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By Michael Kinney

STILLWATER — Kennedy Brooks really likes playing against Oklahoma State. AS a true freshman in 2018 he ran for 165 yards and scored three touchdowns to help lead Oklahoma past their rivals.

Brooks added to his resume Saturday when he accounted for 160 yards on 22 carries as the Sooners romped over the Cowboys 34-16 in Stillwater.

“It’s Kennedy.” OU offensive lineman Adrian Ealy said. “He always does the same thing each game. He runs hard, with the talent he has it’s hard to go down. For an O-line like us, he makes our job easy.”

With high winds affecting the passing game, Brooks led an imposing ground game that dismantled the OSU’s defense. As a team, Oklahoma rushed for 299 yards. That includes 71 from quarterback Jalen Hurts.

But it was Brooks who set the tone for Oklahoma (11-1). In his past four games, he has rushed for 534 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry.

“He’s been very steady. He just continues to be him. He’s not missing cuts, and he’s very in sync with the offensive line,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said. “He’s been so close to popping his standard 60-70 yarders. There was, I swear, five times tonight where we were like, ‘He’s out.’ Despite that, he’s had a lot of big runs. He’s held on to the ball great. He always kind of gets what’s there. He never really leaves much on the table.”

Coming into the matchup, it was Oklahoma State’s tailback who was expected to have the prolific night. Chuba Hubbard leads the nation in rushing and is a Heisman candidate as he has averaged 166.5 yards per contest.

But it was the OU defense that was able to slow Hubbard down. He was held to 111 yards on 24 carries.

“He had a little bit of room early. We made a few adjustments, settled in a little bit and defended the run a little better as the game went on,” Riley said. “I thought the d-line was pretty disruptive. There weren’t too many clean running lanes, especially after that first quarter. The few times he did get loose we did a good job of getting him on the ground. His longest was 22 yards. If you would’ve told us that before the game, we would’ve taken it.”

Senior Parnell Motley paced the OU defense with an interception and two forced fumbles.

The win was the Sooners four in a row since their stunning loss to Kansas State in October. It also runs its record to 21 straight wins in the month of November. The streak dates back to 2014.

The victory also keeps alive Oklahoma’s goal of making it to a third straight College Football Playoff. With Alabama and Minnesota over the weekend, the Sooner’s path becomes a little more clear.

But with the Big 12 Championship game taking place Saturday in Arlington, Riley doesn’t want his squad looking ahead.

“We’re just going to try to beat Baylor next week,” Riley said.

Michael Kinney is a Freelance Content Provider

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