#1 Oklahoma Sooners -7, (5-0) 4-0 ATS at #5 Texas Longhorns +7, (5-0) 5-0 ATS Saturday October 11 Cotton Bowl (92,200) Dallas, Texas 1:00 p.m. EST, TV ABC, Tickets: Sold Out
By Wilson of Predictem.com
Saturday in Dallas, Texas will mark the 103rd meeting between the Texas longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners. The Red River Rivalry is one of the most anticipated college football games of the year. Both teams will come in undefeated and playing at the top of their game. Texas head coach Mack Brown said The whole country will be talking about this game all week, and thats what we want.
In the ten years that Mack Brown and Sooners head coach Bob Stoops have gone head to head, no game has meant more than this Saturdays match-up. Also, both teams are ranked in the top five, and both teams are looking for a National Championship title. Wow, what else could a football fan ask for in a game?
Oklahoma has dominated the series when both teams are ranked in the top five, but Texas may be due to change the current of the river- if you will.
Lets be honest, both of these teams will admit that they have yet to be tested as neither team has failed to cover a spread all season. Collectively, Texas and OU are 9-0 ATS through week six of the 2008 season.
We could go on and on about the huge numbers that each team has put up every week against perhaps less talented squads, but the point is this- both of these teams are high quality football teams that should entertain fans this weekend by battling for a potential BCS title.
OU QB Sam Bradford completed 23-of-31 passes for 2 touchdowns and 1 INT against Baylor last week, Bradford now has 16 TDs and 1,482 yards in four games vs. FBS teams this year. OU has averaged 49.6 points per game while only giving up 13.6. The Sooners have been favored in every game this season by an average of 21 points.
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops commented after the Baylor win, we executed and have good momentum going in. Id rather go in this way than any other. Stoops was referring to the upcoming Texas game at the Cotton Bowl.
Longhorns QB Colt McCoy put up 262 yards on 23-of-30 passing and 2 TDs, but he did have 2 INTs in their 38-14 win at Colorado last week. Texas running back Chris Ogbonnaya rushed for 71 yards and 1 TD, and he also caught 6 passes for 116 yards and another TD. His first TD was a 65 yard catch and run from McCoy on the third play of the game. Texas is also averaging nearly 50 points a game at 47.2 while allowing only 11.4 to their opponents.
Its hard to get too worked up for this big game after the other big game (USC vs. Ohio State) was such a let down, but Im sure these two teams will make fans proud as they usually put on a respectable show.
The Longhorns lead the series 57-40-5 and are 45-36-4 in Dallas. Last year the Sooners won 28-21. The first time these two teams met was October 10, 1900 and Texas won 28-2.
Im anticipating a close game this year as both are equally balanced and have similar numbers coming in. Perhaps the biggest difference will be the passing attack of OU as they are ranked 4th in the nation while Texas is 18th.
Wilsons Pick: Will this be the Longhorns chance to finally beat OU when both of these teams are ranked in the top 25? OU is currently at -7, but I see this game as a pick. I like Texas to shake things up by beating the Sooners in a close battle. Luck to ya.
