Preview: Texas Tech @ Oklahoma - Nov. 22, 2009

By Mike Wynn Sports

If you like shootouts you’re in luck this Saturday night. Texas Tech and Oklahoma are the number 1 & 3 scoring teams in the country and neither team ahs been held under 35 points this season. Texas Tech 10-0 for the first time in school history controls their own destiny for a national title shot and a win here Saturday would give them their third straight win over a top10 opponent. Oklahoma at 9-1 would be right back in the BCS Championship hunt with a win over the number 2 team in the country. Obviously this game is the marquee game on the board Saturday and I don’t think this game will disappoint. So let’s jump into some of the incredible numbers for both these schools and we’ll start with visitors.

Can’t say enough about the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the season they’re having. Texas Tech 10-0 for the first time ever and you’ve got to love that style of football they play and the way they execute it. Mike Leach runs that spread offense with a quick passing attack and nobody has run it better for him then QB Graham Harrell. Harrell has been outstanding leading the nation with 4,077 yards passing, and his 36 touchdowns to 5 interceptions ratio is as good as anybody in the country. Harrell has been playing QB at Texas Tech since his freshmen season and he has a complete handle of Mike Leach’s system. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have one of the best receivers in the country to throw to either. Pre scouts are drooling over Michael Crabtree. The 6-3 215 lbs. sophomore wide out already has 212 catches at Texas Tech including 40 of those for touchdowns. Crabtree is “the man” but he’s far from in the only threat on the offensive side of the ball. Baron Batch and Shannon Woods have given the Red Raiders a good solid running attack this season, and the defense for Texas Tech is better than it’s been in recent years. Texas Tech should hold their own here offensively, but on the defensive side they’ll have to find a way to slow down the Oklahoma running attack if they want to win this one Saturday night.

Oklahoma Sooners have a great opportunity to jump back into the title chase with a win here tonight. Oklahoma with a win here would probably leap frog Texas and Texas Tech and couple that with a Florida win over Alabama in the SEC Championship they should end up number 2. Oklahoma offense has simple been outstanding this season for Bob Stoops. Sophomore QB Sam Bradford is at the controls for the Sooners and he’s been as good as you can be. Bradford has 38 touchdowns this season against 6 interceptions and he has this Oklahoma offense peaking right now. Oklahoma is averaging 51.5 points per game this season and they’ve been even hotter recently scoring 66, 62, and 58 points over their last 3 games. Sonners may not have a Crabtree but they have plenty of receiver talent and the running backs Murray & Brown both average 5.5+ yards per carry. Defensively the Sooners not as strong as some of the past units, but they still only allowed an average of 19.4 points per game at home this season. Sooners also play with revenge in this game Saturday night as it was Texas Tech that knocked them out of the Championship race with a 34-27 set back in Lubbock last year. QB Bradford was knocked out on the first play from scrimmage and RB Murray went down early as well. All eyes on Norman here Saturday night and the winner here well deserves at shot at the BCS Championship come January.

Looking at trends and angles for this game it’s tough to find a reason to go against either of these ball clubs. Texas Tech is 4-0 straight up and 3-1 ATS on the road this season, while Oklahoma is 5-0 straight up and 3-1 ATS in Norman. Red Raiders are 0-8 straight up on the road versus top 10 opponents under head coach Mike Leach, but they did the cash in 5 of those 8. Sooners have had a tremendous home field advantage under Bob Stoops with a 59-2 straight up record, and they’re a solid 9-2 ATS in games with a total of 63 or greater under his tenure. Texas Tech though is a dynamite 77-50 ATS against conference opponents since 1992 so both these teams have been profitable for their backer. With no clear edge on the side I’m going to look at the total and play this one over tonight. The total is high at 76 but I don’t think they can make it high enough. These two teams are combined 14-3 over this season and both teams are in over situations here. Make sure you get snacks and drinks set before kick off Saturday night, because if you blink or step out of the room you might miss a couple scores in this one.