No. 3 Texas Favored By 3 Over No. 20 Oklahoma In Red River Rivalry

NFL News - October 14th, 2009 - Written by Scott

The Red River Rivalry will continue on Saturday as No. 3 Texas faces No. 20 Oklahoma in a huge Big 12-South Division matchup. Both teams are undefeated in conference play and a loss by either team could be a big factor in getting to the Big 12 title game. Entering the season, this game was projected to be a matchup between two Top 5 teams, but Oklahoma has stumbled twice already this year. Their national title hopes are probably gone, but a conference title is not out of the picture. Texas needs to stay undefeated if they are to get to national title game, one they missed out on a year ago, despite beating Oklahoma last year 45-35. They lost a three way tie in the Big-12 South and were left out of their conference title hopes.

The Texas Longhorns boast the 7th ranked offense in the country in yards per game with 479. They are led by Heisman runner-up from last year Colt McCoy. McCoy has thrown for 1,410 yards and 10 touchdowns this year and will need to play well this Saturday to keep his Heisman Trophy hopes alive. Their rushing attack, for various reasons, is not playing as it did a year ago. This is a concern for the Longhorns as McCoy might have to pick up the slack on his own if they can not get it going against Oklahoma. Vondrell McGee leads all backs with 258 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jordan Shipley has led their receiving group with 583 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Texas comes into the game with the conferences' best defense. Although they held Colorado to just 127 yards last week, they will face a much tougher test against the Oklahoma Sooners. Stopping the run will be key and Oklahoma did not rush well last week against Baylor.

Oklahoma now has their starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, in the lineup after missing games due to his shoulder injury. However, their leading receiver, Ryan Broyles, may not play on Saturday due to a fractured scapula. He leads the team with 346 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns. Brandon Caleb has performed well though and has 340 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Sooners will need to revive their running game after a poor performance last week. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown lead their group of backs with 744 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns. Their offense is explosive and leads the nation with 47.2 points per game.

The Sooners's defense has played well despite their two losses this year. Giving up big plays in losses to Miami and BYU hurt them badly. This will need to stop against a powerful Texas offense. However, they have only allowed only 6 touchdowns in 5 games this year.

Texas is favored by 3 against Oklahoma according to BetUS sportsbook. The over/under is set at 51. These heated rivalry will take place at the Cotton Bowl and much is at stake for both teams.

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