Campus Clash
(6) Oklahoma Sooners at (21) Texas Longhorns
Oklahoma: When I think I’m ready to trust them, they prove to me why I can’t. Prior to their game in Manhattan against the Kansas State Wildcats, they looked shaky in their previous two games. The Nebraska Cornhuskers aren’t a good football team, let’s just point that out right now. That was a game where the offense should’ve moved up and down the field, but they didn’t. The defense showed out for sure. I can say the same thing about their conference opener against the West Virginia Mountaineers. The offense stalled, but the defense delivered once again. Do you see the pattern I’m getting at here? They can never put it all together. If the Oklahoma Sooners were as consistent on the defense side of the football as they are offensively, this is the scariest team in the country without question. Speaking of questions, I was asked a good one over the weekend. Why hasn’t this year’s offense been able to dominate as they have in previous years? That’s simple: The offensive line hasn’t performed well enough up front. They aren’t playing clean football and I always say you perform as well as those five up front. Next is the group of receivers. The Oklahoma receivers have had difficulty creating separation to get open down the field. Lastly, the running game, even with the passing attack has also struggled. Saturday however against Kansas State was the best they’ve looked in a while. Spencer Rattler looked consistent completing 22 of his 25 pass attempts. The question is can he build off this performance? On Saturday, rivalry day takes place.
Texas: Many were high on the hire of Steve Sarkisian. He is one of the best offensive minded coaches in the game. Look what he was able to do with the Alabama Crimson Tide for a few seasons. So, I can tell you guys this. After the loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks in week two, I said to myself, here we go again. Everyone who always says they’re “back” after a dominant win always gets a reality check. The Longhorns aren’t back at all. They’re too inconsistent for my liking. One of the best decisions Steve has made so far is the quarterback change. Hudson Card wasn’t getting the job done. Casey Thompson has been the starting quarterback and since then, everything’s changed for them. The offense is more efficient under Casey. He’s a member of the shorter quarterback’s club (6’1) but still plays well because of the footwork he displays. Casey is your prototypical dual threat quarterback that can also run the football when lanes are opened. If you follow along with Texas football, everybody knows there’s one player that stirs the drink for this entire offense. His name is Bijan Robinson and he’s a running back. He has excellent vision and tremendous burst around the line of scrimmage. When he gets into the second level of the defense, his lateral quickness and elusiveness really stand out. Against TCU in week five, they were balanced. I’m still questioning their defense because they struggle to get off the field. On Saturday morning, it’s another showdown with their biggest rival.
Oklahoma X-Factor: Kennedy Brooks– I feel he’s the hidden gem of this Sooners offense. When he’s fed the ball consistently, good things tend to happen. Kennedy has such powerful explosiveness as a runner. He’s not necessarily the quickest guy playing the running back position, but he’s fast enough to gain yards in chunks when a lane presents itself. He’s a hard, yet patient runner and has proven to be difficult to take down in open space.
Texas X-Factor: Jordan Whittington– He’s the primary slot receiver for this Longhorns offense but does so much more. Over the middle is where he’s made his living and done his most damage. Texas tries all they can to incorporate him in the screen game, on reverses and anyway they can get him the football. Jordan is that reliable target in space. He can give the Sooners secondary fits.
Final Thoughts: It’s another year where I get to breakdown the Red River Rivalry. These games are always fun because it’s always a shootout and comes down to the fourth quarter or overtime. Can Spencer Rattler put together another solid performance? It’s key the Sooners get this running game going early on and the offensive line plays well as a unit to protect the quarterback. For Texas, Bijan will have his hands full with the Sooners run defense who’s actually done well in limiting the run this year. Also, if I’m Texas, I’m spreading my receivers out and attacking this Sooners secondary which has been the weak point of their defense. As expected, I see this coming down to the later parts of the game. Whoever can force that one turnover late in the fourth quarter I feel will be victorious in this one.
Prediction: Oklahoma 42, Texas 40
