In 1st start, freshman Landry Jones throws for 3 TDs as No. 13 Oklahoma beats Idaho State 64-0

Jones’ 3 TDs lift Oklahoma past Idaho State 64-0

NORMAN, Okla. — Freshman quarterback Landry Jones threw three touchdown passes in his first career start and No. 13 Oklahoma routed Idaho State 64-0 on Saturday night.

Jones, replacing injured Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, found a favorite target in Ryan Broyles, who caught scoring passes of 24, 51 and 11 yards and finished with seven catches for 155 yards for Oklahoma (1-1), which bounced back from a season-opening loss to BYU.

It was the second straight season the Sooners beat up on a Football Championship Series opponent in their home opener. Last year, Oklahoma routed Chattanooga 57-2, and Idaho State (0-2) provided about as much of a challenge. The Bengals of the Big Sky Conference had minus-2 yards of offense in the first half and 44 for the game, including minus-22 yards rushing.

About the only drama after halftime was whether Oklahoma would record its first shutout since blanking Middle Tennessee in a 59-0 romp on Sept. 23, 2006. Oklahoma extended its home winning streak to 25 games, matching the school record that ended in the 1953 season opener. The Sooners will host Tulsa next Saturday.

Bradford went down with a sprained AC joint in his right (throwing) shoulder late in the first half of the 14-13 loss to Brigham Young and will be out from two to four weeks. The Sooners also learned on Tuesday that second-team All-America tight end Jermaine Gresham was lost for the season because of cartilage damage in his right knee.

With a week to prepare, Jones did his best Bradford imitation, completing 18 of 32 passes for 286 yards with one interception despite rain falling most of the game. Oklahoma continued to run its no-huddle offense, albeit with a reworked line after that unit committed nine penalties against BYU.

Landry Jones completed his first pass as a starter, a swing toss that Broyles took 34 yards. The Sooners eventually had a first down on the Idaho State 2, but the Bengals stopped Oklahoma on five plays, stuffing a quarterback sneak on a fourth-and-inches.

The Sooners quickly forced a punt, and after taking over at the Idaho State 24, Jones connected with Broyles for a touchdown on the first play. Later in the first quarter, Gerald McCoy hit Idaho State quarterback Kyle Blum, forcing a fumble that defensive end Frank Alexander returned 3 yards for another Oklahoma touchdown, making it 14-0.

Jones subsequently hit Broyles on scoring passes of 51 and 11 yards, the latter leading to chants of “Landry” by the crowd at Owen Field. Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray later added touchdown runs, pushing Oklahoma’s halftime lead to 41-0, and Murray scored again early in the second half.

Oklahoma freshman Ronnell Lewis tackled Clint Knickrehm in the end zone for a safety 27 seconds into the fourth quarter and freshmen Jonathan Miller and Jermie Calhoun subsequently both recorded their first career touchdowns before Landry Jones exited with 6 minutes left.

Idaho State was coming off a 50-3 loss at Arizona State in which it managed just 37 yards of offense. Idaho State has lost 17 straight road games dating to the 2006 season, the Bengals’ longest road losing streak ever. The Bengals, who were 1-11 last season, fell to 0-7 all-time against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.

Idaho State didn’t cross midfield until 9:18 remained in the third quarter and didn’t drive past the Oklahoma 49.