Inside NCAA Football | Red River rivalry game could be real shootout

    Rivalry games in college football often do not live up to the hype. And in the case of the Red River Rivalry between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns, it looked like that might be proven right this year.
    But with the return of last year's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford of Oklahoma, this year's game does promise to be one to remember. And though this game might be lacking the luster of last year's contest, which featured two undefeated, top-five squads, there will still be plenty at stake when the two teams meet once again tomorrow in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.
    A win by the third-ranked Longhorns could help put to bed any idea that the Alabama Crimson Tide deserve the No. 2 spot in the polls, whereas No. 20 Oklahoma could vault up the rankings by upsetting its rival.
    Oklahoma's big threat at quarterback ensures that what was already a marquee game will also feature two of college football's biggest names: Bradford and Texas gunslinger Colt McCoy.
    Bradford, who suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder in the Sooners' first game of the season versus the BYU Cougars, was back to being his old self during his return last week against the Baylor Bears. Instead of taking time to shake off the rust from not having played since Sept. 5, the quarterback threw for 389 yards and a touchdown. With Bradford at the helm, the Sooners' chances should be much improved against a Texas defense that at times has looked susceptible to tough passing attacks like the Texas Tech Red Raiders'.
    This is an important game for Bradford, but the ramifications for McCoy loom even larger. The runner-up in the Heisman race last year, McCoy has struggled at times this season and is on pace to deliver numbers that are well under his marks from last year's campaign. Thanks to some subpar competition, however, the Longhorns have still managed to rack up the points thus far, coming into Saturday averaging an NCAA-leading 47.2 points a game.
    However, McCoy and Texas will be facing no pushover defense this weekend; Oklahoma has let up just 8.4 points a game. Texas' defense is also playing at a high level, allowing only 235 yards a game. Though the quarterbacks are the headliners, it is the two defenses that might steal the show.
    Though the Sooners are 3-2, this will be a dangerous game for the highly ranked Texas team. Beside the energy from one of the best rivalries in college football, Oklahoma will draw on the added motivation of trying to avenge a 45-35 loss last season that knocked the Sooners from the number one ranking.
    But Texas will also be hungry to prove that the BCS rankings committed a major mistake when they vaulted the Sooners into the national title game last year despite the Longhorns' head-to-head victory against them. Texas fans are still smarting from being leapfrogged by a Sooners team that went on to lose to the Florida Gators in the championship, and they would love nothing more than to prove their lofty status by walloping their conference brethren.
    In addition to featuring two of the best teams in the NCAA and arguably the two best quarterbacks in college football, this is also a matchup of two of the most respected coaches in the game. The head-to-head record favors Sooners coach Bob Stoops over Texas' Mack Brown, six-to-four. Still, although he has led his team to seven BCS bowl appearances, he has a reputation of faltering in big games. Brown, on the other hand, seems to get his team to play its best in the spotlight, and his Longhorns have won three of the last four meetings between the two teams.
    There is always something on the line in the Red River Shootout line, and with this year's many storylines, Saturday's duel will be no different. Whoever emerges victorious this weekend could get the inside edge on gaining the top spot in the Big 12 South and a likely date with a BCS game at the end of the season.