Kyler Murray threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 99 yards and three more scores as No. 6 Oklahoma beat Kansas 55-40 on Saturday night in Norman, Okla.

Murray's performance kept him in the thick of the Heisman Trophy conversation and helped the Sooners overcome a monster day by Jayhawks' freshman running back Pooka Williams Jr., who ran for a career-high 252 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and also threw a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) particularly needed Murray's production on the ground, especially after starting running back Trey Sermon left the game with an injury after his first carry.

With two backs already out for the season with injuries, the Sooners had only Kennedy Brooks and T.J. Pledger healthy among their running backs.

But Brooks and Murray were enough, as the Sooners averaged 7.3 yards per rush. Brooks rushed for 171 yards and two scores. Oklahoma had 566 yards of total offense.

Kansas lost for the seventh time in eight games to drop to 3-8 and 1-7 despite averaging 9.7 yards per rush. The Jayhawks ran for 348 yards.

Even after Curtis Bolton put the Sooners up 48-24 with 12:05 remaining on his 9-yard return of Brayden Willis' blocked punt, the Jayhawks stayed in the game thanks to Williams' 42-yard touchdown run on the next drive, plus a two-point conversion that put Kansas within two possessions.

With their coach, David Beaty, having been fired two weeks earlier and coaching in lame duck status, Kansas certainly didn't slink away quietly.

The Jayhawks led on two occasions in the first half -- first taking advantage of a Brooks fumble and driving 93 yards for the game's first score and following with a field goal on their next drive to go up 10-7.

Other than on their two turnovers -- Murray also threw an interception on the first drive of the second half -- Oklahoma's offense scored on all of its other possessions until taking a knee to end the game.

--Field Level Media