Oklahoma Looks Second to None in a 49-3 Victory

Nate Hybl kept rubbing his red, swollen nose as he sat deep inside Memorial Stadium.

The Oklahoma quarterback found it more amusing than painful.

“Sorry my nose is a little swollen,” said Hybl, who had taken a hit from an Iowa State defender. “I feel like Rudolph.”

That was about the only blemish on the performance of Hybl and the second-ranked Sooners, who delivered a brutal blow of reality Saturday to No. 9 Iowa State in defeating the Cyclones, 49-3.

Quentin Griffin and Kejuan Jones each ran for two touchdowns and Oklahoma dealt a setback to Seneca Wallace’s Heisman Trophy hopes with an overwhelming effort on defense.

Oklahoma (7-0, 3-0 in the Big 12) outgained Iowa State, 225-4, in building a 35-0 halftime lead against a team that had been averaging 432 yards and 39 points a game.

“It never seemed it would end,” Iowa State Coach Dan McCarney said. “We could never get in sync. We couldn’t get any first downs. We couldn’t get our defense off the field.”

Iowa State (6-2, 3-1), in the top 10 for the first time, had been enjoying a dream season until running into a quick, swarming Oklahoma defense that frustrated the Cyclones at every turn on a dreary, rainy afternoon.

A win would have vaulted the Cyclones into the national championship picture. Instead, they fell to 1-35-1 against Oklahoma since 1962 and are 0-47-2 against teams ranked in the top 5.