Red River Rivalry: Why Landry Jones Vaults Himself into the Heisman Picture

With quarterback Landry Jones taking part in his third Red River Rivalry game against the Texas Longhorns, this year’s encounter could elevate the junior to a higher status in the race for the Heisman, if the Sooners can improve to 5-0 this afternoon.

Jones has been playing like a strong Heisman contender this season, as he’s already thrown for nearly 1500 yards and 10 touchdowns along with five interceptions in 2011.

But today, Texas will not make Jones’ day easy—their defense ranks 15^th overall in the nation in total defense, and the unit has only allowed 289 yards this season.

In addition to being a top 20 defense this season, the Longhorns currently rank 16^th in pass defense, giving up just 178 yards through the air in their first four games.

While most quarterbacks would be troubled against a strong Texas defense, Jones has the Sooner offense purring in their first four games, ranking 4^th in the nation in total offense and averaging an outstanding 555 yards per game in 2011.

This year’s edition of the Red River Rivalry could be the classic strong defense versus the high-powered offense, as these two programs look to capture bragging rights for another year and definitely move up into National Title contenders later this fall.

If Jones and the Sooners continue their way this season of lighting up the scoreboard and pull off the win this afternoon, the junior quarterback will have another win over a top 15 team to go along with the victory in Tallahassee earlier in September.

Will Landry Jones impress voters and move up the ladder of Heisman contenders when the Sooners square off with the Longhorns today?

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