Texas-OU 2.0: Red River Rematch in Big 12 championship game has plenty of storylines
It’s a Red River Rematch for the Big 12 championship.
Texas (9-3, 7-2 Big 12) and Oklahoma (11-1, 8-1 Big 12), one of college football’s greatest rivalries, will provide fans with an encore to the October thriller next Saturday at AT&T Stadium.
There’s no state fair or fried food. But there’s still plenty of storylines. Among them –
High stakes
A pair of Black Friday victories is how each of these schools got here.
Oklahoma won a high-scoring affair with West Virginia, 59-56, to reach the title game, while Texas knocked off lowly Kansas 24-17.
Oklahoma is going for its fourth consecutive Big 12 championship, including a 41-17 victory over TCU last season, and it still has a chance to reach the College Football Playoff.
The sixth-ranked OU Sooners need a couple teams to stumble in front of them, but beating Texas would be a signature win for the committee to consider.
Texas, meanwhile, hasn’t won a conference title since 2009 and is looking to reach its best bowl game since reaching the national championship game in ’09. That was the last time the Longhorns played in a New Year’s Six bowl.
Kyler’s revenge?
Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray has a professional baseball career awaiting him after this season and got emotional after losing 48-45 to Texas in October. He didn’t know if he’d get another shot at OU’s biggest rival.
Well, that opportunity has presented itself and all eyes will be on Murray, a Heisman hopeful.
Murray finished his first Red River Showdown as a starting QB 19 of 26 passing for 304 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He also had 92 rushing yards and lost a fumble.
Those turnovers didn’t sit well with Murray after the loss. This is a guy who went 43-0 in his high school career at Allen, and lost just once in three starts at Texas A&M in 2015.
But Murray showed why he’s a special talent, getting OU back in the game despite it trailing 45-24 at one point.
Murray led three scoring drives in less than six minutes. He hit Lee Morris for a 19-yard touchdown, scored on a 67-yard run and then OU tied the game on a 7-yard TD run by Trey Sermon.
In the end, that furious rally wasn’t enough as Texas made a game-winning field goal in the final seconds.
Can anyone stop LJH?
There’s nothing little about the numbers Lil’Jordan Humphrey is putting up for Texas. The former Southlake Carroll running back has 72 catches for 1,058 yards and eight touchdowns this season.
Humphrey had a standout game against Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown, and will need another big-time game for Texas to knock off OU twice.
Humphrey sets the tone for Texas, and did so in the OU game. He turned a 10-yard reception on a screen pass into a 19-yard reception by carrying multiple defenders with him.
That kept what became a TD drive alive.
“I take great pride in (YAC), just being dominant and being physical to DBs,” Humphrey said afterward. “I take great pride in that.”
Humphrey finished the game with 133 receiving yards on nine receptions, including one touchdown. He also threw for a touchdown.
Facts to know
The Texas-OU rivalry dates back to 1900, and this is the first time the schools will meet twice in the modern era. … This will be the 114th meeting between the two schools. … The last time Texas and Oklahoma played twice in a season? 1903. … Texas leads the all-time series 62-46-5. … Oklahoma won three consecutive Big 12 titles from 2006-08, and Texas won it in 2009. … Texas defeated Nebraska, 13-12, in the first Big 12 title game at AT&T Stadium in 2009.
They said it
“Blows my mind. We hung 50 (45) on them, too. If anyone on their defense has anything to say, they can have fun playing Kyler next week.” – OU LB Curtis Bolton on Texas DE Breckyn Hager saying OU has no defense
“No, we don’t care. We played them both, played them both very well. Unbelievable college games and hope to have another one in eight days.” – Texas coach Tom Herman on his preferred opponent before the West Virginia-Oklahoma game