Game Recap: Texas vs. Oklahoma

Posted October 14th, 2008 by Matt
Filed under: Feature, Football

OU Sucks!

Wow, what a game. I must say that after [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] scored so quickly on their first two possessions, I thought we were going to get run out of the Cotton Bowl. Thankfully Jordan Shipley stepped up and Colt McCoy was able to keep the team calm. After that our defense made some big plays and Colt seemed to have full control of the game.

My favorite play of the game was easily the Quan Cosby block where he laid out #11. And my least favorite had to be the horrible penalty call when we supposedly “ran into” the punter. That punter has been watching too much soccer because that was some serious flopping.

So now Texas is 6-0 and #1 in the nation. No more relaxing, the target is on our backs. But enough of that, let’s see how each position fared against OU:

Quarterback – Overall Grade: A-

Even though [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]’s stats don’t really show he had a great game, I felt his leadership and calmness was the key to victory against OU. Colt finished with 28/35 passing, 277 yards, and 1 touchdown. The most important stat Colt put up Saturday was zero turnovers. Colt simply didn’t make any mistakes. Colt definitely put himself into the thick of the Heisman race with this victory, and I think it is about time. Sam Bradford may have had better numbers, but I would take Colt any day.

John Chiles actually got some early playing time, probably trying to catch OU off-guard, but it was to no avail. Chiles did absolutely nothing and continues to disappoint.

Running Backs – Overall Grade: A-

[tag]Chris Ogbonnaya[/tag] got the start again Saturday, and I think he proved why. He ended up with 127 yards on only 15 carries, including a long 62 yard run which sealed the game for Texas. And even though [tag]Cody Johnson[/tag] only got 3 carries, he made the most of them scoring touchdowns on each one. He has proved he is a great goal line runner, and he and Ogbonnaya are proving to be a lethal 1-2 punch. In our most important game of the year so far, [tag]Vondrell McGee[/tag] ended up with only 1 carry for -2 yards. I think it is safe to say the coaches know who to give the ball to now.

Wide Receivers – Overall Grade: A

I didn’t think Texas could win this game with only 2 receivers, but the combo of [tag]Jordan Shipley[/tag] and [tag]Quan Cosby[/tag] was just too much for the Oklahoma secondary. Shipley seemed like he was open on every play and made some key first downs. He finished with 11 catches, 112 yards, and 1 touchdown. Cosby was all over the place too adding 9 catches and 122 yards. Cosby may be a little undersized, but he probably has some of the best hands in the Big 12 and always seems to make big plays. The rest of the receivers combined for 4 catches and 16 yards.

Defense – Overall Grade: B+

Even though I think the defense played great, I do have to dock them for allowing 5 passing touchdowns. The greatest part of the defense on Saturday is that I actually noticed our safeties, and in a good way. [tag]Blake Gideon[/tag] seemed to always be around for the tackle, and [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] ended up with two interceptions. Both young safeties seem to be coming around and I can’t wait to see how much more they can improve before Missouri. And [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag] was simply ridiculous. He led the team with 16 tackles, 13 of them solo. Didn’t you notice every time OU ran the ball they seemed to go nowhere? Yeah, that was “Muck”. [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] showed again that he is scary athletic. Kindle flies around the field with reckless abandon, and the combo off him and [tag]Brian Orakpo[/tag] coming off the edges is just too much for most teams to handle.

Special Teams – Overall Grade: A

The A mainly comes from Jordan Shipley’s 96 yards kickoff return in the 2nd quarter. Texas was down 14-3 at that point and it looked like it could be a blow-out. I think that play single handedly kept Texas in the game and was the spark to get the team going. [tag]Hunter Lawrence[/tag] added 3 field goals and looks like he is a kicker that we can rely on in tough situations.

Overall Grade: A-

How can you not be pleased after that game. Even after the referees giving OU a free touchdown, Texas still prevailed. Now Texas faces the pressure of being #1, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier. They only have #11 Missouri, #8 Oklahoma State, @#7 Texas Tech, and @#16 Kansas. And did you realize the Big 12 Conference South Division has 4 teams in the top 8? That has to be a first.