Collier11
11/19/2008, 12:54 PM
Big 12 Game of the Week
Texas Tech (10-0) at Oklahoma (9-1), 8:00 EST, ABCWhy to watch: Texas Tech is one game away from having a shot at the national title. One game. Oh sure, there’s the little matter of Baylor coming up next week, but make no mistake about it, this year, a one-loss Big 12 champion will be going to Miami on January 8th. Of course, Texas Tech will go to the big show if it’s unbeaten. First things first, the Red Raiders have to keep the momentum going from its historic two-game stretch of wins over Texas and Oklahoma State, and they have to overcome the revenge factor.
Oklahoma was deep in the hunt of the national title chase in mid-November of last year. The parts were clicking, the respect was there, and the down-the-stretch schedule, including what would turn out to be a date with the No. 1 team in the country, Missouri, in the Big 12 Championship had everything set up for a national championship slot. And then Sam Bradford got hurt, Texas Tech got rolling, and the Sooners couldn’t come back in a 34-27 loss in Lubbock. This year’s Sooner team might not have the defense of last year, but the offense is something special, leading the nation in scoring and is fourth in total offense. While all Bob Stoops and his team might be thinking about is getting by the No. 2 team in the nation, according to the BCS standings, style points are going to count. This is a beauty contest, plain and simple.
If Texas Tech beats OU, it’s over; it’ll be Tech vs. Missouri for the Big 12 Championship. If Oklahoma wins, it has to beat Oklahoma State next week to stay in the hunt for the title, and it has to win to keep Texas alive. Assuming Texas beats a lousy Texas A&M and Texas Tech beats Baylor, the three-way tie will come down to the BCS rankings. OU still has work to do, but if it can beat the Red Raiders and Cowboys with some sort of authority, it’ll be playing Mizzou.
The two teams have split the last four games, with the home team winning each time. The last time Texas Tech won in Norman was in 1996, but that was pre-Stoops and it was the first year of the Big 12. Since Stoops took over, OU has been dominant at home, but never more so than over the last four years. Since losing to TCU in the 2005 season opener, the Sooners are 23-0 winning by a combined score of 1,020 to 392. That’s an average score of 44 to 17. Oh yeah, and along the way, OU has one the last two Big 12 titles while Texas Tech is looking to play in its first. There’s a massive mountain for the Red Raiders to climb, but this is a special team looking to conquer its biggest challenge.
Why Texas Tech might win: Oklahoma’s defense stinks. The offense is national title good, but the D was mediocre to begin with and then it lost star LB Ryan Reynolds for the year to a knee injury, All-America-caliber pass rusher Auston English is out with a banged up knee, and key backup Alan Davis is out with a sprained knee. OU’s sack and tackle for loss stats might be amazing, but it’ll be down to three defensive ends against an offensive line that’s not giving up a thing. The Texas Tech front five has given up five sacks on the year in 499 pass attempts. Texas was able to get to Graham Harrell and at least lay a glove on him, while also coming up with two sacks, but it didn’t matter as the Heisman front-runner threw for 474 yards and two touchdowns. The Texas secondary is lousy, but OU’s has been almost as bad against the better passers on the slate. The cover-2 scheme will allow for big yards after the catch; Michael Crabtree could go ballistic. Even though he’ll be under the most intense pressure all season long, Harrell should be able to fire at will and get his receivers in a place to come up with big yards after the catch.
Why Oklahoma might win: Texas Tech, welcome to the power running game. Oklahoma State tried to go with a balanced attack against the Red Raiders, and it worked with 182 passing yards and 186 on the ground. However, Harrell was too busy throwing touchdown passes for the OSU gameplan to matter. OU should be able to use the same formula and it could work if only because the defense will get more pressure on Harrell than OSU was able to. Harrell won’t complete 40-of-50 passes on the Sooners. The OU offensive line is special, and not only will it keep the Texas Tech defensive front out of the backfield, but it should be able to pave the way to a huge day on the ground for DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown. Only one team really and truly tried to run the ball, Nevada, owner of the nation’s No. 1 rushing attack, and it cranked out 224 yards and pushed Tech well into the fourth quarter in a tough 35-19 loss. Murray and Brown each went over the 100-yard mark against Texas A&M.
Who to watch: The Heisman likely won’t be won in this game, but one almost certain finalist will be eliminated from the top spot. This is a game for the two stars; the two quarterbacks. Bradford is second in the nation in passing efficiency, and first in the Big 12, while Harrell is the nation’s leader in total offense. Bradford was 2-of-3 for 11 yards in last season’s game before getting knocked out with a concussion. This year he has been nothing short of magnificent, completing 68% of his passes for 3,406 yards and 38 touchdowns with a mere six interceptions. Interestingly enough, he has thrown two interceptions in just three games over the course of his young career. The first time was in last year’s loss to Colorado, the second was in this year’s win over Cincinnati, and the third time was in the loss to Texas. As good as Bradford has been, Harrell has been better. At the top of his game, Harrell has thrown for 4,077 yards and 36 touchdowns with five interceptions. He has had two, two interception games (Nevada and Texas A&M), and outside of the win over the Aggies, he hasn’t thrown an interception since September 6th. Getting sharper as the season has gone on, he’s coming off his magnum opus against Oklahoma State with 456 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions while completing 80% of his throws.
What will happen: It’s Oklahoma at home and with revenge on the brain. Texas Tech is the real deal, but for the first time all season long Harrell will have a few problems under pressure. Meanwhile, the balance of Oklahoma will turn out to be the different. There will be over 800 passing yards, a lot of big plays, and a giant statement made by the Sooners.
CFN Prediction: Oklahoma 48 … Texas Tech 37 ... Line: Oklahoma -6.5
Texas Tech (10-0) at Oklahoma (9-1), 8:00 EST, ABCWhy to watch: Texas Tech is one game away from having a shot at the national title. One game. Oh sure, there’s the little matter of Baylor coming up next week, but make no mistake about it, this year, a one-loss Big 12 champion will be going to Miami on January 8th. Of course, Texas Tech will go to the big show if it’s unbeaten. First things first, the Red Raiders have to keep the momentum going from its historic two-game stretch of wins over Texas and Oklahoma State, and they have to overcome the revenge factor.
Oklahoma was deep in the hunt of the national title chase in mid-November of last year. The parts were clicking, the respect was there, and the down-the-stretch schedule, including what would turn out to be a date with the No. 1 team in the country, Missouri, in the Big 12 Championship had everything set up for a national championship slot. And then Sam Bradford got hurt, Texas Tech got rolling, and the Sooners couldn’t come back in a 34-27 loss in Lubbock. This year’s Sooner team might not have the defense of last year, but the offense is something special, leading the nation in scoring and is fourth in total offense. While all Bob Stoops and his team might be thinking about is getting by the No. 2 team in the nation, according to the BCS standings, style points are going to count. This is a beauty contest, plain and simple.
If Texas Tech beats OU, it’s over; it’ll be Tech vs. Missouri for the Big 12 Championship. If Oklahoma wins, it has to beat Oklahoma State next week to stay in the hunt for the title, and it has to win to keep Texas alive. Assuming Texas beats a lousy Texas A&M and Texas Tech beats Baylor, the three-way tie will come down to the BCS rankings. OU still has work to do, but if it can beat the Red Raiders and Cowboys with some sort of authority, it’ll be playing Mizzou.
The two teams have split the last four games, with the home team winning each time. The last time Texas Tech won in Norman was in 1996, but that was pre-Stoops and it was the first year of the Big 12. Since Stoops took over, OU has been dominant at home, but never more so than over the last four years. Since losing to TCU in the 2005 season opener, the Sooners are 23-0 winning by a combined score of 1,020 to 392. That’s an average score of 44 to 17. Oh yeah, and along the way, OU has one the last two Big 12 titles while Texas Tech is looking to play in its first. There’s a massive mountain for the Red Raiders to climb, but this is a special team looking to conquer its biggest challenge.
Why Texas Tech might win: Oklahoma’s defense stinks. The offense is national title good, but the D was mediocre to begin with and then it lost star LB Ryan Reynolds for the year to a knee injury, All-America-caliber pass rusher Auston English is out with a banged up knee, and key backup Alan Davis is out with a sprained knee. OU’s sack and tackle for loss stats might be amazing, but it’ll be down to three defensive ends against an offensive line that’s not giving up a thing. The Texas Tech front five has given up five sacks on the year in 499 pass attempts. Texas was able to get to Graham Harrell and at least lay a glove on him, while also coming up with two sacks, but it didn’t matter as the Heisman front-runner threw for 474 yards and two touchdowns. The Texas secondary is lousy, but OU’s has been almost as bad against the better passers on the slate. The cover-2 scheme will allow for big yards after the catch; Michael Crabtree could go ballistic. Even though he’ll be under the most intense pressure all season long, Harrell should be able to fire at will and get his receivers in a place to come up with big yards after the catch.
Why Oklahoma might win: Texas Tech, welcome to the power running game. Oklahoma State tried to go with a balanced attack against the Red Raiders, and it worked with 182 passing yards and 186 on the ground. However, Harrell was too busy throwing touchdown passes for the OSU gameplan to matter. OU should be able to use the same formula and it could work if only because the defense will get more pressure on Harrell than OSU was able to. Harrell won’t complete 40-of-50 passes on the Sooners. The OU offensive line is special, and not only will it keep the Texas Tech defensive front out of the backfield, but it should be able to pave the way to a huge day on the ground for DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown. Only one team really and truly tried to run the ball, Nevada, owner of the nation’s No. 1 rushing attack, and it cranked out 224 yards and pushed Tech well into the fourth quarter in a tough 35-19 loss. Murray and Brown each went over the 100-yard mark against Texas A&M.
Who to watch: The Heisman likely won’t be won in this game, but one almost certain finalist will be eliminated from the top spot. This is a game for the two stars; the two quarterbacks. Bradford is second in the nation in passing efficiency, and first in the Big 12, while Harrell is the nation’s leader in total offense. Bradford was 2-of-3 for 11 yards in last season’s game before getting knocked out with a concussion. This year he has been nothing short of magnificent, completing 68% of his passes for 3,406 yards and 38 touchdowns with a mere six interceptions. Interestingly enough, he has thrown two interceptions in just three games over the course of his young career. The first time was in last year’s loss to Colorado, the second was in this year’s win over Cincinnati, and the third time was in the loss to Texas. As good as Bradford has been, Harrell has been better. At the top of his game, Harrell has thrown for 4,077 yards and 36 touchdowns with five interceptions. He has had two, two interception games (Nevada and Texas A&M), and outside of the win over the Aggies, he hasn’t thrown an interception since September 6th. Getting sharper as the season has gone on, he’s coming off his magnum opus against Oklahoma State with 456 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions while completing 80% of his throws.
What will happen: It’s Oklahoma at home and with revenge on the brain. Texas Tech is the real deal, but for the first time all season long Harrell will have a few problems under pressure. Meanwhile, the balance of Oklahoma will turn out to be the different. There will be over 800 passing yards, a lot of big plays, and a giant statement made by the Sooners.
CFN Prediction: Oklahoma 48 … Texas Tech 37 ... Line: Oklahoma -6.5