Oklahoma-Texas: Red River Rivalry Prediction Favors Sooners

All of you who have read my column recently know how I feel about this year's Sooner team. Tell them they should win easily and they stink it up like that road-kill your crazy uncle brought to the family picnic.

Conversely, when told the other team should beat them, they come out fired up and out of control. Sort of like Joe Biden at a public speaking engagement, only without the follow-up disclaimer from the White house. 

That's why this prediction is strictly between us. I mean it, you can't tell them this or the whole thing is null and void.

You see, though I would never tell this to any member of the team myself and will deny it till Bevo is on the grill, I secretly think the Sooners are pretty good.

I wouldn't say they have been sandbagging it as much as they have not honed their killer instinct yet. But they will.

I believe the three close wins to this point have been enough to make these players realize you have to keep the pedal to the metal throughout a whole game.

A state school in Utah most people weren't aware existed came into Norman, host of the longest, currently-running home winning streak in the nation, and had Sooner fans sweating it out like a fat man at the beach in a Speedo.

No matter if a team comes from a service academy or is a traditionally elite program from Florida, they all have real football players. Players that had performed at a high enough caliber to be given a scholarship to play football for their institutions.

If these things have not registered yet with these players, an NCAA investigation needs to be launched to examine SAT scores and high school transcripts for the entire Sooner squad because there is no way they are smart enough to qualify for college.

OU comes into this game with a perfect (or perfectly shaky) 4-0 mark. Meanwhile, UT stumbles into Dallas with a mark of 3-1 and fresh off getting slapped around at home like a 1940s housewife by lightly regarded UCLA.

Oklahoma is the slight favorite but many are predicting the Longhorns defense will manhandle them and allow the Burnt Orange, which isn't even a real color, to walk off the field victorious.

This is the basis for my firm belief that the Sooners will not only win this year's version of the Red River Rivalry against the Longhorns but will do so in a more dominating fashion than most pundits feel is possible.

This Texas team is not nearly as good as last year's version while the team in Crimson and Cream is significantly better than they were coming into this game a year ago. That game was a 16-13 nail-biter where the Sooners out-gained the Longhorns in total yardage by a wide margin.

Oklahoma has the more experienced QB in Landry Jones who played a majority of last year's RRR as a redshirt freshman after starter Sam Bradford went down for good in the first half.

The Sooners have better running backs in DeMarco Murray and Mosis Madu who are both threats to bust a big play, both running and receiving.

Ryan Broyles is a genuine go-to game-breaker at wide receiver and as a returner. He has the potential to take a short play and take it to the house every time he touches the ball.

They have good players on the defensive side of the ball who should use this game to show the nation why the coaching staff felt they had the potential to be great.

Jeremy Beal, Travis Lewis and the rest can put aside all the lingering doubts about this unit by shutting down a suspect Texas offense that has produced points and wins with smoke and mirrors thus far.

I think they know it is time to put up or shut up and they will come out with fists flying like Russell Crowe in a public place, but without the inevitable lawsuits.

Doubt them and this team responds with pride. Look for the Sooners to come out with a giant Bevo-sized chip on their collective shoulders and surge ahead in this game, all the way back into the conversation of national championship contenders.

My prediction: OU 31, UT 13

Only, don't tell them any of this before the game. This is our little secret.

If anything, stand outside the stadium and let them know everybody thinks they are nothing but pretenders.

Tell them, in the words of Wayne and Garth, they are "not worthy."

I'm not kidding.