Former head coach Bob Stoops and then offensive coordinators Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell gave the people what they wanted. Perine toted the rock on seven consecutive plays on the next Sooners’ possession, gaining 52 more yards.
Now, 340 yards.
Everyone in the stadium became math majors as Oklahoma came out once more on offense. The Sooners were up 34-7 and their best running back had 26 carries on a sloppy field. It made sense to sit Perine and let the air out of the ball, but everyone knew there was a chance at history.
Oklahoma continued with a heavy dose of Perine, handing it off to him four consecutive times, resulting in a 27-yard touchdown on fourth-and-2, making the score 41-7.
This gave Perine 395 yards on the day. He needed just 14 more for the record. The crowd turned mathematicians once again let out their chants.
“PERINE! PERINE! PERINE!”
Still unfazed, he ran back onto the field. This time he could only muster three yards, including just his second rush of the game that went for negative or no gain. The drive ended in a punt.
He had 378 yards and five touchdowns through three quarters. He tied the Big 12 record for most rushing yards in a game already, would Stoops let him back out there?
As the Sooners’ special teams jogged off once more after Kansas was forced to punt, a now familiar sound echoed in the stadium.
“PERINE! PERINE! PERINE!”
The crowd burst into excitement as they saw the rain soaked jersey with the number 32 stitched on it, setup in the backfield once more.
Through the cheers, I heard quips of encouragement as if he needed to be pushed by the fans anymore.
“30 more!” one man exclaimed.
“C’mon Samaje, you got this!” a boy shouted.
The next snap saw a handoff and the crowd gasped as Perine bounced outside to the left but was tripped up for a gain of seven. Needing 23 yards to tie the NCAA record for most rushing yards in one game, Perine took the handoff from Cody Thomas out of the pistol formation. The play was supposed to go off tackle to the right but Perine found a hole where the right guard was and gashed the Jayhawks for 42-yards.
What happened next can only be explained as insanity. Stoops immediately called a timeout to allow Perine to be mauled by his teammate as if he just hit a walk-off home run. The crowd that remained seemed as loud as a sold-out stadium.
Finishing at 427 rushing yards, Samaje Perine’s name was forever etched into Oklahoma lore and the NCAA record books.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]