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High-stakes Saturday: there is a full house of showdown games this weekend, and none will be bigger than the Red River Shootout, which has been, ahem, a little lopsided of late
Sporting News, The, Oct 11, 2004 by Matt Hayes
There was the time when Chris Simms said Texas was just as talent-as the other guys. Or when Roy Williams claimed the Longhorns could lose to those guys and still win the Big 12 championship. Or when coach Mack Brown bristled at the notion of a psychological advantage.
Now that the stakes are as big as they've ever been in the Red River Shootout, Texas has a new way of dealing with life as Oklahoma's punching bag: Don't talk about the Sooners. At least that's Brown's story this time around.
After yet another meaningless win over Big 12 tomato can Baylor last weekend, Brown instructed his players to enjoy "a great win" and to not talk about "the next opponent" until later in the week.
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But after his team's win over Texas Tech, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops looked into the TV camera, grinned and said the game with Texas "can't get here quick enough." Therein lies the problem for the Longhorns in this bitter rivalry. Oklahoma thrives in the atmosphere; Texas wilts in it.
After four years of demoralizing and deflating losses, Texas is at a crossroads. Those 10-win seasons aren't enough anymore. Nor are the Holiday Bowls or top five recruiting classes. Another loss to the hated Sooners could be crippling to Brown's unhealthy status in Austin. But with a win, the Longhorns could break through and finally reach expectations.
In the four previous seasons, Texas won 41 games--and lost to Oklahoma by a combined 177-54.
"We've had a lot of success here" Brown said this summer. "For one reason or another, it just hasn't happened in that game of late. We realize we have to start being competitive in that game."
Just like Tennessee had to be competitive with Florida in the 1990s before it could take the next step in the championship progression. The Volunteers lost five straight to the Gators from 1993-97, and those 10-win seasons and Citrus Bowls weren't enough in Knoxville, either. Then Tennessee finally broke through against the Gators in 1998, and a few months later, the Vols were finishing off an unbeaten season in the national title game.
Seems simple enough--only there's one teenie-weenie problem: The stakes are just as high for the Sooners, who, like the Longhorns, are 4-0.
The aura built during the last five seasons under Stoops isn't glowing as brightly as it once did. Falling to Texas would be the Sooners' third loss in their past seven games, starting with last season's back-to-back meltdowns in the Big 12 championship game and the Sugar Bowl, and the invincibility that was so prevalent would be gone. Texas must establish; OU must re-establish.
The stakes are high, all right. But who needs it more?
BE BOLD OR FOLD
Texas has talked about being more aggressive defensively under new coordinator Greg Robinson. Well, it's time to show it. Sooners quarterback Jason White's accuracy decreases significantly when pressured, and in order to score enough points, the Longhorns will need the short fields that often come from turnovers.
LET IT RIDE
The Sooners have established a dangerous running game with freshman Adrian Peterson, but the points will come from the passing game. Oklahoma must use more maximum-protection packages and get star wideout Mark Clayton more involved than he has been this season. The staff has been almost too insistent on establishing Peterson--at the expense of the nation's best receiver.
(Pick: Oklahoma 30, Texas 17)
Tennessee (3-1) at Georgia (4-0)
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Without some help from an SEC officiating crew, Tennessee might be sitting on a 0-2 start in league play. Rarely has a team--or two freshmen quarterbacks--received so much hype after a game it should have lost. Reality arrived in last week's blowout loss to Auburn. Now the Volunteers need a win to stay alive in the SEC East race. After stumbling for the first month of the season, Georgia finally played like a team with national championship potential last weekend against LSU. A win over the Vols would move the Bulldogs one step closer to playing in their third consecutive league championship game.
BE BOLD OR FOLD
After a month of sharing the quarterback job, it's obvious Erik Ainge has moved ahead of Brent Schaeffer on Tennessee's depth chart. And that will be a problem against Georgia. If the Vols have any chance of pulling the upset, they must use Schaeffer more than they have in the previous two games. Schaeffer can scramble for yards after the pass protection breaks down; Ainge is a statue. Georgia will blitz Ainge and force poor decisions and turnovers. Tennessee's best chance is to go with Schaeffer, an underrated thrower who would make the Bulldogs account for his ability to break containment.
LET IT RIDE
Georgia quarterback David Greene finally played like the David Greene of old against LSU. That's great; now don't forget running back Danny Ware. Florida gave up on the run too early when it was having success against the Vols, and Auburn ran for 148 yards against them. Ware is the best freshman back in the SEC in years, and his bruising, battering style will wear down Tennessee and set up Greene's play-action passes. Ware has been healthy for two full games this season (Georgia Southern and LSU), and he rushed for 242 yards on 40 carries (6.1 average) in those games. Establishing the run in big games translates to establishing a foundation for a championship season.
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