Published: September 28, 2008 11:01 pm         

Turnover battle helps Sooners grab No. 1 spot in both polls

NORMAN — Sam Bradford may have thrown for 411 yards and Manuel Johnson may have had a school record 206 yards in receptions.

But the key stat in Oklahoma’s 35-7 win over No. 24 Texas Christian Saturday may have been the turnover ratio. The Sooners did not have a turnover while forcing four from TCU — two fumbles and two interceptions.

The miscues stopped the Horned Frogs at the TCU 44, OU 35, OU 36 and the OU 18.

The Sooners have not lost a fumble this season.

“It’s big,’’ said OU coach Bob Stoops. “Our guys are doing a good job of being responsible and taking care of the football. Fortunately, we got some turnovers which make a difference in a game.’’

The Sooner defense has gone consecutive games without allowing a first-half touchdown for the first time since 2006.

TCU, which had been averaging 248.8 yards a game rushing, had only 102 Saturday. Horned Frogs quarterbacks were sacked three times.

TCU’s lone touchdown — a 1-yard run by Joseph Turner — came after the Sooners had built a 35-3 lead.

“I was excited about how active our front four were,’’ Stoops said.

OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables had set a goal of keeping TCU under 125 yards rushing. The Frogs averaged only 2.9 yards per carry.

“We felt like if we did, the game would not be close,’’ Venables said.

It wasn’t.

“We emphasize stopping the run,’’ OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said after the game. “To come out here and do that tonight gives us a little boost. We’re not going to get big-headed and beat our chests, but it gives us a little boost to know that we came in and did what we had to do.’’

No. 1 on OU’s priority list was to put pressure on the quarterbacks, McCoy said.

“We wanted to get him out of his comfort zone,’’ McCoy said, “to make it easier on our backs and I think we did that tonight.’’

Defensive back Bryant Jackson second-quarter interception was his third takeaway in the last three contests.

Jackson, linebacker Travis Lewis and safety Nic Harris all were singled out by Stoops for their play.

“GK (Gerald McCoy) was huge tonight,’’ said Lewis, who was credited with four unassisted and four assisted tackles. “He was getting double teamed and was still getting into the backfield.

“Corey Bennett (defensive tackle) came up big on a lot of big plays. Our defensive line is why we shut down the run. They controlled the line of scrimmage all night.’’

No Sooner had more than eight tackles. All three linebackers (Lewis, Ryan Reynolds and Keenan Clayton) had eight stops, while Lendy Holmes had seven and Harris and Jeremy Beal had five.

“I thought collectively as a unit, they played really well and within themselves and within the system,’’ Venables said. “They were physical and I really liked how hard they played.’’

The one negative might have been kickoff coverage. TCU’s first-half field goal was set up on a kickoff return to the OU 11.

The Horned Frogs averaged 30.2 yards on six kickoff returns.

“That’s one of the things our guys have to keep learning how to do and keep executing,’’ Stoops said. “We have put a lot of time into it.’’

OU, 4-0 overall, will enter Big 12 Conference play Saturday at Baylor. The Sooners could especially be happy to be undefeated after a week in which four top 10 teams (No. 1 USC, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Florida and No. 9 Wisconsin fell).

“We feel we have played pretty well going into conference,’’ Stoops said. “You just have to keep getting better as you practice and as you play games. You hope you can clean some things up and continue to play better as you are challenged.’’