ousooners182
10/8/2008, 02:27 AM
Oklahoma (5-0) vs. Texas (5-0)
September 13th, 12 ET, ABC
This one sort of snuck up on everyone.
Texas vs. Oklahoma never quite became heyday Miami vs. Florida State or Ohio State vs. Michigan when it came to gripping the national consciousness, but it was always a circle game on the college football calendar. Either the Longhorns or the Sooners have represented the South in the Big 12 title game in each of the last nine seasons, and the winner play for the national title four times over that span.
But even with the history of these two great rivals, and with all the recent success as the Big 12's two powerhouses, this game was little more than an afterthought this preseason when it came to looking ahead at the schedules, and it was certainly supposed to take a backseat this weekend with Florida and LSU battling.
Missouri is ranked No. 2 in the country, and teams like Kansas, Texas Tech, and this year, Oklahoma State, have horned in on the Texas spotlight a bit to take the preseason luster off this showdown.
And then there's the Oklahoma factor.
It takes two to make a rivalry, but outside of the Vince Young-led 2005 season, the Big 12 has been Oklahoma's world and everyone is paying rent. That includes Texas.
OU has played in five of the last six Big 12 title games, with 2005 the lone blip on the map, and won four of those. Texas, for all its pomp and circumstance, won the one Big 12 title in 2005 and won its only other championship in 1996 when John Mackovic was the head coach.
So while everyone expected Oklahoma to be 5-0 and dominant coming into this week, getting a preseason No. 4 ranking in the Coaches' and AP polls, Texas wasn't expected to do too much. Handed a courtesy your-name-is-Texas ranking of 11th in the preseason AP poll and 10th n the Coaches', it has had to earn its way into national respect. Even with a great five games, led by a scintillating season so far from QB Colt McCoy, Texas is still not even seen as the second star in its own league. That can all change with one big win.
When it comes to the national title pecking order, the SEC gets first dibs over everyone else if all things are equal, but the Big 12 gets the second slot. It's this simple for Texas, as well as Oklahoma: win your next eight games and you'll be playing for the national title. Actually, one loss, unless it comes in the Big 12 title game, could still mean a spot in Miami on January 8th.
But for now, Miami isn't even a thought for the Texas and OU teams, coaches and fan bases. This is the Super Bowl of the Big 12 season for the fans. Both teams are national title good, both teams have Heisman caliber star power, and both teams are playing well. Really, really well.
There's no limping into this week. There was no hiccup of a lookahead performance. Oklahoma has obliterated everything in its path with cold, ruthless efficiency averaging 49.6 points per game and allowing just 13.8 per outing. Cincinnati threw a mini-scare into the Sooners for a half, but that was quickly dismissed by a breathtaking Sooner scoring run in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Texas has been even more dominant. The Colorado game last week wasn't as close as the 38-14 final might suggest, while the Longhorns won three of their first four games 52-10. The other win was a 42-13 pasting of UTEP.
So welcome back to the Red River Rivalry. You weren't planning on it and you weren't prepared for it, but you got a nice gem of a game from out of the blue
Players to watch: This might be a battle to see who the lead dog will be in the national title chase, but it'll also potentially determine the Heisman front-runner. With all due respect to Missouri's Chase Daniel, if Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford or Texas QB Colt McCoy goes lights out, the Heisman is the his for the taking.
Could Bradford handle the new changes to the offense? That was the question mark this off-season as the sophomore struggled a bit with the new quick-timing passing game that required quicker decisions and for the ball to get out of his hands faster. There were some rocky practices and a little bit of worrying about tinkering with what worked. After all, Bradford led the nation in passing efficiency last year throwing 36 touchdown passes while spreading out eight interceptions. Instead, Bradford has been even better. He threw two interceptions against Cincinnati, but he made up for it with five touchdown passes and 395 yards. He completed 17-of-22 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns in the opening day blowout over Chattanooga, he wasn't needed for most of the game, and he has turned his game up another notch over the last three weeks highlighted by a razor-sharp 18-of-21, 304-yard, five touchdown day in the win over Washington. While he's No. 2 in the nation in passing efficiency behind Tulsa's David Johnson, he's not a runner.
Not only has McCoy run the ball well, he's leading the Longhorns with 317 yards and four touchdowns with a 103-yard day against Florida Atlantic. While he's not the dynamic running Vince Young was, he's been almost as productive while taking his passing to another level completing 103-of-130 passes for 1,280 yards and 16 touchdowns with three interceptions. Other than the three interceptions, several of the 24 misses were drops. Many quarterbacks couldn't complete 79% of their passes vs. air; McCoy is making it look easy. As good as McCoy and Bradford might be, they're getting a lot of help by getting a lot of time.
Right tackle Kyle Hix, right guard Cedrick Dockery, center Chris Hall, left guard Charlie Tanner, and left tackle Adam Ulatoski. The Longhorn offensive line hasn't been a brick wall, but it hasn't been bad allowing just seven sacks on the year. A few of those came because McCoy was trying to run. McCoy has been devastating, and he's even better when he's allowed to have ten minutes to throw. Texas doesn't have the receiving corps OU has, so McCoy needs the extra half tick that Bradford, who has a group of NFL caliber targets, doesn't.
Oklahoma's offensive line of tackle Phil Loadholt and Duke Robinson on an All-America left side, Jon Cooper in the middle (even with a slight knee injury) and guard Brandon Walker and tackle Trent Williams on the right side is the best in America. If it's not, it's in the top three. All five starters will earn all-star honors, and most will see time in NFL camps with Robinson likely to be very rich next year at this time. They allowed four sacks to TCU's phenomenal pass rush, and now they'll be tested again against Will Muschamp's Texas defense that leads the nation in sacks.
No one has benefitted more from the new defensive coordinator than senior Brian Orakpo, a 6-4, 260-pound speed rusher who has 5.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 19 tackles on the year. He needs to know what kind of gum Bradford is chewing for the mediocre Texas secondary to have any chance of survival against the tremendous OU receivers.
Oklahoma will win if ... Bradford doesn't get touched. Last year, when Bradford was pressured, more often than not he was a bit off. When he gets time, and when his receivers are able to use their speed to run their deep routes, they're unbeatable. Texas has been able to hide its shaky secondary with a pass rush that's been hitting every quarterback early and often. Bradford will have to eat a few sacks, but as long as his internal clock isn't moving things up a half-tick, the offense should be solid. Defensively, the OU pass rush has been fantastic and the secondary has benefitted. No, the Sooners haven't played Texas Tech yet, but it's not like Cincinnati can't throw.
Texas will win if ... it keeps OU's big plays to a minimum. If this turns into any sort of a tight defensive battle, the edge might go to Texas because of the field position factor. The Longhorn punting game has been fantastic so far, netting a Big 12-best 40.59 yards per boot, while the return game has been fine, but nothing special. Meanwhile, OU has been awful punting the ball and has surprisingly gotten little pop from the punt return game. As long as Texas isn't giving up home runs and is forcing the Sooners to start deep in their own territory time and again, it'll be in control of the game.
What will happen: Texas will be better than you think, but it'll need to prevent the type of run OU has come up with game after game to put games away. The Sooner defense will tee off on Colt McCoy and dare the Longhorns to win with someone else. RB Fozzy Whittaker is struggling to get back from a knee injury, Chris Ogbonnaya isn't consistent, and the receivers, even Quan Cosby, aren't going to scare the OU defense. Texas will hang around for more than a half, but will start to give up a few big pass plays in the third quarter. The Sooners will get up by double-digit points, and then McCoy will find a groove and make it interesting late. In the end, OU will have too much on both sides of the ball.
CFN Prediction: Oklahoma 26 ... Texas 17 ... Line: Oklahoma -7
Must See Rating: (5 The Girls Next Door: Season 5 - 1 2008 Chicago Cub Playoff Highlights) … 5
September 13th, 12 ET, ABC
This one sort of snuck up on everyone.
Texas vs. Oklahoma never quite became heyday Miami vs. Florida State or Ohio State vs. Michigan when it came to gripping the national consciousness, but it was always a circle game on the college football calendar. Either the Longhorns or the Sooners have represented the South in the Big 12 title game in each of the last nine seasons, and the winner play for the national title four times over that span.
But even with the history of these two great rivals, and with all the recent success as the Big 12's two powerhouses, this game was little more than an afterthought this preseason when it came to looking ahead at the schedules, and it was certainly supposed to take a backseat this weekend with Florida and LSU battling.
Missouri is ranked No. 2 in the country, and teams like Kansas, Texas Tech, and this year, Oklahoma State, have horned in on the Texas spotlight a bit to take the preseason luster off this showdown.
And then there's the Oklahoma factor.
It takes two to make a rivalry, but outside of the Vince Young-led 2005 season, the Big 12 has been Oklahoma's world and everyone is paying rent. That includes Texas.
OU has played in five of the last six Big 12 title games, with 2005 the lone blip on the map, and won four of those. Texas, for all its pomp and circumstance, won the one Big 12 title in 2005 and won its only other championship in 1996 when John Mackovic was the head coach.
So while everyone expected Oklahoma to be 5-0 and dominant coming into this week, getting a preseason No. 4 ranking in the Coaches' and AP polls, Texas wasn't expected to do too much. Handed a courtesy your-name-is-Texas ranking of 11th in the preseason AP poll and 10th n the Coaches', it has had to earn its way into national respect. Even with a great five games, led by a scintillating season so far from QB Colt McCoy, Texas is still not even seen as the second star in its own league. That can all change with one big win.
When it comes to the national title pecking order, the SEC gets first dibs over everyone else if all things are equal, but the Big 12 gets the second slot. It's this simple for Texas, as well as Oklahoma: win your next eight games and you'll be playing for the national title. Actually, one loss, unless it comes in the Big 12 title game, could still mean a spot in Miami on January 8th.
But for now, Miami isn't even a thought for the Texas and OU teams, coaches and fan bases. This is the Super Bowl of the Big 12 season for the fans. Both teams are national title good, both teams have Heisman caliber star power, and both teams are playing well. Really, really well.
There's no limping into this week. There was no hiccup of a lookahead performance. Oklahoma has obliterated everything in its path with cold, ruthless efficiency averaging 49.6 points per game and allowing just 13.8 per outing. Cincinnati threw a mini-scare into the Sooners for a half, but that was quickly dismissed by a breathtaking Sooner scoring run in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Texas has been even more dominant. The Colorado game last week wasn't as close as the 38-14 final might suggest, while the Longhorns won three of their first four games 52-10. The other win was a 42-13 pasting of UTEP.
So welcome back to the Red River Rivalry. You weren't planning on it and you weren't prepared for it, but you got a nice gem of a game from out of the blue
Players to watch: This might be a battle to see who the lead dog will be in the national title chase, but it'll also potentially determine the Heisman front-runner. With all due respect to Missouri's Chase Daniel, if Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford or Texas QB Colt McCoy goes lights out, the Heisman is the his for the taking.
Could Bradford handle the new changes to the offense? That was the question mark this off-season as the sophomore struggled a bit with the new quick-timing passing game that required quicker decisions and for the ball to get out of his hands faster. There were some rocky practices and a little bit of worrying about tinkering with what worked. After all, Bradford led the nation in passing efficiency last year throwing 36 touchdown passes while spreading out eight interceptions. Instead, Bradford has been even better. He threw two interceptions against Cincinnati, but he made up for it with five touchdown passes and 395 yards. He completed 17-of-22 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns in the opening day blowout over Chattanooga, he wasn't needed for most of the game, and he has turned his game up another notch over the last three weeks highlighted by a razor-sharp 18-of-21, 304-yard, five touchdown day in the win over Washington. While he's No. 2 in the nation in passing efficiency behind Tulsa's David Johnson, he's not a runner.
Not only has McCoy run the ball well, he's leading the Longhorns with 317 yards and four touchdowns with a 103-yard day against Florida Atlantic. While he's not the dynamic running Vince Young was, he's been almost as productive while taking his passing to another level completing 103-of-130 passes for 1,280 yards and 16 touchdowns with three interceptions. Other than the three interceptions, several of the 24 misses were drops. Many quarterbacks couldn't complete 79% of their passes vs. air; McCoy is making it look easy. As good as McCoy and Bradford might be, they're getting a lot of help by getting a lot of time.
Right tackle Kyle Hix, right guard Cedrick Dockery, center Chris Hall, left guard Charlie Tanner, and left tackle Adam Ulatoski. The Longhorn offensive line hasn't been a brick wall, but it hasn't been bad allowing just seven sacks on the year. A few of those came because McCoy was trying to run. McCoy has been devastating, and he's even better when he's allowed to have ten minutes to throw. Texas doesn't have the receiving corps OU has, so McCoy needs the extra half tick that Bradford, who has a group of NFL caliber targets, doesn't.
Oklahoma's offensive line of tackle Phil Loadholt and Duke Robinson on an All-America left side, Jon Cooper in the middle (even with a slight knee injury) and guard Brandon Walker and tackle Trent Williams on the right side is the best in America. If it's not, it's in the top three. All five starters will earn all-star honors, and most will see time in NFL camps with Robinson likely to be very rich next year at this time. They allowed four sacks to TCU's phenomenal pass rush, and now they'll be tested again against Will Muschamp's Texas defense that leads the nation in sacks.
No one has benefitted more from the new defensive coordinator than senior Brian Orakpo, a 6-4, 260-pound speed rusher who has 5.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 19 tackles on the year. He needs to know what kind of gum Bradford is chewing for the mediocre Texas secondary to have any chance of survival against the tremendous OU receivers.
Oklahoma will win if ... Bradford doesn't get touched. Last year, when Bradford was pressured, more often than not he was a bit off. When he gets time, and when his receivers are able to use their speed to run their deep routes, they're unbeatable. Texas has been able to hide its shaky secondary with a pass rush that's been hitting every quarterback early and often. Bradford will have to eat a few sacks, but as long as his internal clock isn't moving things up a half-tick, the offense should be solid. Defensively, the OU pass rush has been fantastic and the secondary has benefitted. No, the Sooners haven't played Texas Tech yet, but it's not like Cincinnati can't throw.
Texas will win if ... it keeps OU's big plays to a minimum. If this turns into any sort of a tight defensive battle, the edge might go to Texas because of the field position factor. The Longhorn punting game has been fantastic so far, netting a Big 12-best 40.59 yards per boot, while the return game has been fine, but nothing special. Meanwhile, OU has been awful punting the ball and has surprisingly gotten little pop from the punt return game. As long as Texas isn't giving up home runs and is forcing the Sooners to start deep in their own territory time and again, it'll be in control of the game.
What will happen: Texas will be better than you think, but it'll need to prevent the type of run OU has come up with game after game to put games away. The Sooner defense will tee off on Colt McCoy and dare the Longhorns to win with someone else. RB Fozzy Whittaker is struggling to get back from a knee injury, Chris Ogbonnaya isn't consistent, and the receivers, even Quan Cosby, aren't going to scare the OU defense. Texas will hang around for more than a half, but will start to give up a few big pass plays in the third quarter. The Sooners will get up by double-digit points, and then McCoy will find a groove and make it interesting late. In the end, OU will have too much on both sides of the ball.
CFN Prediction: Oklahoma 26 ... Texas 17 ... Line: Oklahoma -7
Must See Rating: (5 The Girls Next Door: Season 5 - 1 2008 Chicago Cub Playoff Highlights) … 5