Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops met with the media on Tuesday to discuss the Red River Shootout. Yes, there was some talk about last week’s game with Baylor but the majority of the conversation was on #5 Texas. There is a lot at stake in this game and it goes beyond well beyond the rankings. That is one of the greatest things about this rivalry. Coach Stoops talked about what makes OU/Texas so great.

"It's the same with a lot of the big rivalries; it's the tradition and the history. Another thing that adds to it is that they are great teams. It's more than just bragging rights now. It's an inside track, or one up on the other guy, on your way to a championship, hopefully. I think being in the same division has really escalated it."

Much of the attention in this game goes to the quarterback as Oklahoma and Texas have two of the best in the nation. Sam Bradford, like Colt McCoy, won the RRS as a freshman and Coach Stoops says that Bradford is significantly improved from last year.

"I think he is overall better than last year. He is a quicker and stronger with the delivery. The ball is traveling faster and comes out quicker and it helps. I think that he is processing things quicker, not that he was ever slow with it, but still. I think the experience and confidence that he has now allows him to process everything faster. I think the confidence that we have in him to give him opportunities helps as well, because we trust him so much."

 

Of course Bradford and Oklahoma’s receivers will be going up against a Texas secondary that we thought would be the weak link to the Longhorns’ defense but that hasn’t been the case to this point of the season as they have more than held their own through five games. Coach Stoops addressed that.

"They have done a great job. They have a couple of young guys. But they are really playing well. You can watch them and see that they play some zone and man coverage, and they mix it up a lot. They play more man coverage than I would have thought until we watched film on Sunday, but they are doing it well. They are doing a nice job."

But what about the rest of the defense, how strong are they and how do you beat them?

"It's a big challenge. They have an excellent team defense, and they have had a lot of sacks and quarterback pressures. They will stunt you different ways, so it will be an important matchup. Will we be able to give Sam time to throw the ball? And more importantly, will we be able to run the ball? Being able to still run the football when they do give you those stunts is always a big part of the game."

Player Quotes

 

"Texas is a very good defensive team this year. They really try to create pressure on the quarterback, make you throw it quickly and then put good coverage behind it. Coach Heupel said that maybe they've had seven sacks in their past few games, so we know that's going to be part of their game plan." – Sam Bradford on the Texas defense

 

"Last year maybe he went through some ups and downs. It looks like maybe he went in the weight room, gained some weight and speed and really took it upon himself to be the leader of the offense. He leads his team in rushing and has done a great job for their offense this game. They really do a lot of stuff that they always do as far as the schemes go. But finding a running back that's their go-to guy or anything like that they haven't settled on. Colt McCoy is their leading rusher, so I guess that's where they're at right now." – Auston English on Texas quarterback Colt McCoy

 

"There's nothing like OU-Texas. I'm really excited and ready for Saturday to come. This is the biggest anticipation of the year. It's a one versus five matchup. There's just a lot of anticipation going into the game, a lot of talk about whether our defense can stop their offense or their defense being able to stop our offense." - Dominique Franks on being ready to play this game

 

“It is a big thing for our team. Week in and week out a different person can hurt you. I think it helps our offense perform so well. It’s really hard for defenses to key in on one person, because we can all make plays. It makes it tough to prepare for.” - Juaquin Iglesias on the ability of OU’s receivers to make plays

 

"It always means this much. We could both be ranked 24 and 25, or we could be unranked. It's OU-Texas and it is always a big deal." - Mossis Madu on if the game means more with the teams ranked #1 and #5

 

"McCoy is a great quarterback who is very accurate, completing 80 percent of his passes. We are aiming to go out there and change that. We have to contain him just like we did against Griffin at Baylor. Griffin had a lot of speed, probably more than McCoy, but we will prepare in the right ways to contain him." – Brian Jackson on Colt McCoy