Keys to the Big Games
Week Six, Oct. 8
Oklahoma vs. Texas

By John Harris---college fotball ---

a. Wright or Wrong? – Ask NFL scouts who the best defensive tackle is in college football. You might get a few Jesse Mahelona responses. You might get Claude Wroten on a few ballots. You may even get some for Mahelona’s partner Justin Harrell. The name that you probably won’t hear is Texas’ Rodrique Wright. Some scouts have Wright as low as a sixth round pick, which is amazing considering that going into his junior season, he was considered to be one of the first ten picks. Before you backlash against that statement, tell me what he’s done lately. There are spots in games where he’s just absent. There were times when you forgot he was out on the field. At some point, #90 has to get back to the level that he was as a sophomore. Last season, he was banged up, especially with his ankle problems, but, regardless, offensive linemen aren’t having much trouble with Wright this season. That has to change in Dallas. Although Adrian Peterson is banged up (50/50 on whether he’ll play at this time, but if you’re a betting man or woman, you know he’ll play), the Oklahoma run blocking seems to have improved a bit each and every week. Now, granted, they’re not what they were last year, but they’re getting better every time they step on the field. Wright must set that improvement back a week or three. No matter what the game plan dictates, the Longhorn DT must find a way to either tie up two or three blockers or penetrate into the backfield, disrupting the running lane options for Peterson and/or Kejuan Jones. Maybe with a prodigious performance in this huge rivalry game, Wright can get back in the good graces of the NFL scouts. More importantly, he can clog the middle and dominate from guard to guard throughout the game.---college fotball ---
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b. Seven Eleven – There are so many ways to interpret the heading. Seven Eleven is always open and that’s what Texas wants out of ‘Slash’ - Ramonce Taylor. Seven Eleven could mean seven (a touchdown) for number eleven (Taylor). Okay, so all artistic liberties aside, Taylor can play. He may not touch the ball as much as RB Jamaal Charles or QB Vince Young, but, oh boy, when he does, it’s electric. Ohio State game – the kickoff return? You know the one. Missouri game – quick screen that he turned into a flying TD? Wow. The thing about both of those back breaking plays was how explosive Taylor was when he got the ball in his hands. It took a little while on the kickoff return eight yards deep in the end zone against Ohio State, but when he turned the corner, there were Buckeyes grasping at air. In the Missouri game, when he came down with the catch, he hit another level of speed to blow past the Tiger D. So, how does the Oklahoma defense account for Taylor? Similar to the way USC uses Reggie Bush, Texas is now using Taylor, with a fewer I formation carries than Bush gets. But, the key this week against the OU defense is to try to motion Taylor out of a myriad of initial alignments to try to get a mismatch, in particular, on a linebacker. If he creates problems for the OU backers, the OU defensive staff has a decision – take out an OLB and put in a safety to help account for him or leave the OLB in to key on Young? Well, what would you do? Thought so. And, that’s why Taylor could have a tremendous game on Saturday.---college fotball ------college fotball ------college fotball ---
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c. Double D – With OU sitting at 2 – 2, you tend to forget about certain aspects about this team. One of them is the fact that they’re only giving up 65.2 yards per game on the ground. Whoa, that’s pretty dadgum good. Well, they’ve got DT Dusty Dvoracek back and he’s a major reason why this OU run defense is as good as it is. Double D has always been disruptive against any running scheme. He has the quickness to penetrate into the backfield. He also can tie up blockers, all the while, creating a ‘bubble’ in the run blocking scheme, affecting the RBs decision process. When Texas’ running game comes on the field, they’re presenting a completing different dimension than what OU has seen this year. But, OU has taken some of the guess work out of stopping Texas in the past by letting Dvoracek and company be as aggressive as possible, letting the LB make plays on Young in the running game. Typically, the Sooners will slant hard to a determined side, which allows them to get penetration or allows them to shut down the seams that the Horn RB could exploit. But, against a talented and experienced Texas OL, Dvoracek will face a cohesive and physical line. However, that’s what feeds this guy and his hunger could help keep the Horns running game at bay.
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Conclusion – If you can’t see the “we’re going to let it all hang out” attitude coming out of Norman, then you’re blind, stupid or both. And, that’s very, very dangerous for burnt orange nation. OU doesn’t have the talent of past years, no question, but youngsters are gaining a little bit of confidence each week. But, that same attitude is what has put Texas at #2 in the country, mainly by following the lead of Young. However, what happens when it’s tight in the second half? Can Texas ‘afford’ to keep that c’est la vie attitude? Will Oklahoma stay in the game long enough to keep the pressure on Texas? To break the streak, Texas has to smash it to pieces. Can they dominate to that extent? Texas hasn’t gotten great production in Dallas from their receivers the last couple of years, but Billy Pittman, Brian Carter and Columbus killer Limas Sweed are an improvement over the last two years’ groups. TE David Thomas has been relatively quiet, but against the OU backers, he could have a solid 5 or 6 catch, 1 TD day. In the end, VY just makes one too many plays to break the OU hex. Texas – 31 vs. Oklahoma – 23---college fotball ---
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