SOONERGUYS Blog

Saturday may have been the first time since Oklahoma began playing Texas 109 years ago that the Sooners football team did not look ahead to playing next week’s opponent.

All Oklahoma was concerned about was getting back a healthy Sam Bradford at quarterback, shirking last week’s Miami loss, and yes, defeating a more athletic Baylor Bears than we usually expect.

The Sooners did all that in their 33-7 win.

But, now there is indeed No. 2 Texas coming up in Dallas.

We will be heading down I-35 on Friday. But most of us Sooner fans have already made the trip in our head. We are wondering where these 3-2 Sooners stack up against Colt McCoy’s seemingly unstoppable passing pipeline to Jordan Shipley. And then there is that stout Texas defense.

The pessimists say there is no chance Oklahoma will win this game. The optimists are expecting a Sooner victory because, well, it’s the Sooners.

But as we know, sometimes the favorite doesn’t win the Red River Rivalry (or Shootout, or whatever you want to call the border war in the Cotton Bowl). There have been 15 upsets in this game since World War II. That’s almost one out of every 4 games. The last one was last year, when No. 8 Texas defeated No. 1 Oklahoma 45-35.

The key to stop Longhorn fan chest beating will be the ability of OU’s linebackers to slow down that middle-of-the-field passing game that McCoy found so successful last year. MLB Ryan Reynolds is back to fill that gap, but he’s a step slower than before his injury in last year’s game. Also key will be the ability of Oklahoma’s offensive line to protect Bradford. Give Sam the time and he will throw enough passes (48 against Baylor) to almost force the butter-handed receivers to catch enough to score.

Oklahoma’s defense is No. 3 in the country, giving up just six touchdowns in five games. Individually, DE Jeremy Beal is No. 3 in sacks in the country, with six. Oklahoma’s rushing defense is No. 3, giving up only 49 yards per game. But, Texas has the No. 1 rushing defense in the country, allowing only 46 yards per game.

Like last year this game may be decided on a kicking game error (or great play, depending for whom you cheer). OU’s Dominick Frank has had an outstanding year returning punts. But, Texas has too – with three punt returns for touchdowns, including against Colorado on Saturday.

This was thought to be a challenging but promising year for Oklahoma. Instead it’s turned into a rough season, with the potential for disaster. The Sooners can begin salvaging the season with a win in Dallas and a promise of a Big 12 Championship in December. On Saturday night we will know whether this team has the fortitude to do just that.

— Mike