Red River Rivarly Week Part 2

By Brad Calhoun

Good lord am I waiting for this weekend to be here and gone. Texas/OU weekend is usually very exciting for me. Coming off a very surprising loss to UCLA, OU is the last the team Texas would wanna see. There is a lot of bragging right no doubt with a win in the Red River Shootout. Texas/OU has been over the years the most love/hate rivalry I've ever come in contact with. As Jacob wrote in his entry, all year long, we root for the Rangers, Cowboys, Stars and Mavericks and then for one game all lines are drawn in the sand. My feelings of OU fans is much different than any other sports fans. I have absolute hate for OU fans. With hate that does mean I have a great amount of respect and regard for them. OU have been a power house in the south for many years and it's hard to deny any of that. When you watch football on Sunday it's hard to not see the number of Sooners (as well the number of Longhorns).


I do believe it will be a Longhorn loss and I kind of see this being similar to the Cowboys losing the first 2 games this season. Only difference is the amount of talent on the Cowboys compared to the Longhorns, so the Longhorns have a lot going against them. Longhorns all around were horrible against a crappy UCLA football team. They couldn't run the ball and they couldn't do it in the air. So what do you do besides getting a bionic kicker? Longhorns defense last week was dismal as well but it was probably in part watching a horrible Longhorn offense.

OU just came off a close game against a nitty gritty Air Force team who had beat them at their own game. OU's offense has a chance to finally show something but it all depends on their QB, Landry Jones. I was quite impressed with him last year throwing 6 TDs in one game. This year he has just been "MEH". Nothing impressive just enough to get by. The defense is always strong out front but their secondary has some holes.

I think this will be a battle of the suck. OU and Texas both took a big hit in the draft and they just have to rebuild like any team. The problem is I think Texas might suck a little more than OU does. If I'm going to be objective I will have to say I see it's quite possible OU will come up victorious. Now don't get me wrong (here is where I become completely bias) OU still sucks balls I sure hope Bob Stoops gets a ball thrown at his nuts.

Just a side note: If you believe you need to go to a Texas or OU to root for them or be a fan of them I have a suggestion for you. Go outside, maybe in your backyard, maybe around the park, and I want you to go find a rock. Not too big to where you can't carry it but not too small. Now hold that rock in your hand and look at it deeply. As you gaze at the rock, with one swift motion, I want you to hit yourself repeatedly with the rock until you can't feel your face anymore or you can no longer hold the rock (which ever comes first). You don't have to go to Texas or OU to be a fan. That is completely idiotic. Enjoy the damn game and please talk as much crap as possible to your OU/Texas friend. Then go buy the winner a beer.

Emotions Flow For The Rangers

Texas Rangers Celebration minus Josh Hamilton who was off at bible study.


I'm quickly going to describe my feeling about the Rangers winning the AL West. From as long as I could remember I've loved the Rangers. I have been obsessed with them almost to a point where I might of thought about therapy. Cowboys were great no doubt very much favorite of mine but the Rangers had and always will have a special spot in my heart. I played baseball my whole and always looked up the Rangers.

Rafael Palmerio (despite steroid allegations) was my hero. When he was traded to the Orioles I won't lie I cried a little. Will Clark took over at first and presumed to be another hero of mine. I would look forward to bat day every year, 4th of July would be spent watching fireworks. I went to Arlington Stadium and only remember how hot that place was with those bleachers. I walked the Ballpark in Arlington when it was just dirt with no grass. I went to opening in 1994 in the nose bleeds. In 96' we went to the playoff game against the Yankees which of course we loss. And the list goes on and on.....

Saturday when the Rangers clinch the west sparked up tons of emotions. This has been a long ride this season and I think that's why I find baseball so special. For almost 8 months, one teams comes out the best in the world. This team has fought through so much and no it hasn't been pretty but they have fought through it all. Through scandal with our manager Ron Washington doing coke, bankruptcy, sell of the team, MVP season by Josh Hamilton and the acquisition of Cliff Lee (and that's not even half of it). This is one great story.

My fiance doesn't even understand my emotion about the Rangers and why my love for this team is so strong. I can't even explain and there no doubt that its goofy. It's borderline childish. You know what if there is anything I can keep from my childhood, the Rangers would be it. I hope for the best and for it to be a long October. But just like everything else around here, when success comes, pessimism follows right behind. Go Rangers!

Red River Rivalry Week

There are a handful of times where I feel great anticipation about an upcoming sports event. Opening day in baseball, Week 1 in the NFL, the BCS Championship game, the Super Bowl, and a few others come to mind.

The OU / Texas game ranks at the very top for me.

There is something special about seeing the Crimson and Cream on the same field clashing with that burnt orange that paints a beautiful picture of war and conflict. To me it's comparable with seeing pictures of the Revolutionary War with the good guys in blue and white, and the bad guys in those redcoats. The 7 days prior is a week full of build-up that is both nerve-racking and exciting.

What's on the line? For the two teams involved, the winner is on the fast track to the Big 12 Championship game and ultimately a BCS bowl game. The loser gets to look forward to the Independence Bowl. From a personal stand point, it is an entire year of bragging rights. It gives me a chance to have an entire year of sports-superiority over my friends who are mostly Longhorn fans. For the most part, we are all Cowboy, Ranger, Mavericks and Stars fans; the first week in October is the only time they and I go head to head. We can talk history between the two programs all day, but in the end, all that matters is who wins from year to year.

So, who will get those bragging rights this year?

Texas comes into the game in, let's face it, pure turmoil. Garrett Gilbert has been shaky at best, but that is to be expected with a first year quarterback. The main problem with the Texas offense is Gilbert is getting zero relief from the running game. They carry three backs and none of the three are getting the job done. This puts added pressure on Gilbert to make plays. Texas's offensive game plans have been trying to help Gilbert by designing screens and short passes to give him confidence and help get the offense moving down field. Problems arise when defenses take away these short passes and force the Texas passing game to make plays downfield. This is where Gilbert's inexperience hurts him.

I expect Oklahoma's defensive coordinator Brent Venables to take away the short passes while putting pressure on Gilbert with multiple blitz packages. The last thing OU wants is Gilbert to get into a comfortable rhythm and have time to make plays. The game is a little too fast for Gilbert at this point in his career, and I expect OU not to give him any extra time to think.

However, if Texas is able to protect Gilbert and get SOMETHING going on the ground, they may find success against OU's secondary. In OU's four wins, the secondary has been OU's weak point. The stats are slightly misleading for OU's defense after the Air Force game. QB's from three of the four teams (AF's triple option bonanza excluded) have burned the secondary for big plays due to corners and safeties being out of position and biting on double moves. Texas MUST get a running game going if they have hope of exploiting the OU secondary. This won't be easy against Jeremy Beal and Frank Alexander leading the front-4, and Travis Lewis leading the linebackers. These are All-American, future NFL players who will make life difficult for Greg Davis and Texas's offense.

Despite the trouble Texas's offense has been having, Longhorn fans could take comfort in knowing their defense is top-notch. After UCLA torched them for 264 yards rushing, what do we really know about this Texas defense? Hopefully for the Longhorn fan, they figure out the problem because DeMarco Murray is playing his best football of his career right now. The (longshot) Heisman candidate has averaged 105 yards per game and 4.2 yards per carry.

The question for the OU offense is which Landry Jones will show up? Will it be the Landry Jones who won the Big 12 offensive player of the week against Cincinnati? Or will it be the erratic Landry Jones that misses open receivers and looks flustered in the pocket like against Air Force in the 1st half? Hopefully for Sooner Nation, it's the former.

The only way to truly know what will happen is to watch the game. When OU and Texas meet, everything changes. It's always emotional, exciting, and either joyful or devastating. As an OU fan, I feel pretty good about this game, but anything can happen. I'll say 27-13 Oklahoma, Landry Jones with a big day finding open receivers on short routes.

See yall Saturday.