OU v. Texas Preview

Red River Rivalry: Interesting Battle Awaits

Norman – When Bob Stoops leads his 8th ranked Sooner squad onto the field at the Cotton Bowl against the 21st ranked Texas Longhorns, it will mark the 105th meeting between two of college football's most storied programs. With a combined 11 National Championships, 8 Heisman Winners, and 9 Big XII Championships between the two schools, history is simple an everyday matter when discussing OU and UT.

The Sooners will be looking to secure their first win since the 2007 Red River Rivalry match-up that saw the Sooners leave with a 28-21 win behind a 128 yard rushing performance by then Freshman Running Back Demarco Murray. Murray had one of the more memorable Sooner plays of recent memory in that game when he stretched a rush to the left side of the field, scampering along the sideline for a 65 yard touchdown.

For the Sooners to have a shot at winning this weekend in Dallas, Murray, now a seasoned veteran and senior, will need to have a similar day. Since Bob Stoops' first year as Head Coach, the team with the most rushing yards has won the game, with the exception coming in 2006 when both teams rushed for the same yardage- even then, the Longhorns out-averaged the Sooners on yards per rush and won the game.

Strangely enough, since the 2005 edition of this storied rivalry, the team with the most passing yardage has lost the game. In the last two meetings, OU has thrown for over 327 and 387 yards, respectively, against Texas' 127 and 277 respective outings; a fact not lost on OU Senior Running Back Mossis Madu.

“We know that every year the team that runs the ball bests is going to win it. So we definitely want to come out and salvage our run game against Texas. We need things to slow down a little more.”

The Sooners head man is also concerned about OU's run-game against a Texas defense ranked No. 2 nationally in total defense. When asked about OU's running game this week, Stoops had this to say about his team: “It needs to improve. It isn't as consistent as it needs to be. It gets down to some better execution and finishing some blocks and some of the ways we're calling things to give them more opportunities.”

And what about those swing passes the Sooners have gone to time-and-time again through the first four games? Stoops offered the following: “I will say some of it [the run game] definitely shows up in the passing game. The way people are defending you, there are opportunities. We've had a lot of success with play action passes and a lot of those quick screens that we run. In our eyes, those are runs.”

Another unknown for the Sooners going into this year's rivalry is the defense. The Sooners are ranked 97th in the country in total defense and 93rd in rushing defense whereas their counterparts, as mentioned earlier, come into the match-up with a No. 2 total defensive ranking, even though after their abysmal outing against UCLA last weekend in Austin, the Longhorns actually dropped to No. 20 in rushing defense this week.

Much discussion has been made of Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables scheme this year. As the season has progressed, OU's defense has seen a 4-2-5 look, substituting an extra Defensive Back for a Linebacker. After the razor-thin win against Cincinnati, where  Running Back Isaiah Pead rushed 21 times for 169 yards – an impressive 8.0 yards per carry – it would seem that changes in the defensive alignment for Venables might be in order, despite his comments to the contrary.

When asked if his defense would see any changes leading up to the Texas game, Venables said, “Hopefully we play better than we did a week ago. No real big changes. Try to get better.”

And when asked about his starting Middle Linebacker, Red-Shirt Freshman Tom Wort, Venables showed confidence in the defender, telling reporters, “The mistakes that have happened, I definitely attribute it to youth. No question. The only other option - the next guy that comes in - has played less than him. He’s done a good enough job through practice and even in games that we feel he’s obviously the best choice.”

After experiencing their first loss of the young season, many of Mack Brown’s players expressed thier sentiments in the Longhorns standing “24-hour” policy. Defensive End Sam Acho, Cornerback Aaron Williams, Defensive Tackle Kheeston Randall, and Offensive Lineman Kyle Hix all echoed the use of a 24 hour period instituted by Coach Brown as a time to reflect on the game against UCLA, then move on to the next game.

On the loss, Brown was blunt. “We got out-hit. We got out-hustled. We got out-coached in all three phases. That’s totally unacceptable at Texas. It’s the first time that I think we’ve played that poorly since Kansas State in ’07.”

When asked how important this weekend’s rivalry match-up was and how his team could get confidence back, Brown commented, “They’re all [games] big. The biggest games at Texas are the losses...The only thing you can do is go out and play better. You can’t talk about it. You’ve got to produce.” Clearly, something that, if the Longhorns hope to have any marked success against OU, they must do come Saturday afternoon.

The one player OU looks to get to repeatedly Saturday is Starting Quarterback Garrett Gilbert. Though only a Sophomore, Gilbert knows the challenge facing him. “They [OU] are going to be a challenge for us. We are going to have to be very sharp.”

The Red River Rivalry might have lost some of its luster this weekend with Texas’ loss to UCLA, but make no mistake, both sides of this historic rivalry - and their respective fans - will be ready for battle. As the saying goes, “...throw out the records, throw out the hype...” because this game, no matter how good or bad either team may be coming in, most always lives up to the national attention and hype it receives.

I feel this game should be a defensive struggle throughout. OU has shown flashes on defense this year of being a typical Bob Stoops crew. With shut-down Cornerback Jamell Fleming practicing this week and ready to play come Saturday, the Sooners defense should be to full strength. Look for each team to unveil some new “wrinkle” on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. My prediction: OU 24, UT 17.