Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma

[HB Pony Dad]

No. 2 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oklahoma
When: Sat., Nov. 22, 8:00 p.m. ET (ABC)
Where: Norman, Okla..
Preview: Gauntlet continues for Tech

Texas Tech at Oklahoma Matchups

Texas Tech offense vs. Oklahoma defense

Red Raiders QB Graham Harrell is operating Texas Tech's spread-formation offense more efficiently than it has ever been run in the past. That's scary to when you consider all of its successes dating back to the days of Kliff Kingsbury in 2001. There isn't a quarterback in the country that trusts his reads, trusts his protection and trusts his playmakers more than Harrell, and for good reason. Harrell knows the offense in and out, he is rarely under pressure and he is surrounded by a deep corps of talented receivers. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of trying to defend this offense is Harrell's ability to beat the opponent in so many different ways. This is not simply a dink-and-dunk attack. Harrell has consistently shown the ability to drive the ball downfield when he catches the opposing defense out of position, and it's not just the Harrell-to-Michael Crabtree show, either. Sure, you have to account for Crabtree's rare skills with at least some form of double-coverage on every play, but fellow WRs Detron Lewis, Eric Morris, Tramain Swindall and Edward Britton are all viable weapons in their own right. Lewis is a budding star, Morris is a pint-sized target with great hands and quickness, Swindall is a rangy target at 6-foot-3, and Britton has the speed to threaten vertically. Together they've combined for 2,263 yards and 12 scores on 178 receptions, with Crabtree totaling 1,010 yards and 18 touchdowns on 78 catches.

Texas Tech threw the ball 72 times against Oklahoma a year ago and would have no problem doing the same this time around if given the opportunity. However, coach Mike Leach is a bit more committed to the running game this season, which makes his offense tougher to defend than ever before. The Red Raiders' offensive line has been sensational this season, which is the biggest reason RBs Shannon Woods and Baron Batch are averaging six yards per carry. The experienced front has also allowed just five sacks in 499 passing attempts, far and away the best ratio in college football. Harrell makes quicker decisions than most and the offense is designed to get the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible, but all it takes is a glance at the game tape versus Texas to appreciate the talent and communication skills of Harrell's offensive front. The Longhorns pass rush, led by DEs Brian Orakpo and Sergio Kindle, has embarrassed some pretty good offensive lines this season -- including Oklahoma's -- but it was practically non-existent that night in Lubbock.

Sooners defensive coordinator Brent Venables is charged with the task of pressuring Harrell without exposing his back seven in coverage. It's an unenviable mission that no coordinator has successfully completed this season. The team has missed injured MLB Ryan Reynolds (knee) terribly, but the absence of DE Auston English will create an even bigger void against Texas Tech. English had notched 9.5 tackles for loss, including 4.5 sacks, prior to injuring his knee versus Nebraska and he possesses the type of pass-rushing skills and versatility you need in order to keep the heat on Harrell while also keeping him guessing. There's no shortage of talent on the Oklahoma roster, however. The combination of DT Gerald McCoy and DE Jeremy Beal on the same side of the defensive front could present some issues for the Red Raiders. McCoy and Beal have combined for 11.5 sacks this season and they possess the type of quickness and athleticism necessary to penetrate Tech's wide splits along the offensive line.

Judging by some of his past defensive game plans against Tech and other spread attacks, look for Venables to show a lot of different looks up front in an attempt to create some pre-snap confusion. He will be creative in his attempts to generate pressure but will rarely send more than four pass rushers if it can be avoided. Also expect Venables to employ a lot of zone coverage looks in the defensive back seven. This defense will give up a lot of underneath completions but it will make the Tech receiver's earn every yard after the catch. If the scheme is executed properly Harrell will complete a high percentage of his throws but for a low yards-per-completion average. Oklahoma's secondary, anchored by the physical safety-tandem of Nic Harris and Lendy Holmes, is doing a much better job of defending the pass (28th nationally in pass efficiency defense at 109.2) than it did a year ago. This group must swarm to the football after the catch and make the Tech receivers think twice about catching the ball over the middle and/or on the run.

Oklahoma offense vs. Texas Tech defense

Texas Tech has done an outstanding job of keeping some of the most potent offenses in the nation in check. The Red Raiders held Texas 10 points below its season average and Oklahoma State 21 points shy of its normal output. Limiting the Sooners will be a much tougher task, though. First off, Tech will be on the road and won't be able to feed off the energy of the home crowd that truly made a difference against the Longhorns and Cowboys. Secondly, Texas Tech doesn't match up as well against Oklahoma as they did against their last two opponents. The Sooners have far better skill players around QB Sam Bradford than the Longhorns do around Colt McCoy, and they have far better balance than the Cowboys run-heavy attack.

The Sooners have averaged 47.3 points in the first half of their last three games. Getting off to another fast start could be important to the psyche of this offense after it was physically dominated in Lubbock last season. It took six plays from scrimmage for the Red Raiders to end QB Sam Bradford's evening with a concussion last time around and keeping him upright and maintaining balance will be two major keys for the Sooners this time around.

Texas Tech has is quick and active up front and DEs Brandon Williams and McKinner Dixon have the speed and relentlessness to give Oklahoma the same kind of problems Texas posed in the Red River Rivalry. That's why balancing the attack will be so important for Oklahoma in this game. The Sooners must keep Texas Tech's defensive line guessing and they need to fully exploit their advantage in the power-run game. The Red Raiders have yet to face an offensive line with the combination of size and strength that it will see in Norman this weekend. Oklahoma averages 310 pounds across the offensive front and it features the most physically imposing left side in the nation in LOT Phil Loadholt and LG Duke Robinson. In addition, the 1-2 punch of RBs DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown has rounded into shape recently. Murray is the more talented back and he seems to be gaining strength as the season progresses after battling lingering affects from off-season knee surgery earlier this fall. Brown is at his best running north-south between the tackles, which is why he gets a lot of short-yardage and goal-line carries.

If Oklahoma can establish its ground game early it will lead to much bigger things through the air later in the game. Despite being overshadowed this season by Harrell and McCoy, Bradford has been remarkably efficient as a passer. He has completed 67.9 percent of his passes while spreading the ball around to his plethora of weapons. The sophomore does an excellent job of seeing the entire field and throws timing routes as well as any quarterback in the country. Sooners WRs Juaquin Iglesias, Manuel Johnson, Ryan Broyles and Quentin Chaney have combined for 2,314 yards and 21 scores on 135 receptions. Iglesias is the savvy veteran of the group, Johnson is shifty and reliable, Broyles is a big play waiting to happen and Chaney is late-bloomer with questionable instincts but an outstanding combination of size and speed.

Making it even tougher for Tech to defend the pass is the presence of TE Jermaine Grisham, who is arguably the best pass-catching tight end in the country. Grisham has a knack for sneaking off the line of scrimmage in the red zone and also has the speed to stretch the seam vertically, which will put Tech Ss Darcel McBath and Daniel Charbonnet in a lot of no-win scenarios in deep-middle coverage. Finally, if all else fails Bradford has no problem checking down to Murray in the flat. Murray already has hauled in nearly twice as many passes (26) as he did a year ago and he's averaging 11.8 yards per catch.

Key individual matchup

Oklahoma LOT Phil Loadholt vs. Texas Tech DEs Brandon Williams and McKinner Dixon

Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill has done a fine job of using Williams and Dixon this season. McNeill moves them around the line in order to generate mismatches and he also keeps both fresh throughout the game. Williams is a bit more refined as a pass rusher but Dixon is just as explosive when turned loose. Together they have notched 17 sacks on the season. Saturday night's matchup versus Loadholt should be interesting. Loadholt is a big, mauling tackle who rarely loses a battle once he locks on. He should dominate as usual in the running game, but his below-average lateral mobility was exposed earlier this season by Texas DE Brian Orakpo and there's no question that McNeill is eager to see if Williams and Dixon can do the same in a tag-team effort. Providing Loadholt with extra help on passing downs may give Bradford his best shot of going the distance against Texas Tech this time around.

Special Teams

Texas Tech is dangerous in the return game, ranking 35th nationally in punt returns (10.9 ypr) and 15th in kickoff returns (24.6 ypr). Jamar Wall and LaRon Moore handle the majority of the kickoff returns, while Morris stars on punt returns with an average of 11.5 yards per return, including an 86-yard touchdown. The kicking game is a different story, though. The Red Raiders rank 117th in net punting (34.9 ypp) with Jonathan LaCour averaging 37 yards on only 17 attempts this season. More concerning is the field goal kicking situation, as Matt Williams and Donnie Carona will split the duties. Williams has done fine since taking over on extra points, but he missed on his only attempt from beyond 40 yards. Carona has a stronger leg but he has connected on just four of nine attempts this season. The unit has also had three field goal attempts and a pair of extra points blocked this season.

The Sooners have also been effective in the return game. Iglesias and Murray split the majority of touches on a kickoff return unit that ranks 7th nationally (25.9 ypr) and Broyles gets a good portion of the punt returns for a group averaging 9.7 yards per attempt. While not quite as inept as Texas Tech, the Sooners have had struggles of their own in the kicking department. K Jimmy Stevens has been inconsistent, nailing only four of his seven attempts, and the team ranks 93rd in net punting (33.0 ypp) with Mike Knall averaging a measly 35.8 yards per attempt. Knall is not getting enough help from his cover guys and the Sooners have done a marginal job of covering kickoffs as well.

Scouts' Edge

A majority of the pregame hype is focusing on how poorly the Sooners match up defensively versus Texas Tech's passing attack, but in all reality there isn't a whole lot that separates these two defensive units. Oklahoma is surrendering just one more point per game (22.2 to 23.6) than Texas Tech this season, and the Red Raiders have fed off the emotion of their home crowd in recent weeks but there will be a different vibe in Norman. No team in the country does a better job with the turnover margin than the Sooners, and while they will likely give up a ton of yards and their fair share of points, the difference is that Venables' attacking defense will generate two or three takeaways, which is all Bradford and the balanced Oklahoma offense will need to seal the deal.

Prediction: Sooners 41, Red Raiders 31

[SmooBoy]

42-38 Tech. Leach is carried off the field in a Pirate Ship.

[HB Pony Dad]

42-38 Tech. Leach is carried off the field in a Pirate Ship.

To Somalia I hope!

[indianmustang]

tech wins

[D1Football]

Agreed, Texas Tech will win.

[SmooBoy]

And it will help bolster our RPI.

[Pony Soup]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR













just for one day











SOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR

[ponyfan84]

Love OU, but Tech will win this. Tech doesn't do anything magical with their offense, but their efficient this year, and OU has a horrendous pass D and D overall. 38-30 Tech.

[J.T.supporta]

Oklahoma wins 63-12 causing much chaos in the BCS