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DeMarco Murray and Ryan Broyles entered the season as the proven playmakers for No. 7 Oklahoma. They're not supposed to be the only ones making big plays, though.
Murray ran for a career-best 218 yards and two touchdowns and Broyles had 142 yards receiving with two scores in the Sooners' season-opening win against Utah State on Saturday night. But no other player gained more than 15 yards on any given play, heaping all of the heavy lifting onto Murray and Broyles.
It was enough to get the job done in Week 1, but the Sooners (1-0) will need more big plays from more people to be the kind of championship-caliber team they want to be.
Jason White had a stable of NFL-bound receivers on the way to playing for the BCS title at the end of the 2003 and 2004 seasons, and Sam Bradford could rely on any number of pass-catchers plus star tight end Jermaine Gresham the year before last.
There's a limit to how far Murray and Broyles can take the Sooners, no matter how much talent they possess.
''We need to get more people contributing, but those are definitely two guys that we definitely need to feature as much as we can every game if the situation allows it,'' offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said.
Coach Bob Stoops believes second-year receiver Cameron Kenney can develop into that type of player. He had a 19-yard touchdown catch called back because of an illegal shift prior to the play.
There's also a trio of freshman receivers - Kenny Stills, Trey Franks and Joe Powell - who impressed the coaching staff leading up to the opener, although none had much of an impact in the 31-24 win against Utah State. Backup running back Mossis Madu will also return next week against No. 20 Florida State after being suspended for the opener. He could provide some relief for Murray, who had a career-high 35 carries against Utah State.
''I would love to see other guys step up,'' Murray said. ''But if I don't have the ball, I want Ryan to have it. If Ryan don't have it, I want myself to have it. He's a playmaker, I'm a playmaker and we're two big keys to this offense.
''We definitely need some help out there.''
That includes on defense. The Sooners came up with three interceptions, including a game-clincher by Jamell Fleming in the final 5 minutes, but were beaten again and again by the Aggies receivers. Eight Utah State players had runs or receptions of over 15 yards against a defense that recorded three shutouts last season.
Stoops said it was an issue of Oklahoma's inexperienced secondary having someone in the vicinity but failing to act when the ball arrived.
''We need to have more fight in us, to go get those balls in the air, to stop that running game, to contain that quarterback,'' defensive captain Travis Lewis said. ''They're all easy adjustments. We just need to man up and go out there and do it.''
There's not much time to find a new batch of playmakers. The Seminoles pay a visit Saturday after winning a 59-6 rout over Samford, with seven different players scoring touchdowns.
''It's a great challenge this week,'' defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. ''You don't sit there and say, `Oh, no!' That's now how it works.
''These are guys that are more than capable of playing at high level and playing well on Saturday. That's the plan of attack here is to get things corrected and moved forward and improve from it and learn from it.''
