Big 12 Football: Top 20 quarterbacks since 2000
By Andrew Tineo
Career stats: 67.6% completions, 8,403 passing yards, 88 touchdowns, 16 interceptions
Especially in 2007, it wasn’t super common for freshmen to take over a blueblood program and to make waves within the program so early. That was the case for Sam Bradford. He went guns a blazing, throwing for 14 touchdowns in his first four games.
This was a time period when throwing the ball all over the yard was not quite as common, evolved from the roots of Mike Leach and Texas Tech. From five touchdowns against Texas A&M to three more and the go-ahead score in Red River versus Texas, Bradford stamped himself as one of the best freshmen in the country.
The roots of Bradford’s later demise grew in the Sooners game at Texas Tech where he injured his shoulder. The Sooners would go on to drop that game and finish the season 10-2.
Bradford would come back and throw for a combined 450 yards and four touchdowns in his final two games. One clinching the Big 12 title, while the other was a loss to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.
Quite possibly the best offense in Big 12 history, stemming from the 2008 Sooners, where Bradford was unconscious the entire season. Holding the record at 51 touchdowns, they only scored below 40 points twice all season.
Bradford had a three-game stretch scoring 60-plus points over three top-20 ranked teams, before scoring 62 and 66 on Nebraska and Texas A&M, respectively. Bradford with his astronomical 51 touchdowns, was the clear Heisman Trophy winner.
With a showdown with Florida for the national championship in Miami, Bradford was up for the challenge. Or so it seemed he was. The Oklahoma offense, which played like a Ferrari all season, turned into a regular sedan vehicle against the Gators. Oklahoma finished with just 14 points and was shutout in the first and third quarter.
The injury that got to Bradford near the end of 2007, came back to haunt him as he injured his throwing shoulder not even a full game into his 2009 season. Without any hesitation of more injury in college, Bradford decided to forgo his 2010 season and left for the NFL draft.