Oklahoma Struggles Early, Rolls Late, 37-0

It took Oklahoma much longer than expected to resemble a No. 1 team.

The Sooners, who moved into a tie with Miami this week atop the Associated Press top 25 poll, led only 3-0 at halftime before beating Tulsa, 37-0, Friday night at Tulsa, Okla.

Senior tailback Quentin Griffin gained a career-high 237 yards and freshman Kejuan Jones had 70 yards and two short touchdown runs. But dropped passes, three turnovers deep in Tulsa territory and other mistakes made for a sloppy opener.

“There were a lot of good parts of this game and we’re going to focus on those,” Coach Bob Stoops said. “We had four third-down drops inside the 25-yard line, and we have three turnovers inside the 20. If we don’t have those, we’re in great shape.”

The Sooners struggled early against a team that gave up 35 points and 447 yards a game while going 1-10 a year ago. But Oklahoma eventually hammered Tulsa on runs up the middle and finished with 378 yards rushing.

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Mississippi State quarterback Kevin Fant won’t play today against No. 15 Oregon after the NCAA denied the university’s appeal of his one-game suspension. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal of Tupelo, citing unnamed sources, reported that Fant’s suspension resulted from a violation involving the purchase of tires, and that Mississippi State reported the infraction in April. Freshman Kyle York is the Bulldogs’ expected starter.... Stanford quarterback Chris Lewis will be suspended for the Cardinal’s season opener at Boston College on Sept. 7 because of an NCAA rule violation. The school provided no details of Lewis’ infraction. Lewis, a junior from Long Beach Poly High, has played in 16 games, making seven starts. Freshman Kyle Matter will start in his place.

Miami starting cornerback Kelly Jennings will be sidelined for the Hurricanes’ opener today against Florida A&M; because of an injured right thumb. Junior Al Marshall will start. The injury is the second to Miami’s secondary in a week. Senior safety James Scott is out at least three weeks after breaking a wrist.... Florida State cornerback Leroy Smith was suspended for today’s game against Virginia after violating an unspecified training rule, Coach Bobby Bowden said.... Tommy Grady of Huntington Beach Edison High, considered the No. 1 quarterback in Southern California, has committed to Oklahoma. He passed for 2,790 yards and 33 touchdowns as a junior.