Peterson leads Sooner to 31-7 victory

As he was in the Sooners opening three games, freshman running back Adrian Peterson was the story of the day. Peterson's 24 carries for 183 yards, and two touchdowns has probably surpassed even the expectations of himself, teammates and coaches. Peterson's effort was just a part of an impressive 31-7 victory over a hard fighting never say die bunch of Oregon Ducks.

One player who wasn't far behind was Jason White, who on the day was 17-for-23 for 213 yards and a touchdown toss. Despite a strong performance White said the effort of the young prodigy at running back is the result of a summer long effort.

"(The running game) is what we focused on in the offseason - establishing a run game and so far we have. There's still room for improvement and we can still improve. The run game has helped out so far. It's always great to have a run game," White said.

"(Peterson is) coming along week by week. He's learned from his mistakes from previous games. He's doing a better job with it. He's out there before and after practice working on his steps and pass protection. He wants to get better."

Peterson's third straight game of 100 yards to start the season sets a record for Oklahoma freshman backs. With Oklahoma desperately in need to run some time off of the clock, Peterson bounced outside against the Oregon defense for a 40 yard touchdown, the longest run of his young Oklahoma career.

"I thought Adrian was really special again tonight," Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said. "I'm really impressed with his speed and ability to break away and make some big plays."

One area that had been of concern in the opening two games had been a somewhat less than typical performance from one of the nation's most well known and respected defensinve units. Against Oregon, Rufus Alexander and company came out with an obvious point to prove.

"I think any time we can hold teams to seven points, then we have a good opportunity to win," he said. "Oregon milked a few plays here and there, but our defense was really pretty decent. Once again, I thought we were really strong and that's pleasing as well."