Oklahoma-Texas Tech: Sooners Ready for No. 2 Red Raiders

Norman—Oklahoma knows that in order to have a chance to play for the Big 12 or even the BCS National Championship, it must first get past the No. 2 Red Raiders of Texas Tech.

For the third straight week, Texas Tech (10-0, 6-0) will play the biggest game in its history.

They have consecutively beaten Texas (39-33) who was ranked No. 1, in their last game before their bye week, and Oklahoma State (56-20), which was ranked ninth in the nation. Both wins were at home.

Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1) has gone 4-0 since a 45-35 loss to Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

The Sooners have beaten Kansas (45-31), Kansas State (58-35), Nebraska (62-28), and Texas A&M (66-21) all in succession, and are now ranked fifth in the nation.

Now with the Red Raiders visiting Norman, a place Texas Tech has never won, the Sooners are ready for the challenge at hand.

Facing off against each other will be two Heisman hopefuls, Tech quarterback Graham Harrell and Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford. Both are coming off huge performances.

Harrell completed 40 of his 50 passes against Oklahoma State for 456 yards and six touchdowns.

"The guy has a thorough understanding in everything they do to the point he can go blindfolded and point out every receiver on every route," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said of Harrell. "He has excellent feet in the pocket to keep himself alive on the play and throw on the run. When he has what he likes, he rarely is not going to be on the mark."

Bradford completed 22 of his 33 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns in the win against Texas A&M. He also had five carries for 23 yards on the ground with one score.

We are really balanced with our running and passing games," Bradford said. "Our attitude is better this year. There is a different mindset with this team. We still have a lot of our goals in front of us."

In the last five meetings between the Sooners and Red Raiders, Oklahoma holds a 3-2 advantage, including a come from behind 34-24 win in 2006.

Last season in Lubbock, Tech defeated Oklahoma 34-28 after Bradford went down with a concussion late in the first quarter.

With a win, Oklahoma would drastically improve their chances to win the Big 12 South, via a three-way tie with Texas and Texas Tech, and a possible BCS Championship appearance if they were to win the Big 12 Championship against Missouri, the same team they beat last season 38-17 in the Big 12 Championship.

If a three-way tie occurred, whichever team was higher ranked in the BCS would advance to the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.

However, a Tech win would seal up the South for the Red Raiders, and with a win in the Big 12 Championship, Texas Tech would play for the BCS National Championship against possibly the SEC champion, No. 1 Alabama or No. 4 Florida.

Oklahoma would then be headed to either the Cotton Bowl or to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl. One thing is for sure—there will be fireworks in this one.

The game will air on ESPN's Saturday Night football, channel 8. Game time will be at 7:00.