Dominique Whaley Shines As OU Cruises Past Tulsa

Corey DeMoss, News9.com

NORMAN, Oklahoma – Unheralded running back Dominique Whaley stole the spotlight in his debut for the Oklahoma Sooners in a 47-14 blowout of Tulsa Saturday.

Whaley – a walk-on who was a backup at Langston University – is the only running back on the Sooners' roster who was not at least a four-star recruit coming out of high school. But head coach Bob Stoops raised some eyebrows by naming Whaley the co-starter for the season opener.

Whaley responded by leading all players with 18 carries for 131 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the only walk-on in school history to score four touchdowns in one game. His final score came on his best run, a 35-yard scamper in which he broke four tackles.

Whaley's performance was part of an explosive offensive performance in general by the Sooners, who amassed a total of 663 yards. Landry Jones completed 74 percent of his passes and threw for 375 yards, while Ryan Broyles pulled down 14 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown.

OU's first-team defense also started the game well, but two major lapses in the secondary led to passes of 69 yards and 56 yards for Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne, one of which resulted in the Golden Hurricane's first touchdown.

Kinne was without leading receiver Damaris Johnson, who was charged with felony embezzlement earlier in the week and suspended indefinitely. Kinne found a new target in Willie Carter, who led the Hurricane with five catches for 135 yards.

The victory gives OU a 17-7-1 record against its cross-state foe, and the Sooners have won the last two matchups by a combined score of 92-14.

The Sooners now will go into a bye week before facing its toughest non-conference test against No. 6 Florida State on Sept. 17. Tulsa will travel to New Orleans to play Tulane at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday.