Report of OU-Texas will be primetime is false, says Oklahoma: Heads turned this morning when a Dallas Morning News article labeled next year’s Oklahoma-Texas football game "an evening game." After years of afternoon kickoffs, could the Red River Rivalry be moving under the Cotton Bowl lights? Uh, no. OU released a statement declaring the report "false," and announced "no start time for that game has been determined, and it is unlikely that the determination will be made until this summer." (Tulsa World) MORE: Big 12 denies report too: Tim Allen, deputy commissioner of the Big 12 conference, confirmed that no time has been set for the game. "The game time for next year will not be established until at least June 1, 2010, when our television partners begin to make their selections," Allen said. "It is about 99 percent likely to remain at 11 a.m., with a possible move as late as 2:30 p.m. I am not sure where you got your information, but I do not see a scenario where the game is at night." Later on Wednesday, he added: "There has not been any discussion by those that do the scheduling – the Conference and the television networks – about playing next year's game at night." (Dallas Morning News)
Texas defeats Oklahoma, 16-13: Colt McCoy was a mess. His right thumbnail was ready to fall off, a nagging cold was wearing him down and Oklahoma was confusing him with blitzes he'd never seen. Then, with a chance to put the game away for No. 3 Texas midway through the fourth quarter, he threw an interception that could've turned into a go-ahead touchdown for the Sooners. McCoy salvaged it all, though. He made a game-saving tackle on the pickoff return, then, after his defense got him the ball back, managed to grind out the final 3:31, sending No. 3 Texas to a 16-13 victory over No. 20 Oklahoma on Saturday. (ESPN.com)
No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners (3-2) face No. 2 Texas Longhorns (5-0) at Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Both OU and Texas feature star quarterbacks -- OU's Sam Bradford and Texas' Colt McCoy.
While the Sooners enter the Red River Rivalry with two losses, both to non-conference foes, BYU and Miami. Texas enters undefeated, seeking revenge after last year's BCS controversy, and sights on this year's Big 12 Championship & Rose Bowl.
On Friday, Bob Stoops announced WR Ryan Broyles (shoulder) and safety Quinton Carter (leg) would start against Texas.
With that said, Oklahoma has nothing to loss and everything to gain.
So, feel free to participate in our live blog here on Oklahoma Sooners Blog.
Jeff Dillon, Bleacher Report
Okay, here we go. Texas' revenge campaign kicks off in Dallas against its bitter rival. Of course, the biggest question is how Sam Bradford's aching shoulder will hold up. He looked okay last week versus Baylor. But "okay" is not going to cut it against the Longhorns. Texas benefited last season from a huge game from Brian Orakpo. The Longhorns need another defensive player to step up in this year's game to put pressure on Bradford early (Sergio Kindle? Where are you?) If they get that, this one could be over early... Texas 38, Oklahoma 21
Rick Perry, Texas Gov.
Texas is home to not only the most Fortune 500 companies, but also the best college football teams. No way Oklahoma beats Texas in anything... Texas 23, Oklahoma 13
Adam Abramson, Newsday
Texas has not faced a defense ranked in the Top 50 this season, and they haven't seen a front seven like the one Oklahoma features. I think if OU can get out to a fast start and pass the football, it will be enough to keep the Longhorns at bay... Oklahoma 31, Texas 27
Jake Trotter, The Oklahoman
Colt leads 'Horns on final drive, as Texas takes total command of the series... Texas 27, Oklahoma 24
Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman
Bradford vs. McCoy will be grand fun, but this game turns on something a lot less sexy - offensive-line play. The Sooners have too many deficiencies up front; the Longhorns will take advantage... Texas 34, Oklahoma 24
Tim Griffin, ESPN.com
The Red River Rivalry will be hopping like usual. The Longhorns are coming off a disappointing offensive performance against Colorado where they did just enough before a blizzard of unconventional touchdowns put the game away. And Oklahoma will be back with Sam Bradford throwing again to a group of receivers who had the dropsies in the Sooners' victory over Baylor last week... Texas 31, Oklahoma 24
After missing three games with a shoulder injury, Bradford threw for 392 yards and a touchdown in last week's Big 12-opening 33-7 win over Baylor. But the most disturbing thing for Oklahoma had to be its 11 dropped passes. It's evident that Oklahoma doesn’t have the receiving talent of past years... Texas 27, Oklahoma 21
Stoops wouldn't mind home-and-home series for OU-Texas: Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops points out the atmosphere at the Cotton Bowl when Oklahoma plays Texas is special. But if he had his way, Stoops would like the series to periodically be played at Texas' Memorial Stadium and OU's Owen Field. "I always felt it'd be pretty neat to play it home-and-home once in a while," Stoops said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "That'd be pretty cool, too." (The Oklahoman)
Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy met Saturday at the Cotton Bowl for an interview segment with ESPN's Wendy Nix. The footage will be part of ESPN's coverage leading up to this year's OU-Texas game.
OU-Texas set for an 11 a.m. kickoff; likely nationally televised on ABC: The highly anticipated Oklahoma-Texas football game on Oct. 17 likely will have an 11 a.m. kickoff for the second consecutive year. As first reported Tuesday afternoon on tulsaworld.com, sources have confirmed the late-morning starting time as well as revealing that ABC most likely will select the game in Dallas for a national telecast. The Big 12 could make the 11 a.m. kickoff time official during its spring meetings, which are being held this week in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Tulsa World)
Reynolds out of the season: Word started spreading along the Sooner sideline Saturday at the Cotton Bowl. And it wasn't good. Linebacker Ryan Reynolds had suffered torn knee ligaments -- again. Reynolds, termed the "glue" of the defense, is lost for the season. "I didn't know until they told me on the sideline," said freshman linebacker Travis Lewis. "I was heartbroken." (The Oklahoman)
Lewis performance: Travis Lewis recorded a career-best 19 tackles, tying Brian Bosworth (Nebraska - 1984) for the OU freshman single-game tackle record.
Bradford surpasses Grossman; breaks NCAA record: Bradford's second touchdown pass of the game set an NCAA record for most touchdown passes by a quarterback in their freshman and sophomore seasons with 56. Bradford broke Rex Grossman's (Florida) previous NCAA mark of 55 in his first two years with the Gators (2000-2001).
Texas tops Oklahoma in Red River Rivalry: The Texas Longhorns came into their annual showdown against the Oklahoma Sooners with a quarterback they could trust and a defense playing great under an aggressive new coordinator. Yet even after five solid wins, coach Mack Brown still wondered how good they were.Now, everyone knows.Trailing the No. 1 Sooners nearly all game, Colt McCoy and the No. 5 Longhorns grabbed control in the fourth quarter and refused to let go, pulling away for a 45-35 victory Saturday in one of the greatest games in the storied series between these Red River rivals. (AP/Google)
OU-Texas predictions: Updated predictions from previously.
Tim Griffin, ESPN.com: Oklahoma 31, Texas 24: Will Muschamp has brought back the fire in Texas' defense, but the Sooners still have too many weapons.
Phil Steele, magazine publisher: Oklahoma 34, Texas 27: Two evenly matched teams including their QB's who are almost even as well. OU is the more experienced team and that gets them the win by a TD.
Natalie England, San Antonio Express-News: Texas 31, Oklahoma 24: Texas fans abandon "Texas Fight," and just start cheering, "Mus," "Champ."
David Henry, Amarillo Globe-News: Oklahoma vs. Texas (at Dallas): The honor of the biggest pick of the week goes to Canadian head coach Kyle Lynch, who coached ex- Wildcat/OU defensive end Auston English. "You know, I'm extremely prejudiced (about this pick)," said Lynch. Lord knows we can't have any bias in this space. Ahem... OU 38, UT 14.
Steven Jones, SportingNews: Sam Bradford will take advantage of UT's inexperienced secondary and -- despite some big plays through the air -- Colt McCoy will take too many hits trying to make plays with his feet. Oklahoma 38, Texas 31
Game Preview: Checkout Red River Rivalry game preview featuring team information, radio, television, odds/sportslines, game notes, injuries and more.
Oklahoma vs. Texas (ABC 12:00 ET/11:00 CT) Pregame: ESPN College GameDay live at the Cotton Bowl! (ESPN 10:00 ET/9:00 CT) OKC pregame: (KOCO-TV/ABC 10:00 local time)
Oklahoma fans stop in at Annual Bevo Bash: Thousands of Oklahoma Sooners fans heading to Dallas for the Red River Shootout made a stop at a Carl's Jr. in Marietta for the Bevo Bash.The annual celebration gives fans an opportunity to get revved up for the rivalry with the Texas Longhorns.Carl's Jr. manager Gary March said he grills up about 3,000 burgers over a 3-hour period, a free feast for the fans, with all the fixings. He also said the burgers are different than the ones the store sells regularly. "We can't say what the difference is," said March."I think it's Bevo burgers that have been mashed and just absolutely creamed," said Sooners fan Sally Feuerborn. (KOCO)
What they're saying about the future of OU-Texas: From The Oklahoman
"It's always exciting, the tradition, the history, just the atmosphere with the state fair all around it and splitting the stadium in half. But hey, I understand the business side of it, too. We've got two strong programs and schools that need to protect their interests as well. So it wouldn't be all that bad to do a home-and-home if we had to. I mean, if our administrations felt it was the best thing to do, then I'd certainly be for it and I'm sure coach (Mack) Brown would do the same thing." -- OU coach Bob Stoops
"Arlington is great for pro. But we want to be the place for college football. We've coexisted for 25 years. I don't see why we couldn't do it for 25 more." -- State Fair of Texas president Errol McKoy
"As long as we take care of our stadium, put money back into it, we can count on Oklahoma and Texas staying here for many years. There is no reason in the world for them to leave." -- State Fair of Texas board chairman Pete Schenkel
Sooners upset No. 25 Texas: John Blake will never forget his first win as coach of Oklahoma one of the biggest upsets in the 91-year history of the Red River classic with Texas. Reserve tailback James Allen scored on a 2-yard run in overtime yesterday as Oklahoma rallied from an 11-point deficit to shock No. 25 Texas 30-27 to trigger a wild celebration.(AP/NY Daily News)
Sooners stay perfect: The No.2-ranked Oklahoma Sooners proved they can win without Tony Casillas, and it`s a good thing, because the all-America noseguard may be missing from the lineup for a while. Casillas played three plays before suffering a knee injury Saturday, but the stout Sooner defense slammed the door on the Texas Longhorns anyway in a 14-7 victory. (AP)
Murray says he's fine: Popular speculation is that after five games [DeMarco] Murray still doesn't have 2007's to-the-house speed after undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated kneecap last winter. "I really don't want to talk about it," he reiterated. "I'm good. I'm ready to play." I know some plays haven't been there, but I find myself getting a little impatient at times and trying to break it and I miss the big one. I've just got to stop being impatient. It's going to come for me soon." Actually, through five games Murray has carried more times (85 attempts to 50) and for more yards (431-316) than a year ago, though his average per carry (5.1 yards) is down by almost a yard. He says he’s fine and that added strength and weight have made him a better between-the-tackles runner and a much better blocker. (Star-Telegram)
Nice gesture: [Mack] Brown is believed to be the first coach in series history to send flowers to his rival. He shipped a bouquet to Stoops and his wife, Carol, after the birth of their twin sons, Isaac and Jake, in 1999. The gesture caught Stoops by surprise. "I was sitting there thinking, 'I'm not supposed to like this guy.' So I like the man for about a week." (Dallas Morning News)
Backup QB remains a concern for Texas: Brown acknowledged Thursday that his team's chances would suffer greatly if starting quarterback Colt McCoy were to be injured. Brown said that the Longhorns would have to modify their offense if backups Chiles or Sherrod Harris were forced to replace McCoy. "John and Sherrod are both improving, but neither is where we want them to be," Brown said. "We're trying to be patient. We're trying to hang in there, but that's an area where we need to get better." (Austin American-Statesman)
Cooper, McCoy expected to play: From Oklahoman'sOU Blog... Jake Trotter writes, Center Jon Cooper and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy are locks to play Saturday against Texas. Not only that, both will be close to 100 percent, they've said this week. We'll have more as the week goes along about the status of DeMarcus Granger and Frank Alexander.
Oklahoma-Texas Governors Red River Rivalry wager; to benefit Ike victims: The Red River Rivalry is being waged in more places than the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and Texas Governor Rick Perry are also getting in on the competition. They have made a friendly wager on Saturday's much-anticipated football game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns. The governor whose team comes up short will donate cases of steaks to an organization that has helped people impacted by Hurricane Ike. (AP/KTEN)
It might cost you; average ticket price $360: At StubHub, OU-Texas tickets are hot, with sales for the game second only this season to Southern Cal-Ohio State. The company is reporting that several hundred tickets are available on the site, with the average price at around $361. That's less than a year ago, when the average was $400, although sales of tickets to the Red River Rivalry are actually up 50 percent from 2007. Ticket-buyers from 35 states have purchased tickets to the OU-Texas game through StubHub, with 14 percent of buyers from Oklahoma. (The Oklahoman)
Sooners using shirts as reminder: Oklahoma players wore special workout shirts this summer that detailed team goals. One shirt said, "Built Road Tough." OU was 2-2 last year in true road games and lost to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. "That [road] shirt let us know you got to be tough on the road," Clayton said. "That's what we did last year on the road. We gave up. We quit. We weren't tough. The shirts are more motivational." Another shirt, which Clayton was wearing at Monday's practice said, "Oklahoma Strength & Speed" on the front and "Fed Ex BCS National Championship 2009" on the back. (Dallas Morning News)
Sam's Cotton Bowl prospective: This will be OU quarterback Sam Bradford's third trip down "The Tunnel." He was a first-year freshman in 2006, watching while Paul Thompson and Joey Halzle prepared to take all the reps. Last year, it was his show. "It was night and day," he said. "Going down there the first year, it was fun being part of the experience, getting to go down the tunnel and being a part of it on the field. But last year, knowing I was going to play the game, it was something I had wanted to do for a while. It was pretty much two totally different experiences. The first year, I was pretty much along for the ride, and last year it was a business trip." (Tulsa World)
Sooners run to victory: Shrimpsized Greg Pruitt, a 176-pound meteor, blazed for three touchdowns and over 200 yards rushing today to give the Oklahoma Sooners a 48-27 victory over Texas in a brutal, sledgehammer war of wishbone offenses. (AP... More From ("Sooners Stun Texas" UPI)
Switzer furious with officials: Only the fourth tie in 79 years of the Oklahoma-Texas series left Texas Coach Fred Akers thankful and Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer fighting mad at the officials yesterday. The top-ranked Longhorns gained the 15-15 tie on Jeff Ward's 32-yard field goal in the rain as time ran out after Switzer of the No. 3-rated Sooners had ordered an intentional safety. "It was a tremendous thing for us to salvage a tie," said Akers. (AP.. More from "Switzer blames officials for tie" Associated Press)
Mossis Madu on the OU-Texas game meaning more this year than last: "It always means this much. We could both be ranked 24 and 25, or we could be unranked. It's OU-Texas and it is always a big deal."
Auston English on being a Texas native playing for Oklahoma in this game: "It's a big game, I don't think it really matters where you come from once you realize the history behind the series. It becomes a big deal for anybody that goes to your school."
Dominique Franks on the anticipation of OU-Texas: "There's nothing like OU-Texas. I'm really excited and ready for Saturday to come. This is the biggest anticipation of the year. It's a one versus five matchup. There's just a lot of anticipation going into the game, a lot of talk about whether our defense can stop their offense or their defense being able to stop our offense."
ABC picks up OU-Texas and OU-Cincinnati broadcast: ABC announced today that it will televise this year's Oklahoma-Texas game from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday, Oct. 11. The network has set the kickoff time for 11 a.m. ABC also announced that it will televise OU's home game with Cincinnati on Sept. 6. That game will begin at 2:30 p.m. The 2008 season will mark the 102nd renewal of the AT&T Red River Rivalry, which has been played continuously in Dallas since 1929. ABC has shown the last nine contests between the Sooners and Longhorns. Oklahoma and Cincinnati will be meeting for the first time. The game in Norman is the first in a two-game contract between the schools. The Sooners will return the game on Sept. 25, 2010, at Paul Brown Stadium, the home facility for the Cincinnati Bengals. (SoonerSports PR)
OU fan to stand trial after attacking Texas fan at Hudson's: A judge ordered a man Wednesday to stand trial on a felony assault charge after a bar confrontation that escalated from football trash-talking to a near castration. Allen Michael Beckett, 54, will be tried on a charge of aggravated assault and battery, Special Judge D. Fred Doak ruled. Beckett, a federal auditor and church deacon, is accused of tearing the scrotum of Brian Christopher Thomas, 35, in June. Thomas said he received more than 60 stitches and still endures pain, although there was no permanent damage. Thomas wore a University of Texas shirt into a bar popular with fans of the University of Oklahoma and said Beckett immediately taunted him. After about 20 minutes at a table, Thomas said he decided to leave and went to pay his tab at the bar when Beckett attacked him. "I turned around and he grabbed a hold of my testicles," Thomas said. (Associated Press)
ESPN College GameDay Live! from Norman: ESPN College GameDay is headed for Norman again. Officials with the weekly college football show contacted the Oklahoma Athletics Department Sunday morning with the word that the network had selected this week's homecoming game with the Missouri Tigers. It will be the 14th time the show has been on hand for an Oklahoma game, including last year's game at Texas A&M. GameDay's last visit to Norman was for the 2003 Oklahoma State game. Other trips to Norman included the 2000 Nebraska game, the 2001 Kansas State game and the 1995 Colorado game. The exact location for the GameDay set will be determined later this week. GameDay features host Chris Fowler and analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard, who spend two hours each Saturday morning providing in-depth coverage of college football. (SoonerSports PR)
Brown returned with eight carries: Chris Brown, who took a blow to the head at Tulsa and carried just once at Colorado last week, rejoined OU's tailback rotation. He carried eight times for just 24 yards, but converted on third-and-short during two touchdown drives. (Tulsa World)
Peterson on the OU sideline: Former OU star running back Adrian Peterson cheered the Sooners from the sidelines Saturday. His new team, the Minnesota Vikings, is off this week. "It felt like he was still one of us," junior wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias said. "After every play, he was hitting you and saying congratulations. He was one of those great players, and I still feel like he's part of this team." (Dallas Morning News)
Harris celebrates 21st birthday with eight tackles: Oklahoma free safety Nic Harris couldn't have envisioned a much better 21st birthday. The Alexandria, La., native turned 21 Saturday and celebrated with the first victory over Texas in his three seasons at OU. Harris had a team-high eight tackles and one quarterback sack. (NewsOK.com)
Play of the Game? With the score tied 14-14 at halftime, Texas came out firing to start the second half. The Longhorns marched 64 yards in seven plays to set up first-and-goal from the Oklahoma 8. A delay of game penalty pushed the ball back to the 13. Texas running back Jamaal Charles rushed over left tackle and was headed toward the end zone when OU linebacker Curtis Lofton grabbed him from behind and used his right hand to slap the football from Charles' grasp. Stoops called it the "play of the game." OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy recovered the fumble at the OU 4-yard line. (Dallas Morning News)
Gerald McCoy returned to starting lineup: Oklahoma redshirt freshman Gerald McCoy returned to the starting lineup at defensive tackle for the first time since the second week of the season. McCoy broke a bone in his right hand against Miami and sat out the following week. McCoy has played the last two games as a backup, with his hand in a cast. (Dallas Morning News)
Oklahoma defeats Texas 28-21 in Red River Rivalry: After growing up in the Texas family, Malcolm Kelly switched sides for a better chance at winning the Red River Rivalry. Without him, No. 10 Oklahoma might never have come away with their latest victory in the century-old series. Kelly caught the game-winning 35-yard pass in the fourth quarter, then stuck around to savor it. Even as an announcement over the public address system warned everyone to leave the Cotton Bowl because of an impending thunderstorm, Kelly was posing near midfield for another photo and soaking in his first win over the 19th-ranked Longhorns. "A lot of great players have played in this game, and I wanted to be one that walked off victorious," said Kelly, who caught five passes for 105 yards and one score in Oklahoma's 28-21 win Saturday. "I had a good game, so I feel like I accomplished that." (AP/SportingNews - Stats)
Sooner fans remain on tunnel side: UT fans will still be sitting in the end zone opposite the Cotton Bowl's tunnel for today's game. The school had the right to sit over the tunnel as the designated home team but chose to remain in its traditional spot. Seating over the tunnel was once considered a big edge, but improved security measures now limit contact between fans and players. And by staying put, UT fans have a clear view of the replay screen over the tunnel. (Dallas Morning News)
Wright's past Texas connection:OU defensive backs coach Bobby Jack Wright knows what the OU-Texas rivalry is like wearing burnt orange. Wright spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Texas before joining Bob Stoops' staff in 1999. "When I was south of the Red (River), I got cussed by people north of the Red,” Wright said. "Being born and raised in Texas, I have a lot of friends in Texas. "I get cussed by them now." (NewsOK.com)
Switzer on the Red River Rivalry: (Barry) Switzer, who turns 70 today, works as a college football analyst for XM Satellite Radio, but still remembers the pressure surrounding an OU-Texas game. "I know how that game goes. I know the pressure," he said. "It's tremendous." The former OU coach said the weight to win the game is always heaviest for those on the OU sideline. "I don't think I've met anybody that's graduated from the University of Texas and come north of the Red River to make a living," he said. "But we've got a lot of our graduates who left and have gone south of the Red River, to Dallas and Houston, that make a living and live in those communities, the social clubs, the golf clubs ... It's very important to us. There's tremendous pressure on Oklahoma to win this game every year. I’ve always felt that."(Norman Transcript)
Only so far back: Stoops said he only goes back two years to look at past Texas-OU games. "We'll look a little bit at what they were doing," Stoops said. "If you go back too far, things look too different." (Dallas Morning News)
Hate involved in Red River Rivalry? Asked about his OU-Texas experience this week, Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy was quoted as saying: "I was just amazed at how much these teams hated each other." Asked to respond Tuesday, Stoops said: "We don't talk about hating anybody, and I don't think it does a whole lot for you. In the end, people talk about hating or being angry, that doesn't get you two minutes into the game. After that, you've got to play and you've got to know what you're doing, and you've got to have the focus and the ability to get it done." (Tulsa World)
More Franks, less Smith on returns? Smith will continue to return punts, but Stoops might choose to rest him on occasion, replacing him with Dominique Franks. Stoops hinted that Smith's muffed punt could have been a result of his starting cornerback being tired late in a game where OU's defense had been on the field more than usual. "I've got to be smarter (about) how fatigued he is at times, how many snaps he's had," Stoops said of Smith. "Dominique Franks has done a great job with it. We need to probably spell (Smith) some for that reason."(NewsOK.com)
Stoops: It's not just about Texas: Stoops said beating Texas is just a part of the whole picture. "In the end, we've beaten Texas before and not won the Big 12 championship, and I don't hear anybody congratulating us at the end of the year," Stoops said. "If you beat them and do nothing the rest of the year, that doesn't go around here. "That might go at some schools where everybody said, 'At least you did that and you're showing improvement,' or whatever, but that doesn't happen here. Winning a championship is what matters." (Dallas Morning News)
