Oklahoma Football vs. Texas, Part II: 3 Bold Predictions
By John Scimeca
For this year’s Big 12 Championship Game, No. 5 Oklahoma football and No. 9 Texas will meet Saturday outside of Dallas for the first time since 1923.
This year’s Big 12 Championship Game, held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., features a special flavor: the “Red River Rematch,” if you will. OU and Texas met less than two months ago in their annual scrum, with the Longhorns emerging victorious by a score of 48-45.
In that Oct. 6 meeting at the Texas State Fairgrounds, both teams combined for more than 1,000 yards. OU trailed by three touchdowns and mounted a furious comeback, only to fall short after Texas freshman kicker Cameron Dicker hit from 40 yards out with nine seconds remaining. Saturday’s contest figures to provide many of the same offensive fireworks.
An awful lot is on the line for both programs. The Longhorns have been dying to shout from the mountaintops, “Texas is back!” with full certainty for several seasons now. Second-year head coach Tom Herman has restored a good deal of optimism in Austin by leading Texas to a 9-3 record this year. The program hasn’t won a Big 12 title since 2009, when former and newly re-hired North Carolina head coach Mack Brown held the reins. In that season, Texas lost in the national championship game to Alabama, 37-21.
Oklahoma, on the other hand, has a record of recent excellence to maintain. The Sooners have won three Big 12 titles in a row, including last year under new head coach Lincoln Riley. A Heisman co-favorite, star quarterback Kyler Murray, has replaced last year’s Heisman winner Baker Mayfield. The squad has ripped off 11 wins, including last week’s 59-56 thriller over West Virginia on the road.