KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It was the drive of the year.
In front of a championship game-record crowd of 80,031 in Arrowhead Stadium, the Oklahoma Sooners not only took home the Big 12 Conference Championship title but flawlessly executed a 99-yard, 11-play drive to put away North Division representative Nebraska 21-7 on Saturday night.
For OU Coach Bob Stoops, it was everything he wanted it to be.
"Best drive of the year without question," Stoops said. "It was huge and just a lot of great plays. I thought (quarterback) Paul (Thompson) threw some great balls on that whole series, and we executed in a great way and punched it in. It was a big blow to them."
Up 14-7 on the Cornhuskers with 4 minutes, 36 seconds left in the third quarter, Oklahoma went 99 yards in 11 plays - with eight plays in the air - to tie a championship game record for the longest drive.
Sitting at third-and-10 on their own one-yard line, the Sooners seemed halted by the Huskers' stout front seven, but a 35-yard pass from Thompson to freshman tight end Jermaine Gresham extended the drive.
"Being in the situation we were in in the second half, we weren't really moving the ball well," Thompson said. "We weren't having as much success running the ball, getting anything rolling. So Jermaine was able to make a good corner route cut in. I laid it out there for him and that kind of got it rolling."
Connecting with five different receivers for 95 yards, Thompson led Oklahoma down the field before hitting sophomore wide receiver Malcolm Kelly in the end zone with a three-yard touchdown pass.
"We came into halftime and Coach Stoops told us that we needed to execute better, and we came out and we wanted to execute," Kelly said. "(Offensive Coordinator Kevin) Wilson called a good play. I mean, Jermaine is a freak out there, and it was just a good play call. And (Thompson) put it out there, and it was a spark for the rest of the half."
Thompson passed for 265 yards and two touchdowns on the night. Throwing 19-of-35 he picked apart the Huskers' secondary, mixing up his receivers.
Kelly set new championship game records with 10 catches and 142 receiving yards and matched the record for touchdown catches with two.
The 6-foot-4 217-pounder's longest reception of 66 yards was good for a first-quarter touchdown with 5:35 left and helped the Sooners to a 14-0 lead.
While Oklahoma is known throughout the conference as a running team, it notched unusually high passing statistics overall in Kansas City. But Stoops said it was all part of the game plan.
"We felt we went in ready to throw the ball a good amount, and we felt the way they were trying to defend us that it would be there, and we would have to able to work it," Stoops said. "So it was about according to plan."
Donning their championship hats, the 10-2 Sooners were all smiles as they answered questions dealing about their Jan. 1, Fiesta Bowl bid and their bowl opponent Boise State.
But, when it came right down to it, Stoops said they were just happy to be on top of the Big 12.
"It's fun to be in an exciting game, with the championship implications, with a great rival in Nebraska," Stoops said. "We feel fortunate and blessed to work with players like Malcolm. The guys are a group of selfless players, very much of a team."
