DALLAS -- University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy says revenge will be the furthest thing from his mind Saturday when third-ranked Longhorns take on No.20 Oklahoma in the anticipated Red River Rivalry here at the Cotton Bowl.But you'd better believe the Longhorns are still upset from last season when they beat Oklahoma by 10 points on a neutral field and finished the season in a 7-1 three-way tie with the Sooners and Texas Tech. Yet it was Oklahoma that represented the Big 12 South in the conference title game and subsequently advanced to the BCS national title.
The Big 12 tiebreaker rules sent Oklahoma to the Big 12 championship game despite the fact the Sooners lost to Texas in head-to-head competition. The Sooners advanced by virtue of having a slightly better BCS ranking than the Longhorns, who had the misfortune of suffering their only loss of the season late in the year to Tech. OU, meanwhile, didn't lose again in the regular season.
The fact that Oklahoma played in the Big 12 championship game and the BCS national title game against Florida was a bitter pill to swallow and left UT coach Mack Brown vowing to not vote in the coaches poll.
But a year later, UT (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) the higher ranked team and the squad with the most at stake. A win this afternoon would give the Longhorns a leg up in the Big 12 South race and would keep them in step for the BCS national title game bid. The Sooners (3-2, 1-0), meanwhile, come into the game likely out of national title picture but still has a chance to win their fourth straight South division championship.
OU has has been hindered by injuries this preseason, including Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford, who was sidelined for three games with a AC Joint sprain. He returned to the lineup for the first time since the season opener during last week's win over Baylor.
The Sooners are also expected to get receiver Ryan Broyles back in the lineup today after he suffered what was thought to be a serious collarbone injury a few weeks ago against Miami. Having him back on the field should be a huge boost to the Sooners.
FIRST QUARTER
It didn't take long for the fireworks to start in this one. Sam Bradford middle screen pass to running back DeMarco Murray turned into a 64-yard gain to the the UT 9. Several Longhorns missed tackles as Murray raced down field. But the Longhorns avoided complete disaster when the Sooners had to settle for a 26-yard field goal after the drive stalled at the OU 9.
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Sam Bradford gets sacked and appears to have injured the same shoulder that caused him to miss three games. Aaron Williams came in untouched on a corner blitz and smashed Bradford on the Sooners second drive of the game. Landry Jones enters the game.
SECOND QUARTER
Defense is definitely carrying the day so far on both sides of the football. But somehow the Longhorns have to get their running game in gear. They had just six yards on the ground in the first quarter.
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How many times have we wondered what are the Longhorns thinking when a they complete three-yard passes on third-and-forever? Well now we see. Colt McCoy dropped back for what looked like a deep pass only to suddenly see three OU defenders in face on an all-out blitz. The result was was a 15-yard loss on the sack.
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For all the talk about what may be wrong with Texas' offense, perhaps the performance of the OU defense is being overlooked. The Sooners are owning the line of scrimmage and seem to have QB Colt McCoy on edge with some all out blitz packages coming from every direction. McCoy has thrown hard and high to receivers in critical situations and almost doesn't stand a chance on third downs. Credit a strong Sooners defense, which is pitching a 6-0 shutout near the halfway point of the second quarter.
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There was a lot that went into this last possession. Did Franks touch the punt going out of bounds and was that a touchdown for Texas' Malcolm Williams? Well, it turns out the rulling was Franks muffed the punt and UT got the ball on the OU 18. The end result was a 42-yard field goal by Hunter Lawrence that pulled UT within 6-3 with 3:42 remaining in the half.
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In perhaps one of the most bizarre halves of the OU-UT series, neither team was able to read the end zone despite great field positioning for both. OU went into halftime leading 6-3 but with tons of questioning after it appears Bradford is done for the day and perhaps his college career.
But the Sooners haven't felt the pressure because UT quarterback Colt McCoy has been erratic and the Longhorns running game has been a non-factor.
The highlight on both sides have been opportunistic defensive play.
THIRD QUARTER
It took the Longhorns nearly 30 minutes to score their first three points in the first half, but wasn't the case to start the third quarter. UT marched down the field on a couple nice throws by McCoy and a nice run by Fozzy Whittaker to position Lawrence for a 42-yard field goal that tied the game 6-6 with 12:29 remaining in the quarter.
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Okay, for the Longhorns it's two possessions and two scores. This time, however, Texas scores the first touchdown of the game when McCoy hits receiver Marquise Goodwin on a slant for a 14-yard touchdown that put the Longhorns up 13-6 with 7:08 remaining in the third quarter.
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It didn't take long for the Sooners tor respond to UT's first touchdown of the game with a touchdown of their own. Landry Jones hits Ryan Broyles for a 35-yard touchdown pass that tied the game 13-13 with 4:39 left in the third. Oklahoma's touchdown was aided by a costly roughing the passer penalty on the UT defense during the drive.
FOURTH QUARTER
You can't really call this a shootout, but both offenses are finally moving the ball. The Longhorns have particularly impressive, especially running the ball with Whittaker. UT just took a 16-13 lead on a 32-yard field goal by Lawrence with 12:08 remaining, marking the Longhorns third scoring drive of the half.
