Sooners Win 19th in a Row

Trent Smith felt unusually happy for a guy who dropped a touchdown pass.

The 6-foot-5 tight end, taking advantage of size mismatches, buried his mistake with four touchdown catches and 11 receptions Saturday night--both school records--in No. 3 Oklahoma’s 38-10 victory over Kansas.

Backup quarterback Jason White threw touchdown passes of two, 12, nine and eight yards to Smith, who totaled 70 yards on his 11 receptions as the defending national champions (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) won their 19th in a row.

In the first quarter as the Sooners struggled to get their offense untracked, Smith had a sure touchdown pass go through his hands.

“With the group of receivers we have, I feel lucky to have this kind of game,” Smith said. “After dropping that first one, I wouldn’t let that happen again. This is the kind of game I’d like to have every week.”

White, who replaced starter Nate Hybl for the second week in a row, also lost the ball on successive plays on a fumble and an interception in the third quarter.

But against the quicker Oklahoma defense, Kansas (2-3, 1-2) could barely move. Before Mario Kinsey hooked up with Roger Ross on a 77-yard touchdown play with 4:58 left, the Jayhawks had managed just nine yards in the second half.

“What I saw out there tonight was the best defensive football team we’ve seen here,” Kansas Coach Terry Allen said.

The Sooners took a 24-3 lead in the third on Smith’s nine-yard touchdown catch.

White, 16 of 23 in Oklahoma’s 14-3 victory over Texas last week, relieved Hybl on Oklahoma’s fourth possession with the Sooners trailing, 3-0.

Before the half was over, the sophomore quarterback had thrown two touchdown passes to Smith.