After the Red River Rivalry, Texas head coach Mack Brown is unbeaten the following game. He’ll be challenged to run that mark to 14-0 this week.
His team will face a team that claimed its first win in Austin in more than 65 years just last year—breaking a 12-game losing streak in the series.
The latest betting odds on the Oklahoma State at Texas game list the Cowboys as a seven-point favorite on the road.
After suffering a blowout loss to top-five Oklahoma last week, the 22nd-ranked Longhorns (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) return home with a task no easier, as sixth-ranked Oklahoma State (5-0, 2-0) invades Austin for the second straight season.
Last year, OSU earned its first win in Austin since 1944 with a 33-16 victory—just the Cowboys’ third in 25 all-time meetings. A win Saturday will give OSU consecutive wins over the ‘Horns for the first time in school history.
About Oklahoma State
The Cowboys will enter this game with its highest ranking—topping its No. 7 slot when it lost 28-24 to top-ranked Texas in 2008. The team has been in the background in national title discussions, perhaps mainly because of a pretty easy schedule—its toughest game a 30-29 win at Texas A&M in late September. They have also beaten Louisiana-Lafayette, Arizona, Tulsa and Kansas—blowing out the Jayhawks 70-28 in Stillwater last week.
The high-powered offense is first in the country in scoring (51.4 points per game) and second in total yards (577 ypg) and passing yards (431 ypg), led by quarterback Brandon Weeden (376 ypg passing, 15 TD) and reigning conference player of the year Justin Blackmon (107 receiving ypg, six TDs). But don’t fall asleep on sophomore running back Joseph Randle, who averages 97 yards per game and 5.4 per carry with eight TD in 2011.
Defensively, OSU is a bit suspect (73rd against the run, 97th against the pass) but has recorded 14 takeaways in the last three games.
About Texas
Texas was looking pretty good earlier in the season, but things turned south last week when it fell 55-17 to Oklahoma—its most lopsided loss since 2003. Texas committed five turnovers in that game, three of which were returned for scores. Quarterbacks David Ash and Case McCoy had four combined miscues—Ash throwing two picks, and McCoy fumbling twice.
The defense, which ranks a respectable 49th against the pass, 26th against the run and the top 25 in total defense, will be tested by the Cowboy offense, but Texas might have opportunities to score on offense, as it ranks a decent 43rd in the nation running the ball (172 ypg), after being held to less than one yard per rush vs. OU last week.
McCoy has played like his older brother, having completed two-thirds of his passes, while Ash holds up his end of the platoon with a 62 percent completion rate, combining for nearly 900 yards with five TDs.
Their favorite target is Jaxon Shipley (25 catches, three TDs), while Malcolm Brown leads the ground game with 381 yards—sharing snaps with Cody Johnson and Foswhitt Whittaker (five rushing TDs between them).
Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw Ramon Ramirez Sergio Romo Ron Artest Shannon Brown
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