Know Your Enemy: What Texas Football Must Do to Beat Oklahoma

By Adam Sweeney

It's the most wonderful time of the year. October has hit us square in the face with all of its pumpkin-spiced goodness and that also means it's time for the Red River Rivalry, the annual showdown between blood brothers Texas and Oklahoma. There is no other game quite like it, and we're not just talking about the game's connection with the Texas State Fair, how the opposing fan bases are split down the middle at the 50-yard line in the Cotton Bowl, or how a certain magic seems to exist within this rivalry that lends itself to players who rise to the challenge. Win the Red River Rivalry and your name will be spoken next to all-time college greats like Earl Campbell. Longhorns like Stoney Clark, Colt McCoy, Case McCoy, and Jordan Shipley all understand ... and yes, the Sooners have had their share of watershed moments. I still curse when I hear the names of Sooners such as Roy Williams or Quentin Griffin.

This year, the Longhorns enter the Cotton Bowl as 17-point underdogs and are expected by most to lose to No. 10 Oklahoma. But that, as they say, is why they play the games. How can a Texas team, still reeling from the 50-7 haymaker that TCU hit them with in Fort Worth, take down Boomer Sooner?  [article-offer]