By Jojo Doria

Tallahassee, FL

Landry Jones showed poise with a 37-yard TD pass to Kenny Stills that proved to be the difference as the No.1 Oklahoma Sooners withstood pressure from No. 5 Florida State Seminoles to claim a 23-13 victory at hostile Doak Campbell Stadium Saturday night.

Last year's Sammy Baugh Award winner Jones, who is a leading Heisman Trophy contender this year, stepped up his game when it mattered most by launching the go-ahead strike to Stills.

Trailing 13-6 after three quarters, the Seminoles sent the partisan crowd at Doak Campbell into a frenzy as the hosts tied the game 13-all on backup quarterback Clint Trickett's hook up with Rashad Greene for a 56-yard TD strike with 9:32 left in the fourth quarter.

But instead of collapsing mentally and succumbing to pressure, the Sooners showed championship mettle with Jones following Trickett's huge TD pass with his own version to put Oklahoma back on top.

Jones, who had struggled on the road and has had fourth-quarter meltdowns in his stellar career, launched a 22-yard strike to Ryan Broyles, then hit Stills in the end zone for the tie-breaking score.

Jones' final two throws in the contest were considered his best. He completed 18-of-27 passes for 199 yards with one TD and two interceptions for the Sooners (2-0)

Defense was also key in the victory, and Oklahoma got an unexpected boost with the return of their senior leader, Travis Lewis. The star linebacker came back early from a broken left toe to start against Florida State.

The often-maligned Oklahoma defense was vicious Saturday as it knocked out FSU starting quarterback EJ Manuel of the game in the third quarter with a bruised shoulder, while repeatedly checking Trickett, who kept the Seminoles in the contest.

Manuel completed 13-of-19 passes. He ran for 49 yards and threw two interceptions for the Seminoles (2-1).

 

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Oklahoma Passes First Major Test: Outlasts Pesky Florida State