ARLINGTON, Texas — Sam Bradford, who would have been the top pick in April’s NFL draft, sacrificed millions to stay at Oklahoma because he wanted to help the Sooners win a national championship.

Whether he admits it or not, Bradford will spend the next few weeks second-guessing that decision.
His world changed with seven seconds left in the first half of BYU’s 14-13 upset win over the Sooners on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium.
That’s when blitzing linebacker Coleby Clawson hit Bradford and drove him into the turf, landing with all of his weight on Bradford’s right shoulder. Bradford immediately began writhing on the ground, while some dude named Landry Jones began warming up on the OU sideline.
A few minutes later, two trainers escorted Bradford, who held his arm snugly against his body, to the locker room as reality set in for the Sooner Nation.
OU isn’t going to win the national championship, Bradford isn’t going to join Archie Griffin as the only two-time Heisman winner and there’s no guarantee he’ll even be the top player picked in the 2010 draft.
Bradford lost quite a bit Saturday night.
This is why you should never, ever criticize athletes or question their loyalty when they turn pro, especially when they’ve been advised that they’ll be drafted in the first round.
The risk is too high.
Bradford watched the second half from the sideline in a gray T-shirt and his football pants, a bag of ice strapped tightly to his shoulder, and his arm was in a sling.
Right now, no one knows when Bradford is coming back. Right now, no one can even tell you if Bradford is coming back.
We all assume he’ll be back, but until OU’s doctors give Bradford an MRI and check for ligament and tissue damage, only a fool would bet his paycheck that Bradford will throw another pass for the Sooners.
His injury typically takes six to eight weeks to heal, but that’s for a regular person — not a quarterback in one of college football’s toughest conferences.
And if OU loses another game — think Texas — before Bradford heals, then it probably doesn’t make sense for him to return this season. He’s already sacrificed a ton of cash. There’s no need for him to risk dropping in the draft because of a damaged shoulder.
It’s time for Bradford to look out for himself. He’s already proved his loyalty to the Sooner Nation.
After watching BYU upset the Sooners, we should all understand why every question about OU’s prowess this season began with its offensive line.
None of us expected it to be as good as last year’s line because four new players were starting, and left tackle Trent Williams was changing positions.
Besides, OU scored a record-setting 716 points last season, and it simply isn’t fair to expect any offense to duplicate those kinds of outrageous numbers, even with Bradford at quarterback.
But no one expected the offensive line to be abject.
The Sooners couldn’t consistently create running lanes. Or protect their quarterbacks. Oklahoma totaled just 265 yards and 15 first downs.
Still, OU had a chance to clinch the game early in the fourth quarter, but it couldn’t move BYU’s defensive line on second-and-goal from the 2.
The offensive line did, however, do a wonderful job of committing penalties.
The line committed nine penalties and BYU declined two others. Tackle Cory Brandon’s false start on third-and-10 late in the fourth quarter forced Tress Way to attempt a 54-yard field goal with 1:23 left.
The kick, a couple of yards outside his range, fell short.
At that point, all Bradford could do was hope for a miracle that didn’t occur. Maybe, we’ll see him again in the Cotton Bowl.