Samaje Perine, Oklahoma running back, sets FBS rushing record in win over Kansas
Running back Samaje Perine of the Oklahoma Sooners breaks away from the Kansas Jayhawks to score Nov. 22, 2014 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla. Credit: Getty Images / Brett Deering
Oklahoma freshman Samaje Perine set a major college record by running for 427 yards in a driving rainstorm, scoring five touchdowns and leading the No. 23 Sooners over Kansas 44-7 Saturday.
A week after Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon set the mark by rushing for 408 yards against Nebraska, Perine ran past him.
Perine broke the 7-day-old record on his 34th and final carry, a 42-yard run with 12:16 left in the fourth quarter.
Perine got off a fast start, running for a 49-yard TD on his first carry. He added TD runs of 33 and 34 yards in the second quarter and scored on runs of 66 and 27 yards in the third.
In a game that started 90 minutes late because of lightning, Perine shattered the school rushing record of 294 yards set by Greg Pruitt in 1971.
The Sooners (8-3, 5-3 Big 12) held Kansas to 103 yards to win their second straight.
The Jayhawks (3-8, 1-7) lost their 29th straight true road game and 32nd in a row straight outside of Lawrence. Kansas had hoped to build on last week's 34-30 loss to then-No. 5 TCU, but the Jayhawks failed to produce any points on offense.
Perine carried the Sooners on an afternoon when they were minus their top passing threats.
Quarterback Trevor Knight sat out with a neck injury. Top receiver Sterling Shepard, who had been dealing with a nagging groin injury, left after a punt return in the first quarter. Tight end Blake Bell, who was second on the team with four touchdown catches, was out with a strained knee.
The injuries and the weather forced Oklahoma to depend almost entirely on its power running game.
Perine's first carry resulted in his 15th touchdown rushing, tying Adrian Peterson for Oklahoma's freshman record.
On his first carry of the second half, Perine bolted for his longest run of the season, a 66-yarder that made it 31-0.
Later in the third quarter, the crowd started chanting "Pe-rine! Pe-rine!" and he delivered. He got loose for a 27-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 to push the lead to 41-7.
Kansas scored when Cassius Sendish returned Keith Ford's fumble 63 yards for a touchdown.
The Sooners now have won 10 straight in the series -- the Jayhawks haven't beaten Oklahoma since 1997 and haven't won in Norman since 1996.
