No. 4 Oklahoma defeats Louisiana Tech 48-16

CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Trevor Knight passed for 252 yards and a touchdown and Keith Ford had 117 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns to help No. 4 Oklahoma defeat Louisiana Tech 48-16 on Saturday night.

Ford ran for 51 yards and caught four passes for 66 yards for the Sooners, who rolled to a 31-0 lead in the second quarter of the season opener for both teams. Samaje Perine ran for 78 yards and a touchdown and Alex Ross ran for two scores for the Sooners.

Zack Sanchez led Oklahoma’s defense with an interception and a blocked field goal. Oklahoma linebacker Jordan Evans was ejected in the second quarter for targeting when he tried to make a play against Louisiana Tech quarterback Cody Sokol, but the Sooners remained dominant.

Sokol, an Iowa transfer in his first career start, passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns for Louisiana Tech.

Oklahoma scored on its first four possessions.

On Oklahoma’s first drive, Knight bought time and flipped an 8-yard completion to Dimitri Flowers on fourth-and-2, then Ford rumbled 22 yards down the left sideline on the next play to open the scoring.

Knight found Sterling Shepard for a 16-yard touchdown on Oklahoma’s second possession to put the Sooners up 14-0. Shepard, who finished with four catches for 49 yards, passed his late father, Derrick Shepard, on the school’s all-time receiving yardage list.

Late in the first quarter, after Evans was ejected, Sanchez blocked a field goal to give the Sooners good field position. Oklahoma took advantage with a 5-yard touchdown run by Ford that pushed the lead to 21-0 with 33 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

After Sanchez intercepted Sokol, Michael Hunnicutt’s 39-yard field goal pushed the Sooners’ lead to 24-0 early in the second quarter.

After Ross scored again, Tech finally got on the board when Jonathan Barnes made a 36-yard field goal with four seconds left in the first half to trim Oklahoma’s lead to 31-3 at halftime.

Oklahoma held the Bulldogs to 89 yards in the first half, and Tech got 56 of them on their final possession before the break. The Sooners gained 270 yards in the first half and scored on all but one possession before the break.

Ford hauled in a 29-yard pass and held on after taking a vicious hit, then Ross capped the possession with an 8-yard touchdown run to push the Sooners ahead 38-3.

Dixon’s 6-yard touchdown catch gave the Bulldogs their first touchdown, but they still trailed 41-10.

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP .

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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