Samaje Perine – Photo curtsey The Oklahoman

Sports writer Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman has produced some marvelous coverage over the years – some infuriating, but all well thought and well written.

In this year’s OU vs. OSU Bedlam coverage Carlson surpasses, in our humble opinion, all previous work with an observation asserting “OU running back Samaje Perine taking a knee instead of scoring a touchdown was Bedlam’s best play.”

Carlson begins: Samaje Perine took the handoff and immediately saw the end zone.

With the Oklahoma offensive line clearing away all Oklahoma State defenders in the red zone late in Bedlam, the only thing the Sooner running back had to do was run straight ahead. It might’ve been his simplest yards of the afternoon. Might’ve been his easiest touchdown of the season, too.

Samaje Perine

But he never reached the end zone.

Two yards shy of the goal line, Perine hit the brakes. He took a knee.

It was the best play of the day.

With less than a minute remaining and the Sooners leading 38-20, Perine showed that his heart is even bigger than his biceps. He chose mercy over malevolence, propriety over points, sportsmanship over stats.

Asked after the game why he took a knee instead of a touchdown, Perine responded with a why-is-that-even-a-question look.

“I mean, what’s the point of scoring?” he said. “We’re already up by two touchdowns. There’s only a few seconds left, so there’s no need to run up the score.

“I just did what I thought was the right thing to do.”

Read the full story on The Oklahoman by clicking here – you will be glad you did.