The last two meetings were blowout victories by the Sooners which has the entire state of Texas in a state of depression in anticipation of tomorrow's Red River Rivalry which has become the Red River Rout.
So before we head to bed, here's the tale of the tape for tomorrow's battle in the Cotton Bowl.
Keys to Victory
1. Run, Run, Run
Bob Stoops is 58-1 when his Sooners rush for over 200 yards in a game. The winner of the OU/Texas game is the one who rushes for more yards historically, as well. Oklahoma features a backfield by committee in seniors Damien Williams, Brennan Clay and Roy Finch. Toss in heralded freshman Keith Ford and quarterback Blake Bell and the Sooners are the most formidable running team Texas has faced.
Texas features a fine stable of backs, too. Jonathan Gray, Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron are tough, fast runners.
Many experts think the only chance for Texas is to run straight at the Sooners and control the ball and clock and limit Oklahoma possessions.
Whoever wins this battle usually wins the game.
2. Blake Bell
Neither Notre Dame and TCU had an answer to stop Blake Bell.
The 6' 5" 252 lb. quarterback is a bruising, battering ram runner who punishes linebackers and safetys in a short yardage package and in quarterback scrambles off of the passing game.
He took over the late stages of both the Notre Dame game and TCU game and ran for crucial first downs to ice both games.
It's big, high-profile national stages like this one where legends are born.
Is Texas tough enough to stop the Belldozer?
3. Oklahoma Press Man Coverage
Bob Stoops teams are known for tight press-man coverage at the corners.
Senior Aaron Colvin and freshman Zack Sanchez have turned in shut-down performances through 5 games and are a big reason the Sooners are undefeated.
Texas strength lies in its speedy receivers: Jaxon Shipley, Mike Davis and Kendall Sanders.
Case McCoy didn't inherit his brothers passing genes.
Unfortunately for Texas tomorrow, if he is forced to make plays with his arm it could get ugly early for the Longhorns.
See Tommy Rees performance in South Bend for a sneak preview.
4. Second Quarter Turnover Blues
Oklahoma has outscored Texas 51-7 in the second quarter the past two years.
Ballgame.
To add insult to injury, Oklahoma has forced 8 Texas turnovers during that span which virtually ended all hopes for the Burnt Orange faithful.
Start slow again tomorrow and turn the ball over and it will be a long day for the Longhorns for the third straight year.
5. Bob Stoops
In today's era of high-priced head coaches, not many games of this magnitude have a coaching advantage.
But what else would you call it when Bob Stoops is 9-5 against Mack Brown and has won the last two games by scores of 55-17 and 63-21?
In fact, Bob Stoops holds the top 3 largest margins of victory over Texas in the 107 meetings between the two teams having posted over 60 points three different times.
Sooners can make it four straight over Texas tomorrow, maintain their undefeated season and Stoops will be looking for style points to please BCS voters.
Bob Stoops teams seem to play with a chip on their shoulder in this game and he has been able to get his players stoked for this game more than Mack Brown can do for his players mentality.
And, Mack Brown is fighting for his coaching life but it may already be too late to save his career at Texas.
Earlier this week Brown retold a story about his conversation with Texas coaching legend Darrell Royal and his advice for ending a losing streak in this very streaky series.
Royal told Brown this is how you end the streak:
"When you get tired of the losin' and are good enough to do something about it!"
I am certain the Texas faithful and Mack Brown are plenty tired of the losin'.
We'll find out tomorrow if they are good enough to do anything about it.
Boomer.
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