DALLAS -- Oklahoma tailback Allen Patrick was laid out on the field early in the third quarter. He didn't look good. I'll be honest with you -- he looked dead.

This is going to sound crass, but it was the best thing that happened to the Sooners on Saturday.

DeMarco Murray's 65-yard TD tilts things in Oklahoma's favor. (AP)

With Patrick out of the game with an undisclosed injury, the Sooners had no choice but to give the ball to redshirt freshman DeMarco Murray. And Murray responded by rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown in the second half, leading No. 10 Oklahoma to a season-saving 28-21 victory against No. 19 Texas.

Why it took Patrick's injury for OU coach Bob Stoops to force-feed the ball to Murray, I couldn't tell you. Stoops is supposed to be smart, but after watching Murray for the first time, I'm not so sure. A smart coach would give Murray the ball until he throws up, then use his own shirt to wipe Murray's face before sending him back onto the field.

But Stoops was a desperate coach. The score was tied early in the third quarter of a must-win game. Both teams were coming off ugly upset losses the previous week, and any hope for the Big 12 title hinged on winning this one. Texas was moving the ball through the air, with quarterback Colt McCoy connecting with tight end Jermichael Finley four times for 149 yards, including gains and 55 and 58 and a touchdown of 22 yards.

Texas didn't look like the team that got smoked at home by Kansas State. Texas looked like a team that could beat the heavily favored Sooners. So there was Stoops' starting tailback sprawled on the Cotton Bowl field -- toes pointing upward -- like he was asleep, unconscious or dead. Stoops had no choice. He sent Murray onto the field.

Three carries later, Murray scored from long distance. He's only six games into his college career, but that's what he does -- he scores on long, long runs. His 65-yarder in the third quarter gave Oklahoma the lead, and then his tenacity in the fourth quarter kept it there. If Stoops is the kind of guy who gives out game balls, there better have been one waiting in Murray's locker.

Murray finished with 128 yards on 17 carries. After spending the first half being treated like a fancy wine -- something to be savored in small doses -- Murray was pounded like malt liquor in the fourth quarter. He carried the ball nine times for 28 yards. He caught two passes for 10 yards. And he had his most spectacular run wiped out by penalty, a 39-yarder that would have given the Sooners a first down at the Texas 11. On the play, Murray started left and eluded four tacklers -- cutting in front of one, bursting past another, stepping out of the tackle of a third and stiff-arming a fourth.

That play was even more ridiculous than his 65-yard touchdown, which was plenty ridiculous. Murray bounced a handoff left, bolted through a seam and encountered Oklahoma tight end Joe Jon Finley on the ground. Murray took off in mid-stride, hurdling Finley without slowing down and then outrunning the Texas secondary to the end zone.

But this is what Murray does. He has scored this season on a 92-yard touchdown run, the third-longest in OU history. He has scored on an 81-yard kickoff return. He almost broke a 91-yard return earlier Saturday, reaching midfield before being tripped by the Texas kicker. During three spring scrimmages, Murray gained 327 yards on 27 carries, scoring three times from at least 65 yards. In a fall scrimmage, he had 105 yards on nine carries.

Stoops was asked about Murray's knack for the long run -- and almost seemed offended.

"Absolutely no question he's not just an electrifying guy you see going all the way," Stoops said. "He's a very powerful, hard-hitting back."

Murray is next in the line of great OU backs, a list that includes Billy Vessels, Steve Owens, Greg Pruitt, Joe Washington, Billy Sims, Marcus Dupree and Adrian Peterson. Vessels, Owens and Sims won the Heisman. Pruitt, Washington and Peterson should have. And the injury-prone, hamburger-prone Dupree was the most gifted of them all.

Before he's finished Murray will belong somewhere on that list, and he most resembles the greatest of them all -- Sims, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft. They have similar bodies (Murray is 6-foot, 207 pounds; Sims was 6-0, 212) and skill sets: sprinters with excellent hands and the ability to get tough yards. Both even missed their freshman seasons with injuries, Murray redshirting last year with turf toe.

Maybe you think I'm not qualified to compare Murray to Sims. That's fair. Would you take the word of Oklahoma's quarterback when Sims arrived on campus in 1975? That was Dean Blevins, now an Oklahoma City television anchor. Here's Blevins:

"Billy had that same burst, those same hands, and that same ability to get the tough yards," Blevins said. "They're almost identical in size. (Murray) really is a carbon copy. Whether he becomes another Billy Sims, I don't know. That's a long time away."

Murray's time is at hand. Patrick, a senior, has been a loyal company man. He's a good back, having gained 761 yards last season behind Peterson and 401 through five games this season. But before his injury, Patrick had 11 carries Saturday for 10 yards. He was going nowhere, just like the Oklahoma offense.

An hour later, Murray had 128 yards and Oklahoma had its silly Gold Hat, which goes to the annual winner of this game. Actually, Murray had the hat. He was goofing around, wearing the shiny metallic lid after the game -- right as an electrical storm was hitting the Texas State Fairgrounds.

An OU coach urged Murray to take off the hat and get into the locker room. The next king of Oklahoma football did as he was told. Bigger and gaudier crowns await.