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[SIZE=+2]Much at stake in Texas-Oklahoma game
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]02:30 AM CDT on Saturday, October 11, 2008
[/SIZE]
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/sports/columnists/mugs/mug_ccarlton.jpg
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Once again, Fair Park will become the center of the college football universe for a special Saturday, against a split backdrop of burnt orange and crimson.
For the 103rd meeting of Texas and Oklahoma, the AT&T Red River Rivalry needs no hype. It has plenty, anyway. The eyes of Texas and other 49 states will be focused on a sold-out Cotton Bowl this morning, where the No. 1 Sooners meet the No. 5 Longhorns with national championship implications galore.
"This is the biggest anticipation of the year," said Oklahoma defensive back Dominique Franks, who decided to study his playbook after awakening at 1:30 a.m. this week.
The teams will be meeting for the 10th time when both are in the AP's top 5. It's the first such meeting since 2004. Oklahoma has won five of those meetings with one tie. The Sooners are 6-1 against Texas as the nation's No. 1 team. Emotion can and has trumped historical trends.
"Guys just have this desire to play," Texas defensive tackle Roy Miller said, "and you can feel it."
The high stakes provide one compelling angle. There are others:
•A Heisman play-in game. Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy are 1B and 1C in the Big 12 quarterback rankings and 1B and 1C in the Heisman race, which have become one and the same.
The guy who delivers a win in all likelihood becomes the biggest competitor to Missouri's Chase Daniel. Bradford and McCoy have each accounted for 20 touchdowns through five games while throwing just three interceptions apiece. Each has led his team to victory in the UT-OU series.
"I'd have to go back and look at it, but I don't see how it could be any better," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "They're unbelievable the way they're playing and leading their teams."
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/colleges/
•Defensive genius bragging rights. Since coming to Austin, Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has gained a reputation as one of the smartest guys ever to diagram a corner blitz. On the other sideline is Bob Stoops, who was Muschamp a little more than a decade ago. He and Sooners defensive coordinator Brent Venables have a few skins on the wall, too.
Bottom line: Don't expect anyone to hang half a hundred.
•Turnovers. While this falls into the obvious category, turnovers may be even more magnified today.
Neither team makes many mistakes. Texas has six turnovers this season; Oklahoma four, with no fumbles lost. Longhorns offensive coordinator Greg Davis takes photographs of players carrying the ball carelessly and posts them in the locker room.
•How the Texas secondary reacts. Ryan Palmer of Arlington Bowie brings senior experience. Joining him are sophomore Chykie Brown, redshirt freshman Earl Thomas and true freshman Blake Gideon.
"I would have told you five weeks ago that I would be scared to death to play this schedule with that secondary," Brown said. "Right now, they're growing up fast."
•Public reaction to the Cotton Bowl's extreme makeover. Dallas spent $57 million expanding and refurbishing the stadium, trying to update and turn back the clock simultaneously. Early reviews have been positive.
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]02:30 AM CDT on Saturday, October 11, 2008
[/SIZE]
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/sports/columnists/mugs/mug_ccarlton.jpg
• E-mail
Once again, Fair Park will become the center of the college football universe for a special Saturday, against a split backdrop of burnt orange and crimson.
For the 103rd meeting of Texas and Oklahoma, the AT&T Red River Rivalry needs no hype. It has plenty, anyway. The eyes of Texas and other 49 states will be focused on a sold-out Cotton Bowl this morning, where the No. 1 Sooners meet the No. 5 Longhorns with national championship implications galore.
"This is the biggest anticipation of the year," said Oklahoma defensive back Dominique Franks, who decided to study his playbook after awakening at 1:30 a.m. this week.
The teams will be meeting for the 10th time when both are in the AP's top 5. It's the first such meeting since 2004. Oklahoma has won five of those meetings with one tie. The Sooners are 6-1 against Texas as the nation's No. 1 team. Emotion can and has trumped historical trends.
"Guys just have this desire to play," Texas defensive tackle Roy Miller said, "and you can feel it."
The high stakes provide one compelling angle. There are others:
•A Heisman play-in game. Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy are 1B and 1C in the Big 12 quarterback rankings and 1B and 1C in the Heisman race, which have become one and the same.
The guy who delivers a win in all likelihood becomes the biggest competitor to Missouri's Chase Daniel. Bradford and McCoy have each accounted for 20 touchdowns through five games while throwing just three interceptions apiece. Each has led his team to victory in the UT-OU series.
"I'd have to go back and look at it, but I don't see how it could be any better," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "They're unbelievable the way they're playing and leading their teams."
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/colleges/
•Defensive genius bragging rights. Since coming to Austin, Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has gained a reputation as one of the smartest guys ever to diagram a corner blitz. On the other sideline is Bob Stoops, who was Muschamp a little more than a decade ago. He and Sooners defensive coordinator Brent Venables have a few skins on the wall, too.
Bottom line: Don't expect anyone to hang half a hundred.
•Turnovers. While this falls into the obvious category, turnovers may be even more magnified today.
Neither team makes many mistakes. Texas has six turnovers this season; Oklahoma four, with no fumbles lost. Longhorns offensive coordinator Greg Davis takes photographs of players carrying the ball carelessly and posts them in the locker room.
•How the Texas secondary reacts. Ryan Palmer of Arlington Bowie brings senior experience. Joining him are sophomore Chykie Brown, redshirt freshman Earl Thomas and true freshman Blake Gideon.
"I would have told you five weeks ago that I would be scared to death to play this schedule with that secondary," Brown said. "Right now, they're growing up fast."
•Public reaction to the Cotton Bowl's extreme makeover. Dallas spent $57 million expanding and refurbishing the stadium, trying to update and turn back the clock simultaneously. Early reviews have been positive.
