Oklahoma vs. Texas: Which Defense Will Win the Day, Red River Showdown?
By Chip Rouse
It’s that time again – Oklahoma vs. Texas – the annual battle royal that takes place in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the Texas State Fair and features half the stadium – approximately 41,000 strong – decked out in crimson and cream and the other half in brilliant burnt orange, the respective team colors of the two combatants.
They might not say it publicly, but privately the players and coaches on both sides will not hesitate to tell you that this game is the most important one on the schedule every year. It certainly is the biggest rivalry game for both schools.
In an interview with the Dallas Morning News several years ago, when Big 12 realignment was hot and heavy in the news, then Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said:
"“The rivalry game for us has always been Oklahoma. The (Texas) A&M game’s been a great game and all of that. And we may play ’em. But its not something that we have to do.“I think the Oklahoma game is something we have to do.”"
Oklahoma could say the same thing about the Bedlam rivalry series with Oklahoma State, which incidentally has been going on the same length of time (110 years) as the OU-Texas series.
Since the Big 12 came into existence in 1996, and clearly in the time that Bob Stoops and Mack Brown were the respective head coaches in this game, the winner of the Oklahoma-Texas game has often gone on to win the Big 12 championship. The Sooners and Longhorns have combined to win 12 of the 20 conference crowns since the Big 12 was formed.
Since the Associated Press college football rankings were established in 1936, both teams have come into the Red River rivalry game ranked in the top 25 a total of 38 times.
On 30 other occasions only one of the two schools has been ranked at the time the game was played. Oklahoma is that team this year. The Sooners are No. 20 this week in the AP poll, while the Longhorns, No. 22 a week ago, dropped out of the top-25 rankings following a 49-31 loss at Oklahoma State last weekend.
This was also the scenario a year ago, when Texas upset the Sooners 24-17 and handed Oklahoma its only regular-season loss of the season. In fact, the Longhorns have done very well as an unranked team going up against a ranked OU team. Texas has won six of the last eight games against their biggest rivals when that was the situation.
What You Need to Know About Oklahoma
For two of the four quarters in last week’s win over TCU, the Sooners looked the part of the team everyone expected them to be heading into the 2016 season. Quarterback Baker Mayfield ran for two touchdowns and threw for a couple in leading Oklahoma on a 42-3 rally that overcame a 21-7 first-quarter deficit.
In the fourth quarter at TCU, however, the other side of the Oklahoma Jekyll-Hyde persona this season took over as the Sooners nearly squandered a 25-point lead, giving up two long touchdown passes and another long scoring drive that cut the OU advantage to just three points with over five minutes remaining.
All’s well that ends well, but it became clear in the late stage of the TCU game that the Sooners are still struggling in pass defense. This could be a bigger problem going up against a Texas offense that is both running and throwing the ball very well this season, averaging more than 250 yards a game in both facets of the game.
Oklahoma ranks 88th in the country in total defense, giving up an average of 492 yards of total offense a game, almost two-thirds of that coming through the air. The Sooners are 116th in the nation in defending the pass. It helps to know that Texas ranks 105th in the latter category and is just one notch above OU in total defense.
That spells opportunity for Mayfield and the OU offense, but the same, unfortunately, can be said for the Texas offense.
When you have to respect the run game, it reduces the pass rush and places added stress on the back end of the defense in pass coverage. The Oklahoma front seven did an excellent job shutting the TCU run game, but doing the same against Texas’ big and fast running back, D’Onta Foreman, will be a much tougher task. And the Sooners will be without starting defensive tackle Charles Walker, who was a big part of OU’s pass rush and run support against TCU. Walker has been ruled out of the Texas game with concussion symptoms.
Oklahoma will need another big performance from Mayfield, and a much stronger performance in the ground game from Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon, who combined for just 60 yards rushing against the Longhorn defense in last year’s game. Mixon not only is averaging a league-best 7.7 yards per carry this season but also is the Sooners second leading receiver with 12 receptions and an average of 13.5 yards per catch.
What You Need to Know About Texas
Texas goes with a combination of freshman Shane Buechele and senior Tyrone Swoopes at quarterback. Buechele is the main signal caller, but the Longhorns use Swoopes, known as the “18-wheeler” package, in short yardage and red-zone situations.
Overcoming all the emotion and tradition associated with the OU-Texas rivalry generally is difficult for all of the players in this game, let alone a first-time participant. Buechele, however, has played exceptionally well through the first four games of his college career. The freshman has completed 66 percent of his pass attempts and has thrown eight touchdowns to go along with three interceptions. Swoopes, on the other hand, has been a beast to bring down in short-yardage situations, and especially so at the goal line.
The Longhorns have a pair of big-body running backs in D’Onta Foreman and Chris Warren III. Both weigh close to 250 pounds and can motor when they get up a head of steam. The bad news for Texas, but good news perhaps for the Sooners, is that Warren suffered a knee injury last week against Oklahoma State and will not play against Oklahoma. Foreman also sustained an injury in that game, but is expected to start on Saturday.
Five different Longhorns have caught at least 10 passes so far this season. Sophomore John Burt is the primary receiving target. He has 14 receptions through four games.
Defensive end/linebacker Breckyn Hager and linebacker Malik Jefferson, last year’s Defensive Freshman of the Year in the Big 12, are the Longhorn mainstays on defense.
After the loss to Oklahoma State, in which the Longhorn defense allowed 555 yards in total offense and close to 400 through the air, head coach Charlie Strong, in his third season at Texas, demoted defensive coordinator Vance Bedford and announced that he would take over responsibility for the Longhorn defense the rest of the season. Strong’s background is as a defensive coach.
Game Prediction
The 111th edition of the Red River Showdown between hated rivals Oklahoma and Texas has all the makings of a good old southwestern shootout. Both offenses have the firepower to pile up the yardage and put plenty of points on the board. The real question is, which defense is going to do the better job of getting off the field on third down and keeping the other team out of the end zone?
Both teams rely on their rushing attacks to fuel the offense. Interestingly, over the last 17 seasons, or since Bob Stoops has been the coach at Oklahoma, the team that wins the ground battle has won the OU-Texas game.
In the end, though, the team that is the most physical and plays the better defense will take home the Golden Hat. Oklahoma 42, Texas 34