Want the story on OU-Texas? Follow the running backs
Published: 9/27/2010 9:47 AM
Last Modified: 9/27/2010 9:47 AM
Interesting exchange to start OU-Texas week, pulled right from the losing locker room in Austin Saturday.
From the Houston Chronicle: "It's all going to depend on how you react," (Fozzy) Whittaker told (Garrett) Gilbert. "It's about whether you let it get to you or show some resiliency."
So OU-Texas comes down to the quarterbacks?
"The pressure's on Sooners quarterback Landry Jones to avoid mistakes against the Longhorns' secondary," writes Stewart Mandel on SI.com.
Obsess all week over Jones and Gilbert if you want. But you would be better off wondering whether DeMarco Murray or Whittaker/Tre' Newton/Cody Johnson/D.J. Monroe will be more productive.
OU-Texas comes down to the running backs.
The Longhorns won last year in spite of Colt McCoy. The befuddled QB threw for just 127 yards and almost blew the game with a late interception. Luckily for him, Whittaker came through with 71 crucial rushing yards.
Jones doubled McCoy's passing total, but the Sooners lost just the same. Their leading rusher, see, was Chris Brown with 23 yards.
Sam Bradford out-passed McCoy by 110 yards in the epic, but the Sooners lost anyway. Brown and Murray combined for 35 yards. Texas' Chris Ogbonnaya rushed for 127.
Hmm.
In 2007, McCoy out-threw Bradford 324-244. But there was Murray, exploding for a 65-yard touchdown gallop en route to a 128-yard game and the last OU win in the series.
In '06, McCoy threw for just 108 yards. This time, Paul Thompson doubled his total. And you guessed it – Texas won as tailback combo Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young out-rushed Adrian Peterson.
See a trend yet?
Charles, not Vince Young, broke open the '05 game with an 80-yard touchdown sprint.
Peterson, not Jason White, made the difference in the '04 game with 225 yards.
Quentin Griffin, not Nate Hybl, rescued the '02 game with 248 yards and the two clinching touchdowns.
Even Stoops vs. Brown I was a running back's game. Hodges Mitchell's game. Major Applewhite passed for 328 yards. Josh Heupel passed for 311. Mitchell rushed for 204 yards.
The Sooners rushed for 15.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
