OU football: DeMarco Murray chases scoring record
In today’s Oklahoman, I wrote about DeMarco Murray’s chase of the OU rushing record. But reader Chris Putnam points out that Murray also is chasing the Sooners’ scoring record. And it’s a record Murray has a lot better chance to set.
Murray has 270 career points; 45 touchdowns. The OU career leader in both points and TDs is Steve Owens, who scored 342 points and 57 touchdowns. Amazingly, in those days before overtime, Owens never scored a 2-point conversion. One of the all-time greats at getting four yards never scored a 2-point conversion? What were you thinking, Chuck Fairbanks and Barry Switzer?
Anyway, Murray needs 12 touchdowns to tie Owens in both points and touchdowns and needs 13 to break both records. Murray has averaged 15 TDs a year, while sharing time with Allen Patrick and Chris Brown.
Not as much platooning is expected this season, so this is a record Murray absolutely should break, barring injury.
Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray (7) stiff arms DeAundre Brown (5) during the first half of the college football game between The University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and The University of Tulsa Hurricanes (TU) at the Gaylord Family -- Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in Norman, Okla. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman.
Murray is benefited from more games. Owens scored his points in 32 career games. Murray already has played 36 career games, though I count it as 35 since he suffered a torn hamstring on the opening kickoff the 2008 Big 12 championship game.
Points-per-game is a record Owens will own forever: 10.7. But times change. The game changes and the schedule changes and raw numbers count for something, too. I’m no Ford Frick, the baseball commissioner known for besmirching Roger Maris’ home run record in 1961.
If Murray scored 13 touchdowns, or 12 TDs and a 2-point conversion, I will trumpet the feat. Look at it this way; Murray has scored 45 touchdowns in 36 games. Joe Washington scored 43 touchdowns in 46 games.
By the way, here are the top 10 scorers in OU football history.
1. 342: Steve Owens, 1967-69
2. 328: R.D. Lashar, 1987-90
3. 321: Tim Lashar, 1983-86
4. 318: Billy Sims, 1975-79
5. 313: Tim Duncan, 1999-01
6. 310: Garrett Hartley, 2004-07
7. 306: Trey DiCarlo, 2002-04
7. 306: Quentin Griffin, 1999-02
9. 270: Chris Brown, 2006-09
9. 270: DeMarco Murray, 2007-10
And here are the top 10 touchdown producers in OU history:
1. 57: Steve Owens, 1967-69
2. 53: Billy Sims, 1975-79
3. 51: Quentin Griffin, 1999-02
4. 45: Chris Brown, 2006-09
4. 45: DeMarco Murray, 2007-10
6. 43: Joe Washington, 1972-75
7. 41: Greg Pruitt, 1970-72
7. 41: Adrian Peterson, 2004-06
9. 37: Clendon Thomas, 1955-57
9. 37: George Thomas, 1946-49
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Just to keep players in perspective…Barry Sanders scored 44 touchdowns in 12 games (NCAA did not inlcude stats in bowl games back then, but I am for this reference) in 1988! One season. Averaged 3.66 Td’s per game or 22.0 points per game.