Red River Rivalry Review: Texas Longhorns Tangle With The Oklahoma Sooners
The Texas Longhorns will try and continue their recent dominance in the Red River Rivalry when they face the Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas Stadium.
The college football odds makers at BetMania have set the odds for this game and they have the Sooners at 3.5 point favorites.
The Longhorns have owned the Sooners in this rivalry as they have won four out of the last five meetings to include last year’s tilt by the score of 16-13. This year, however, Texas will have to do it without the services of quarterback Colt McCoy who is now in the NFL.
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The Longhorns stumbled looking forward to this game as they were upset at the hands of the UCLA Bruins. UCLA jumped on Texas and took advantage of mistakes gaining the big win.
Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert was 30-of-45 for 264 yards against UCLA, but it was the turnovers that ultimately did them in. Texas lost four fumbles and had one interception on the way to getting blown out in front of the home crowd. The home crowd booed and head coach Mack Brown called the game “embarrassing.”
If they don’t fix those mistakes in a hurry, they could be looking at another long day when they face the Sooners. The Sooners had a few problems of their own leading up to this game.
The Sooners went up against the Cincinnati Bearcats, and the game was much closer than they had hoped it would be.
The passing game worked, as Landry Jones went 36-for-51 for 370 yards and two touchdowns, but the running game was nonexistent, as they only averaged 2.5 yards per rush on 42 carries for 82 yards. Those numbers will have to improve if they hope to get a victory against rival Texas.
With the upset loss against UCLA, Texas needs to win this game. They need it for their hopes of a Big 12 title, and they need it if they want to have a shot at the National Championship. They usually rebound well after a beating at home, as they are 7-0 against the spread (ATS) in their last seven games following a double-digit loss at home and 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games following a loss.
They step-up their play in-conference, as they are 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight conference games and 4-0-1 ATS in their last five meetings with the Sooners.
The Sooners are struggling on the ground, and this will allow the Texas defense to focus on Jones and put pressure on the pass. This is the strength of the Texas defense, and I expect the secondary to contain Oklahoma standout receiver Ryan Broyles.
Mack Brown has saved his job over the years by getting his team to win this game, and he will do it again this week. Texas and Oklahoma battle in another classic game with the Longhorns winning in the end.
Texas 28, Oklahoma 27
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Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews, and predictions. Feel Free to contact Matt at mregaw@gmail.com
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