Can Oklahoma Win without Bradford?

Last weekend, Oklahoma fans everywhere gasped in terror as their pride and joy, Heisman winner Sam Bradford, was injured playing against #20 BYU. It’s not as bad as it could be, as he won’t need surgery, but his throwing shoulder is sprained and recent reports say that he’ll miss at least two weeks – and as many as four weeks.

Image: Newscom

Now, BYU isn’t a bad team by any stretch of the imagination, but the Sooners were highly favored and things fell apart during the second half, as Bradford stood on the sidelines. So that begs the question: Can Oklahoma win without their start quarterback?

If he misses the maximum four games, the Sooners will play against the following teams without him:

1. Idaho State
2. Tulsa
3. #20 Miami
4. Baylor

In addition, it would mean that he’d be coming back, unpracticed for the most part, against #2 Texas. Ouch.

The real threat on this list of potential missed games is, of course, Miami. They defeated Florida State last week and could be an end to Oklahoma’s potential BCS bowl season. Don’t count Tulsa out of it either. They’re not a flashy team, but without Bradford, the sooners might not be able to get enough points on the board to defeat them. It’s a long shot for Tulsa…but then, Oklahoma should have been able to beat BYU too. Stranger things have happened.

Knowing Bradford, I expect him back for the Miami game. Everyone is different when it comes to healing, though, and if his shoulder still hurts significantly, I hope he doesn’t risk further damage by trying to practice and play.