![_Literature - <i>Arab Spring</i> [Album Review]](http://austinist.com/assets_c/2012/02/arab spring-thumb-250x250-691591.jpg)
Football Preview: Texas-OU The Way It Should Be
It’s what sports writers across the South have been talking about all week.
It’s Texas-OU the way it should be, not only because of the teams’ Top-5 rankings, but because so far this season, both squads have met and exceeded even the loftiest of expectations.
Unlike last year’s meeting when both teams arrived in Dallas following unexpected losses, the Longhorns and Sooners have each established tremendous momentum through their first five games. And as we all know from high school physics, such copious amounts of momentum usually result in a really spectacular collision.
What accounts for much of the additional enthusiasm surrounding this year’s game are the performances that quarterbacks Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford have given through the first half of the season. The numbers are staggering. Bradford currently ranks second nationally in passing efficiency, with McCoy fourth. Both players have completed nearly 80 percent of their passes.
When asked about the matchup at quarterback, Brown didn’t hesitate in saying “I'd have to go back and look at it, but I don't see how it could be any better.”
But it’s not entirely their passing abilities that have the two sitting atop most conjecturers’ Heisman ballots.
As efficient as McCoy has been throwing, it is his shifty scrambling ability that has elevated Texas’ offensive performance despite its lack of a reliable tailback. And outside of his downfield accuracy, it is Bradford’s mental acuity that has facilitated the no-huddle attack that has overwhelmed Sooner opponents.
Aside from a presumed high level of play from both sides, however, it’s a bit more difficult to assess exactly what sort of game we can expect to see.
On paper, there are a number of strength-on-strength matchups to be had. The Sooner defense is allowing only 13.8 points per game, second only to Texas’ 11.4 in the Big 12. Both offenses average better than 47 points per contest. Something’s gotta give, as they say, but even Brown isn’t sure what.
“It's two really good offenses and two really good defenses. I used to sit and say, even when the offenses were great and the defenses were bad, this will be a high-scoring battle, but that wasn't the case,” he told reporters Wednesday.
Fortunately all the hypothesizing will rescind in less than a days’ time, giving way to two teams concerned less with stats and predictions than they are with pride.
Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops spoke of the bigger picture this week when asked about the significance that this rivalry holds.
“It's more than just bragging rights now. It's an inside track, or one up on the other guy, on your way to a championship, hopefully.”
