 times for four yards.
KU sophomore John Randle finished with 117 yards on 36 carries, and Austine Nwabuisi added 11 yards on five rushes.
Rideau finished with eight catches for 120 yards and three scores, and Simmons had eight receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Rankins finished with just five catches for 75 yards, but added 120 yards on nine punt returns and 28 yards on two kickoff returns.
Get the stats: KU-OU virtual box score