Preview: Oklahoma vs Texas - October 11, 2008
By Mike Wynn Sports
For the tenth time since 1950 the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns are both ranked in the top 5 heading into the Red River Rivalry in Dallas. Both teams have been very impressive offensively and both teams have yet to be tested seriously. Sooners and Longhorns are both averaging about 36 points margin per victory this season and this game has national implications written all over it. So let’s take a look at both these squads and we’ll start the Oklahoma Sooners.
Oklahoma Sonners are the number 1 team in the country and deservedly so. QB Sam Bradford has the Oklahoma offense putting up 49.6 points per contest this season as he’s completed 72.6% of his passes, tossing 18 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. Sooners have 4 receivers averaging over 17 yards per catch this season, and the RB trio of Murray, Brown and Madu keep the offense balanced nicely. Oklahoma defense ranks eleventh in the country allowing 256 total yards per game, and fifteenth in scoring defense at 13.8 a game. Bottom lime Bob Stoops has a tremendous team with a lot of explosiveness on offense, and a win here would be huge with a favorable schedule the rest of the way.
Texas Longhorns come into this one ranked fifth in the country and they’re equally as impressive on offense as Oklahoma. QB Colt McCoy has been spectacular this season completing 79.2% of his passes, tossing 16 touchdowns to 3 interceptions, and he leads the team with 317 yards rushing this season. Texas top backs Johnson and McGee average 3.9 & 3.7 yards per carry, so make no mistake Texas relies on the Colt McCoy and his leadership on the field. Texas defense number 4 in the country giving up 11.4 points per contest but they rank twenty eighth in total defense allowing 296 yards per contest. Texas has a much tougher row to hoe than Oklahoma schedule wise facing Missouri next and road trips to Kansas & Texas Tech later in the season.
Looking at important trends and angles for this game we find that Texas has covered the number the last 3 seasons, but prior to that Oklahoma had reeled off 5 straight win and covers in this rivalry. Texas a tremendous 26-13 ATS in the underdog role since 1992, and 27-12 ATS off a road win in the Big12 over the same span. Oklahoma a very respectable 18-10 ATS favorite over the last 3 seasons including 4-0 this year and as I mentioned a moment ago Oklahoma has been dominant in this series lately winning 6 of 8 straight up. Interesting to note the last 10 games in this series have been decided by 7 points or more, and 9 of those 10 were by double digits. Tough one to call here Saturday, but my hunch is that Colt McCoy will find a way to keep his team right in this game and take this one to the wire. I’ll recommend taking the points in what figures to be a tit for tat kind of game.