Bradford looks to end building jinx at OU

MIAMI -- Sam Bradford is well aware of the problems Heisman Trophy winners have had in the postseason. Same goes for Oklahoma quarterbacks.

He just happens to be both.

"You don't need to think about negative things," he said. "I think I'm just going to prepare like a normal game."

Some of the most prolific quarterbacks in the Sooners' storied history have fallen flat on college football's biggest stage in the past few years, resulting in a streak of four straight BCS losses for Oklahoma.

It's a pattern that has stained the "Big Game Bob" reputation that coach Bob Stoops earned as he led Oklahoma to the 2000 national championship, and it'll be up to reigning Heisman-winner Bradford to stop it when the second-ranked Sooners (12-1) face No. 1 Florida (12-1) in the BCS championship game Thursday night.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford walks off the field following football practice at Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. Oklahoma plays Florida in the BCS Championship NCAA college football game on Thursday Jan. 8. (AP Photo/ Lynne Sladky)

"Definitely, I think that's a major factor in this game is the quarterback play," Stoops said. "But you know as well that it's what's surrounding him, too."

Bradford became the latest quarterback to fall victim to Oklahoma's postseason woes last year in a 48-28 loss to West Virginia. And, really, his performance -- 21 of 33 for 242 yards and two touchdowns -- looks pretty solid when compared to the Sooners' three prior BCS games.

It all started with Jason White's meltdown after he won the Heisman Trophy in 2003. In his worst game of the season, White completed only 13 of 37 passes for 102 yards with two interceptions against LSU in the Sugar Bowl. He followed that with a three-interception outing against Southern Cal in the Orange Bowl the following year, and Paul Thompson matched White's three picks in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State.

So naturally, the pressure is on Bradford to break through and outperform 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow, who just happens to be on the other sideline for Florida, right?

"It's not going to come down to one player and who plays better," Bradford said. "It's going to come down to who plays better as a team."

Still, Bradford learned a tough lesson in the Fiesta Bowl. He ended up with respectable numbers, but had a brutal start that put the Sooners in a hole they never could climb out of.

He started out 2 of 6, getting sacked twice on Oklahoma's opening drive and then throwing an interception in the end zone to snuff out the Sooners' best drive of the first half.

Bradford has sought advice from White on dealing with the aftermath of the Heisman and the national championship atmosphere, and Josh Heupel -- who guided Oklahoma to the 2000 championship -- is his quarterbacks coach.

Heupel said he thinks it's important on a bowl trip to make sure a player has a chance to enjoy himself early in the week, but then is able to refocus as the game approaches.

"Sam's been very focused all week," Heupel said. "He is certainly zeroing in, as is our football team, and he'll be ready to go."

Oklahoma's two BCS wins came without any huge quarterback stats, but also without key mistakes. Heupel was 25-for-39 for 214 yards with one interception in the Orange Bowl win, and Nate Hybl was a modest 10-for-29 for 240 yards with no picks and two scores in the 2003 Rose Bowl.

Perhaps the way for Bradford to overcome Oklahoma's recent struggles is to keep it simple -- even if he does lead the nation in quarterback rating and touchdown passes after completing 68 percent of his throws for 4,464 yards and a school-record 48 TDs.

A victory Thursday night would make Bradford only the fourth Heisman-winning quarterback since 1947 to win the national title in the same season. The others were Florida State's Charlie Ward (1993), Florida's Danny Wuerffel (1996) and USC's Matt Leinart (2004).

Among those who've struggled in bowl games after winning the Heisman recently are Florida State's Chris Weinke (2000), Nebraska's Eric Crouch (2001), White, and Ohio State's Troy Smith (2006).

"It's really hard for me to talk about previous winners and the difficulties they've had in their bowl games because I wasn't there when they were on their trip, so I don't know what they got caught up doing and how they got prepared for the game," Bradford said.

"I know as soon as I got back from New York I forgot about that experience, got back to business, getting ready to prepare for this game and help my team win."