Norman, OK (SportsNetwork.com) – Oklahoma freshman Samaje Perine broke the
week-old FBS single-game rushing record to lead the No. 23 Sooners in a 44-7
rout of Kansas on Saturday.
Perine rushed for 427 yards, surpassing the record set last week by Wisconsin
junior Melvin Gordon, whose 408 yards against Nebraska in just three quarters
broke LaDainian Tomlinson’s 15-year-old FBS mark.
It took Perine a little longer, but not much.
He set the new mark on his last run, a 42-yarder 2 1/2 minutes into the fourth
quarter after shaking off a few would-be tacklers near the line.
The game was played in the rain after a 90-minute delay because of lightning
and most of Perine’s big runs came with little contact.
He carried the ball 34 times and scored five touchdowns on rushes of 66, 49,
34, 33 and 27 yards.
Perine gained 222 of his yards in the first half on just 18 carries. Cody
Thomas, starting for the second straight game in place of injured quarterback
Trevor Knight, completed just three of his 13 passes for 39 yards but didn’t
need to do much for the Sooners (8-3, 5-3 Big 12).
Safety Cassius Sendish scored on a 63-yard fumble return for the Jayhawks
(3-8, 1-7), who have lost 26 consecutive Big 12 road games.
