Bleacher Creatures Debate the Red River Rivalry: Who's Better Defensively?

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

This Saturday, the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners are set to square off in the 104th installment of the Red River Rivalry, held in the famed Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.

The Longhorns come in as serious national title contenders, while the Sooners look to right the ship and win a unprecedented fourth conference championship.

I have teamed up with Oklahoma FC Jett Byrom in a Creature vs. Creature debate centered around this weekend's game.

Each day leading up to the game, Jett and I will debate a topic pertaining to some particular aspect or storyline of this very intriguing matchup, leaving it to the readers to decide which team holds the edge.

On to the first topic:

Who Has The Better Defense?

Jett:

The key to any good defense is the front seven, and OU has a better front seven than Texas. Some will point to the numbers and say that Texas has the better defensive numbers and allowed less yards. Which is true, but who have they played?

Texas has allowed about five fewer running yards per game than OU. However, Texas has yet to play an offense that can run the ball. Of the two conference games they have played, one team doesn't even try to run and the other gets stopped by second and third-tier teams on their schedule.

OU has played two ranked teams that can and do run the ball. They held one to less than 30 yards rushing. In addition, they have faced Tulsa—the No. 1 offense in the country in total yards the past two seasons. Unlike Texas Tech, Tulsa tries to both run and throw the ball, but could not do either against OU.

Another plus for OU is scoring defense. Despite have a much tougher strength of schedule than Texas, OU is allowing nearly a touchdown less than the Longhorns per game. OU has almost allowed half the points Texas has, despite the fact Texas has yet to play a ranked team and the Sooners played two ranked teams away from home.

The one place you would expect Texas defense to be much better is pass defense. The Longhorns' pass defense is highly regarded, while the Sooners' pass defense is considered second class at best.

But the numbers are not that different, OU has allowed 990 pass yards to date, while Texas has allowed 934. Texas has played only one good pass offense all year and that was Tech—which burned Texas for 420 yards in Austin.

Some will say, "yes, but that's Tech, and they cannot be stopped," but remember what happened to them last time they went to Norman. The only yards they got were against OU's prevent defense trying to burn out the clock for nearly two full quarters. So Tech can be stopped, and usually is when up against a good defense.

Which brings me to my final point. It remains to be seen whether Texas is a good defense. They lead the nation in a few defensive categories, but have yet to play anyone and have allowed way too many points to teams that should not be scoring on a top-tier defense.

OU, on the other hand, is much more proven, having almost identical numbers despite having a much tougher schedule—especially on the road.

Dino:

I look at this game and I see two defenses that can flat-out play. 

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