Be Careful What You Wish For
2 comments so far
November 15, 2006 by
A number of Husker fans have said they'd prefer to see Oklahoma in the championship game over Texas. But if you believe the old saying, "defense wins championships" then the Sooners are the last team the Huskers would want to face.
OU is tops in the Big XII in scoring defense (by a pretty good margin) they are also tops in the conference in total defense, red zone offense, fewest sacks allowed, and in covering kickoffs. So not only is this a tough team to move the ball against, it's also one that is hard to stop close to the goal line and hard to generate a pass rush against. When you consider how often the Husker defensive backs have been burned, it gives you a sick feeling to imagine a team that can handle your defensive line.
The Sooners are also hot right now, having won five straight (which would be seven straight by the time they reached the Big XII championship game). That span has included two road wins over ranked teams and the Sooner defense has only allowed an average of 12 points per game in their last five.
Texas on the other hand is reeling from a loss to Kansas State that included an injury to starting Longhorn QB Colt McCoy. In the Longhorns last five games they've allowed an average of 27 points to opponents. Again, if defense is what matters, the Sooners have been light years ahead of Texas.
Sure Texas is higher-ranked and has beaten OU. But both teams have only two losses and most who saw the OU-Oregon game would say if there was any justice, the Sooners would really be a one-loss team. Likewise, if not for a very fortuitous fumble by Nebraska, the Longhorns would have three losses.
So don't count me among the Husker fans who think the Huskers would have an easier time with the Sooners than the Longhorns. I say, give the Huskers another shot at Texas because at least we know the offense will be able to move the ball. That's something we can't say about OU.
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darren Nov 15 06
For the record, I want to see UT in KC.
I'm torn only because an NU vs OU match up to end the year makes me nostalgic. But, everything Steve wrote is real. That is a hot and tough Sooner team.
I'm pulling for UT mostly just because we've played them before. It's tough to beat a good team twice, as they say. And, I would hope we are a good team.
That, and I like the fact that NU's uber-nerd head coach would have film of the Horns against his players and schemes. Input, Johnny 5, input!
Josh Nov 15 06
Steve,
I couldn't agree with you more! Excellent analysis.
I think K-State laid out a partial blue print to beating Texas. Part of that being to freeze their over-aggressive defense with play action passes, and don't hold anything back. As much as I despise Texas, I was rooting for them to beat KSU, because I hate KSU more.
As Darren mentioned, if Colt McCoy plays that game, Texas wins, and I suspect wins relatively soundly.
Josh