I was so ready to write an obituary for Texas Head Football Coach Tom Herman for the Red River Rivalry this week.
My Soonerguys lede was going to proclaim three things were likely to happen to the Texas head coach after an OU victory in Dallas Saturday: 1. Herman gets fired while crawling battered and bruised to the bus going back to Austin; 2. He gets the axe on Sunday while he’s on his knees praying in church; 3. He gets butchered before his Monday press conference.
Once again, thanks for nothing, Texas. I had to scrap my original column because of you burnt-orange-clad $#@!*%&@!s
Like I need another reason to hate you.
Texas enters the Red River Rivalry with a puzzling 4-1 record. Which team will the Sooners face Saturday? The one that got thumped at home by Maryland on the season’s opening weekend and barely got by Tulsa the following Saturday, or the one that beat up on TCU and Kansas State?
Let’s get this straight. Texas isn’t a great a team. They also don’t stink the way they have the last few years.
You can check a bevy of NCAA team statistics and the Longhorns won’t be in the top 20 of any of them. On paper, you could argue they should be 1-4 if the football gods hadn’t saved them. They’ve had to come from behind to win. They are having problems on both sides of the ball.
Every single thing says OU should win handily in the Cotton Bowl this weekend, ruining the Short Horn’s season – and that’s why I’m worried.
OU-UT can be unpredictable because of the sheer hatred that rises from the floor of the Cotton Bowl the second Saturday of every October. A team’s shortcomings always get highlighted in this game.
Saturday smells to me like an upset special pick to me.
I have no doubt in my mind the Sooner offense is going to light Texas up. Too many offensive weapons (including head coach Lincoln Riley) make that almost a given.
What worries me, as it has worried so many over the last few years, is that OU defense.
OU-UT can be unpredictable because of the sheer hatred that rises from the floor of the Cotton Bowl the second Saturday of every October.
OU-UT can be unpredictable because of the sheer hatred that rises from the floor of the Cotton Bowl the second Saturday of every October.
How many seasons have we had to bemoan our defense? How many seasons in a row does our D cost us not only against great teams but those that are mediocre? How often do we give up third and long in a game (is there a number that high in NCAA stats)? How many times in a game do we watch as our D-backs perch10 yards off their man on a critical third down? How many times a game do we watch a long run by our opponents because of missed assignment?
Too many.
So many it’s becoming expected – a hallmark of OU’s defenses.
I don’t know why it happens. Coaches, players, bad calls, fate.
All I know is it happens.
That’s why I’m nervous.
I believe in my red Sooner heart that OU whips Texas Saturday.
We could beat them by 7 points or 40. We could drive a stake into Herman’s Texas tenure.
We also could be screaming, as many already are, that Mike Stoops and his defensive staff are long overdue for a good firing.
This OU-UT match up could be a catalyst for either. OU 38-10.
Oh, before I forget…TEXAS SUCKS!
— Michael
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