It is time once again, Sooner fans, for the Red River Rivalry at the State Fair of Texas. Saturday’s kickoff is set for 10:00 a.m. Mountain, 11:00 a.m. Central on ABC for #13 Oklahoma and #15 Texas.
Last Time Out
The Sooners were able to bounce back last week from their first defeat by beating Texas Tech. The Sooners got on the board first, taking their opening possession 75-yards in 12 plays, culminating with Landry Jones connecting with Penn State transfer Justin Brown for at 13-yard touchdown. It was Brown’s first touchdown at OU that gave the Sooners a 7-0 lead. The Red Raiders would answer with a touchdown drive of their own to tie the score at 7 after one quarter of play. Early in the second quarter, the Red Raiders would take the lead 10-3 with a 35-yard field goal. Just over three minutes later, Blake Bell would cap a 66-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown that would give OU a lead that they would not relinquish at 14-10. After another Raiders touchdown, Jones would lead the Sooners on another touchdown drive, capped by a Kenny Stills 13-yard touchdown reception. The Sooner defense would force an interception that would be returned to the Tech 41 yard line. Just before the intermission, Michael Hunnicutt would knock through a 33-yard field goal, giving OU a 24-13 lead at the break. The Sooner defense would begin the second half stopping the Tech offense on downs at the OU 46 after a Frank Shannon sack on fourth down. A few minutes later, Blake Bell scored his second touchdown of the day making it 31-13 OU. Two plays later the Sooner defense would strike as Javon Harris would intercept Tech’s Seth Doege and return the pass 46-yards for a touchdown and a 38-13 advantage. The Tech offense could not manage much on their next possession and were forced to a 3-and-out. OU would take advantage of good field position and capitalize with a 42-yard Hinnicutt field goal giving them a 41-13 lead. Tech would add a late touchdown with under one minute to play in the game, making the final score 41-20.
It was an all-around good day for the Sooners as the offense was led by Landry Jones and his 259 yards passing and 2 touchdown passes. Blake Bell scored twice on the ground and Kenny Stills had seven receptions for 43 yards and 1 touchdown. The defense forced three Tech turnovers and held their high powered offense to just 360 yards. Special teams also went well for the Sooners as kicker Michael Hunnicutt accumulated 11 points and punter Tress Way averaged over 45 yards per punt, including a 71-yard boot.
Scouting the Horns
Texas enters Saturday’s contest with a 4-1 overall record and a 1-1 record in the Big XII. Last week the Horns were dealt their first defeat of the season in Austin 48-45 at the hands of Big XII newcomer, West Virginia. UT’s four wins on the season have come at home against Wyoming and New Mexico, and on the road at Ole Miss and Oklahoma State. The Longhorn offense ranks 6th in the nation in scoring at 46.8 points per game. They are led by sophomore quarterback, David Ash. Ash has amassed 1,276 yards passing with 11 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Joe Bergeron is the leading rusher for UT. The 6-1, 230 pound, sophomore from Mesquite, Texas has 9 touchdowns on the season and averages 4.3-yards per carry. Ash’s favorite targets on the outside are receivers Mike Davis and Jaxon Shipley. Together the tandem totals 41 catches for 513-yards and 6 touchdowns. The Horns defense ranks 66th in the country in points against at 26.4 per game. That total was really helped out by the week 2 shutout of New Mexico. However, in their last three contests, the Longhorns defense has surrendered 31, 36 and 48 points respectively.
Did you know?
- OU and Texas will meet in Dallas for the 84th consecutive year
- Texas leads the all-time series 59-42-5
- OU is 8-5 against Texas under Bob Stoops
- This will be the seventh straight season in which both schools are ranked in the AP Top 25 coming into the game
- With a win on Saturday, Landry Jones can become OU’s all-time wins leader as a quarterback with 33 and he can become the third OU quarterback to have three wins against UT.
- ABC will be televising the Red River Rivalry for the 21st time the past 22 seasons.
With the inaugural BCS standings of the season to come out next week, the winner of this game could do a lot to boost their chances. OU still has the meat of their schedule remaining with OSU, West Virginia and TCU remaining, where UT has Kansas State as the only currently ranked opponent left on their schedule.
By Jeff Gogerty, and courtesy of the OU Club of Collin County. When in Dallas area, be sure to look them up and join them for an OU watch party!
The OU Club of Colorado 