Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford had dreams of becoming just the second two-time Heisman Trophy winner as the 2009 season got underway in Dallas against No. 20 BYU.
Bradford was the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and had narrowly missed becoming a national champion as the Sooners fell to Florida in Miami for the national championship the year prior. Bradford and No. 3 Oklahoma appeared to be a team on a mission as the 2009 season got underway, but that night in Dallas, both Bradford’s repeat bid and Oklahoma’s title hopes went down in flames as the Cougars left with a 14-13 victory.
Bradford looked to be picking up where he left off with a scoring strike to Ryan Broyles with less than six minutes remaining in the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Sooners, that would be their lone touchdown of the night.
With less than 90 seconds to play in the first half, BYU was able to draw even with a 5-yard scoring strike from Max Hall to Andrew George. Jimmy Stevens’ 35-yard field goal late in the half gave Oklahoma a 10-7 lead at the break, but that scoring drive came at a price.
On the same play he surpassed Jason White as Oklahoma’s all-time leading passer, Bradford injured his shoulder and was forced to miss the remainder of the game and most of the season. The Sooners didn’t score again until a short Stevens’ field goal with less than 12 minutes to go in the game.
With Bradford out, Hall and BYU did their best to steal the spotlight. Following the field goal, Hall would lead a 16-play, 78-yard drive that ate nearly nine minutes off the clock. Hall capped the drive and a 328-yard passing night with a 7-yard touchdown pass to McKay Jacobson.
With backup Landry Jones at the helm, the Sooners were able to march inside the BYU 35-yard-line on the final drive of the game, but a critical false start penalty forced Oklahoma to turn to punter Tress Way to try a 54-yard field goal. Way’s kick was no good and BYU prevailed.
Bradford would return a month later, but lasted just two games before suffering a season-ending injury in a loss to Texas. He would still go on to be selected first overall by the St. Louis Rams in the 2010 NFL Draft.
After winning the Big 12 in each of the previous two seasons, the Bradford-less Sooners would finish just 8-5 in 2009. BYU would finish 11-2 and with a top-15 national ranking. It would be more than four years later before BYU defeated another ranked opponent and nine years later before it beat another top-10 team. The Cougars’ last win over a top-5 team came on this day 10 years ago.
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