Texas-Oklahoma Football: 10 Reasons the Longhorns Could Pull the Red River Upset
The Red River Rivalry is something that Texas and Oklahoma fans look forward to every year.
This year, though, Oklahoma may be looking forward to the game a whole lot more than Texas. The Sooners' 4-0 record and Texas' 34-12 loss to UCLA are to thank for that.
But Texas fans, don't give up hope. The Longhorns are still a good football team, and there are a whole bunch of reasons that they could knock the Sooners out of their top-10 spot in the polls.
Read on to see 10 of those reasons and get excited for the upcoming Saturday showdown.
No. 1: Garrett Gilbert's Progression
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It's only natural that every quarterback goes through a steep learning curve. The vast majority struggle at the beginning of their careers.
Let's not forget that Gilbert was a sought-after recruit and was expected to do great things at the University of Texas. It's not too late for him to start.
Yes, Gilbert has been pretty bad so far. He's completed just 87 of his 139 passes for 885 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions.
However, this could very well be the week that his talent takes over and his production dramatically increases.
The quarterback has probably never been this pumped up for a game in his life. This game is what Texas players are supposed to live for—the chance to rub the noses of the hated Sooners in the dirt.
This is Gilbert's first shot at Oklahoma, and you can bet he'll be studying and practicing as much as is humanly possible.
No. 2: The Texas Defense
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It's hard to remember in the wake of the last two disappointing weeks, but the Texas defense has actually been quite good this season.
Two weeks ago, in the 24-14 victory over Texas Tech, the Longhorns shut down the attack of the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech always has a good offense thanks to the air raid style that they run, but the Longhorns managed to hold Taylor Potts and company to just one offensive touchdown and 144 yards.
Potts, who has thrown for 359 yards and 293 yards with no interceptions in his first two games, was held to 158 yards and picked off twice. The rushing game wasn't good at all and was held to minus-14 yards.
Then last week, the defense wasn't quite as bad as the score indicated. The Longhorns held UCLA to just 27 passing yards, but the run defense was trounced.
Part of the blame lies with the inept offense, who doomed their defense with turnovers. It's hard to stop a sustained rushing attack when you spend your entire time on the field, but that's what the Longhorns defense was asked to do.
No. 3: Oklahoma's Weak Offensive Line
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The Oklahoma offensive line hasn't really had any continuity to it. Different players seem to play all the time. But the one common trend has been relative ineffectiveness this season.
The line has only allowed the rushing attack to average three yards per carry this season. On top of that, they've been called for a lot of penalties.
As most football fans know, that's not a very good combination.
Also, the average lineman on the Oklahoma squad weighs about 25 pounds less than the average lineman for UCLA. That will only benefit the Texas defensive front.
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No. 4: Landry Jones' Struggles Out of the Pocket
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There is no doubt that Landry Jones is an excellent quarterback, a man that is more than capable of leading Oklahoma to a win, but he does have one major weakness.
When Jones is flushed out of the pocket and forced to move around a little bit, his mechanics tend to break down a little bit. He looks to force the ball to Ryan Broyles, who is sure to be double-teamed or marked by a safety on virtually every play.
If the Texas defensive line can break through the weak Oklahoma line on a consistent basis, Jones isn't quite the same quarterback.
Expect Will Muschamp to be pounding this message home to his troops throughout this week.
No. 5: Oklahoma's Defense Has Struggled
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The Sooners have played four games so far this season, and the defense has underperformed in three of them.
The opening week saw Oklahoma take on, and barely beat, the Aggies of Utah State. Despite gaining 422 yards on offense, Oklahoma still only outgained its opponent by a single yard.
In Week 3, Oklahoma allowed 351 yards on the ground and was outgained 458 yards to 367 by Air Force. The Falcons still lost by three points, but they made the Sooners defense look quite vulnerable.
Week 4 was no different, as the Sooners were outgained once more. The Cincinnati Bearcats put up 461 yards to the Sooners' 452. Yet again Oklahoma pulled out a close win and moved to 4-0 with a 31-29 win.
The Texas offense has struggled this season, but if they don't produce, it will be their own fault, not because the defense of Oklahoma is anything special.
No. 6: Jaz Reynolds' Comments
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After a gunman recently committed suicide on the University of Texas campus, Oklahoma receiver Jaz Reynolds had the brilliant idea to get on Twitter and post a message that said, "Hey everyone in Austin, tx.......kill yourself."
This insensitive remark was dealt with harshly by Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who immediately suspended Reynolds for the game this weekend.
It's not like the loss of Reynolds will hurt the Sooners at all. The sophomore wide receiver has yet to catch a pass this season and only hauled in 13 receptions last year.
However, the remarks will add fuel to the rivalry and provide the Longhorns with valuable bulletin board material.
It's not like they needed help to get fired up for this game, but it never hurts to have a little extra motivation.
No. 7: The Neutral Field
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The game this Saturday will be played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. While it may seem like a neutral field will benefit each team equally, that is most assuredly not the case.
For Texas, they get to escape both a hostile crowd in Norman, Oklahoma and a disapproving crowd in Austin, Texas.
Texas fans have a right to be upset with their team's performance so far this season. The Longhorns know this and would just feel added pressure to perform well in front of a home crowd.
For Oklahoma, they wouldn't have had to deal with the same emotions in a home game. After all, they are the proud owners of a 4-0 record. While the wins haven't all been pretty, they have still been wins.
So in the end, the neutral field helps Texas out a little bit more.
No. 8: The Bounce-Back Factor
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The best teams always find a way to bounce back from a tough loss.
There is no doubt that last week the Longhorns suffered a tough loss when they were dominated at home by the UCLA Bruins.
Mack Brown and Will Muschamp will have been motivating their players with the 34-12 final score all week long.
You can be sure that the Longhorns will be fired up and ready to play as hard as they've ever played.
No. 9: The Rivalry
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This game is called the Red River Rivalry for a reason. Texas and Oklahoma just don't really like each other that much.
As we've seen throughout the years in every sport, rivalry games are impossible to predict. Even if one team is heavily favored to win, the other team can't be counted out. There are just too many emotions in place.
Oklahoma may be the better team this year, but I bet even Oklahoma fans aren't counting on a win without a fight.
No. 10: The Ranking
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The Texas Longhorns free-fell in the rankings this week, plummeting from a lofty No. 7 ranking all the way down to their current spot at No. 21.
Isn't that just more added motivation?
The UCLA team isn't as bad as people think. The Bruins have actually knocked off ranked teams in back-to-back weeks, first Houston and then Texas.
Texas has to be feeling at least a little bit slighted by the rankings, and they'll want to take their frustration out on their opponents.
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