Field Level Media
Sep 15, 2018
Oklahoma's Marquise Brown had nine catches for 191 yards and a score, but the No. 5 Sooners had to hold on for a 37-27 win over Iowa State on Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.
Brown wasn't the only receiver to have a monster day, as the Cyclones' Hakeem Butler had 174 yards and two touchdowns on five catches.
Iowa State, which hasn't beaten the Sooners in Ames since 1960, was without its starting quarterback, Kyle Kempt, after Kempt was injured a week earlier in a loss to Iowa. But Kempt's replacement, Zeb Noland, was excellent in helping the Cyclones climb back into the game after falling behind 24-10 at halftime. Noland finished 25 of 36 for 360 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
A year earlier, it was Kempt who started against the Sooners after a quarterback change and led the Cyclones to an upset win over the Sooners on the road.
Without running back Rodney Anderson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury a week earlier, the Sooners (3-0, 1-0 Big 12) relied on both running back Trey Sermon and quarterback Kyler Murray to fill the void.
Sermon and Murray combined for 151 yards, with Murray carrying it 15 times and Sermon 13.
Murray also threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns, completing 21 of his 29 passes.
The Cyclones (0-2, 0-1) scored three times in the second half to cut the deficit to seven, but each time, the Sooners answered with a score of their own to keep control of the game.
Oklahoma's Austin Seibert hit three field goals, including a 42-yarder with less than three minutes left to put the Sooners up by 10.
Parnell Motley's interception with 1:11 remaining sealed the win.
Brown had seven catches for 189 yards in the first half, breaking his own school record set last season against Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma hosts Army next week in its final non-conference game. The Cyclones host Akron.
--Field Level Media