By JOHN E. HOOVER Sports Columnist on Nov 22, 2012, at 1:57 PM Updated on 11/22 at 1:57 PM
GAME POINT
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In Saturday’s Tulsa World, our staff will analyze the head-to-head matchups in this year’s Bedlam contest in Norman.
Those are the good ones, where you examine how OSU’s rushing offense will do against OU’s rushing defense, and vice versa, etc.
This one can be a bit more fun: who has the better talent at a given position?
Let’s take a look:
Quarterback
OU — Clint Chelf is starting his first Bedlam game. Landry Jones is starting his fourth. Jones is usually great at home, and he just had the best game of his career. Not good news for Cowboy DBs.
Running back
OSU — Coming off their worst defensive performance ever, the Sooners now must deal with Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith. At OU, Damien Williams plods behind an injury-riddled line, Roy Finch and Trey Millard haven’t been used right all season and Dominique Whaley has fallen off the face of the earth.
Receiver
OU —Josh Stewart has emerged as a special player for OSU, and Chelf has some other athletic targets. But give the advantage to Kenny Stills, Justin Brown, Sterling Shepard and Jalen Saunders. The Cowboy DBs can’t cover all those Sooner wideouts.
Offensive line
OSU — The Cowboys have an experienced group who play with an attitude. The Sooners are just trying to find five healthy guys on a given series.
Special teams
OU — Oklahoma State has made game-changing plays lately and as has nation’s best kicker/punter. But year-long consistency favors the Sooners almost across the board, and especially when they’re returning kicks.
Defensive line
OSU — The Sooners’ No. 1 weakness was exposed the last two weeks, while OSU’s interior play has been better and better. If OU can’t generate any pressure with its front four, the defense becomes unstable.
Linebackers
OSU — The Cowboys’ Alex Elkins/Caleb Lavey/Shaun Lewis trio ranges from dependable to dynamic. Oklahoma hardly even used linebackers vs. Baylor and West Virginia, and paid for it.
Secondary
OU — The Cowboys created a spot for hybrid LB/S Lyndell Johnson to make plays. Brodrick Brown and Justin Gilbert are as athletic as anyone but have given up too many big plays. OU has one of the nation’s most talented group of DBs, led by big-play corners Aaron Colvin and Demontre Hurst and safety Tony Jefferson.
Coaching
OSU — Mike Stoops’ inability to adjust last week at West Virginia, and Landry Jones, not Josh Heupel, calling the game-winning audible, are indictments on the OU staff. The Cowboy staff still coaches with a chip on its shoulder and looks hungry for more Bedlam success.
Winner
OU, 42-35 — OU’s defensive issues are problematic against such a diverse and forceful OSU offense. Oklahoma will find holes in the OSU defense, too. Both teams will move the football, but which one takes care of it better? Though the Sooners are no longer impervious at home, take the home team.
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