NORMAN, Okla. — Sam Bradford overcame two interceptions and threw for a career-best 395 yards and five touchdowns and No. 4 Oklahoma overpowered Cincinnati 52-26 Saturday.
Freshman Ryan Broyles had a breakout game with 141 receiving yards, Jermaine Gresham caught two touchdown passes and the Sooners extended the nation’s longest home winning streak to 20 games.
Broyles had a 27-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter and extended a key second-half drive with a leaping 43-yard catch to allow the Sooners (2-0) to start pulling away with 24 consecutive points.
For Bradford, who led the nation in quarterback rating last season, it was the third time he tied the school record for TD passes held by 2003 Heisman Trophy winner Jason White and 2000 Heisman runner-up Josh Heupel. His only other two-interception game came in an upset loss last season at Colorado.
Cincinnati’s Mardy Gilyard returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to break one of the longest runback droughts in college football. The last score by the Bearcats (1-1) on a kickoff return came in 1995, and only two schools have gone longer than Cincinnati’s 145 games without one.
Gilyard finished with a school-record 365 all purpose yards, including 119 yards receiving on seven first-half catches.
Cincinnati’s turnover-happy defense kept it close for a while, clamping down after allowing the Sooners to get off to a 14-0 start.
Broyles, who was making his debut after serving a one-game suspension in the opener, set the Sooners’ freshman record with his receiving total and was an impact player from the start. He picked up 31 yards with some nifty footwork up the sideline after his first career catch, and he finished the Sooners’ opening drive with a 27-yard TD grab on the next play.
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