Game Shows Something About Both Teams

Oct. 1, 2001

By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer

NORMAN, Okla. - When it was over - and that took a while - Oklahoma and Kansas State each learned a little something about themselves.

No. 3 Oklahoma hung on to win 38-37 Saturday and found out quarterback Nate Hybl has the toughness to match his strong right arm and that the Sooner defense can be vulnerable.

No. 12 Kansas State saw quarterback Ell Roberson mature during the 4-hour, 3-minute game as the Wildcats nearly came all the way back from a three-touchdown deficit.

"I think they have a chance to be a very, very good football team," KSU coach Bill Snyder said of his group.

But for the third time in the past year, Oklahoma was just a little better.

The Sooners (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) beat Kansas State 41-31 in Manhattan, Kan., last October, and then won 27-24 in the Big 12 title game in December. Saturday's game was reminiscent of the first meeting last season, when Oklahoma took a big lead and then held on.

"Why we come back, who knows?" Snyder said. "You have to play well to do it, I'm certain of that, so obviously we did a few things right. But that's never been my concern. The major issue is falling behind."

Oklahoma took a 14-0 first-quarter lead on an 18-yard fumble return by safety Roy Williams and a 63-yard touchdown pass from Hybl to Antwone Savage.

The Wildcats (2-1, 0-1) scored twice early in the second quarter, with Josh Scobey running in from 7 yards out and Roberson going 22 yards with a quarterback draw. But Oklahoma stayed in front with a TD run by Quentin Griffin on a drive in which he also caught a 47-yard pass.

Perhaps the biggest play came late in the half, when Oklahoma scored on a fake punt. Third-string quarterback Hunter Wall took the snap and threw a lateral pass to Savage, who then threw back to Wall. Wall went 33 yards for a TD and a 28-14 lead.

Oklahoma last used the play in the 1999 Independence Bowl, and it didn't work.

"Everybody was coming at me, so I knew he was going to be open," Savage said.

The lead grew to 35-14 midway through the third quarter when Savage broke away from a defender after catching a pass from Hybl and ran 75 yards for a touchdown.

That's when Kansas State got going. Roberson led the Wildcats to touchdowns on their next two drives, scoring once on a 37-yard run on which he shed several would-be tackles, and later scoring on a sneak that capped a short drive set up by an interception.

"I was proud of the fact he hung in there," Snyder said. "He struggled in a lot of ways through the course of the ballgame, but by the same token, each time that he did, he still came back."

Hybl, hit repeatedly by blitzing defenders, looked woozy a few times but stayed in the game and made enough plays to win. Although he was intercepted three times, he finished 17-of-38 for 263 yards.

"I thought Nate Hybl was just excellent," coach Bob Stoops said.

His biggest drive came in the fourth quarter, when he led the Sooners 71 yards in 16 plays to set up Tim Duncan's 33-yard field goal that made the score 38-27. Hybl was 6-of-7 on the drive and benefited from two pass interference penalties against the Wildcats.

Roberson, who ran for 115 yards and threw for 257, made one last run at Oklahoma. He threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Lloyd, then completed the 2-point conversion pass, to get KSU within 38-35 with 2:02 left.

Snyder opted not to try an onside kick and the Sooners were able to run the clock down. They took a safety with seven seconds remaining, and KSU's final play was a long pass that was batted down short of the end zone.

For the third straight time, Oklahoma had survived against the Wildcats.

"I'm very proud of our players to have withstood it," Stoops said. "Kansas State is as good as any team we'll play the entire year."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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