Countdown to the Showdown: Texas vs. Oklahoma Preview | Horns Illustrated

By Steve Lansdale

THE ANNUAL SHOWDOWN BETWEEN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA is one of the most anticipated games each year. Fans from Austin and Norman overrun the city of Dallas and eventually gather inside the Cotton Bowl for the game — splitting the stadium between a sea of burnt orange and[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] a sea of crimson.When the teams square off this season for their 109th meeting, fans have to wonder what kind of Oklahoma team will stand across the field from Texas.

Will it be the uninspired squad that fell 36-20 to Texas in last year’s matchup? Or will it be the team that won its last three games of the year by an average of nearly 20 points per game, including a shocking 45-31 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl?The good news is that Texas tends to pick up consecutive wins in the annual AT&T Red River Showdown. The last time the Longhorns won and then lost the following year was in 1994. Since then, Texas came out on top three straight times (1997-99), collected back-to-back wins in 2005 and 2006, and again in 2008 and 2009. So last year’s victory means this year will bring a repeat, right?

Maybe.

Before anyone begins celebrating, consider the teams involved. The Sooners started the season ranked No. 4 in the nation and kicked off the year by thumping a mediocre Louisiana Tech team they should’ve whipped. But the numbers put up by quarterback Trevor Knight were modest; he completed 19 of 34 passes for 253 yards, one touchdown pass and one interception. 

Fans and pundits can’t really read into the personal statistics from the first game of the year, especially when playing in a lopsided game where Oklahoma enjoyed a 31-3 halftime lead.

However, when taking a step back and looking at last season, the numbers take on more meaning. Every Sooner fan spent last season wondering about Knight, or in many cases, lobbying for Knight’s inclusion among the great players in school history —or perhaps for sainthood. As a freshman last season, Knight started five games, completed a modest 59 percent of his attempts for 819 passing yards and ran for 445. And even with these numbers he’s viewed as some kind of savior. There’s no question he’s talented, and maybe he’ll end up earning all of the accolades being thrust upon him, but it seems a bit premature at this point.

The running game took a hit over the offseason when legal trouble caused Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops to suspend true freshman running back Joe Mixon for the entire season. The Sooners still have able runners in Keith Ford and Alex Ross, but neither is viewed as a game-changer — pundits expected Mixon to take on that role.

Oklahoma also lost three of its top four receivers from a year ago — Sterling Shepard, the son of former OU star Derrick Shepard, had 51 receptions a year ago, while no other returning player had more than 13.

The strength of this year’s Oklahoma team, as it often is, is on defense. All of the 2013 starting defensive linemen return to this year’s team, which once again operates out of a 3-4 formation as its base alignment. Senior Chuka Ndulue led the defensive line last year with 45 tackles and five sacks.

The linebackers at Oklahoma are strong — they almost always are — but the group was weakened in early August when inside linebacker Frank Shannon (the top tackler a year ago with 92) was suspended for the entire 2014 season. The Sooners have enough talented depth at linebacker to adjust, but replacing a key cog at such a late date is a major challenge for any team. With Shannon gone, the unit is led by fellow inside linebacker Dominique Alexander (second in 2013 with 80 tackles) and Eric Striker, a lightning-fast pass-rushing specialist who led the Oklahoma defense last year with 6.5 sacks and finished second with seven quarterback hurries.

The Sooners’ intangibles are numerous, including the fact that kicker Michael Hunnicutt became the school’s all-time leader in field goals made as a junior. 

Any scouting report of the Sooners isn’t complete without a mention of Stoops, who won a national championship in his second season in Norman. He has returned to the BCS National Championship Game three more times and is the only head coach in the country to have won the Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl.

Longhorn fans should keep an eye out for one stat — Texas needs to make sure it leads at halftime. Entering the season, Oklahoma has won 41 straight games when leading at the intermission.

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