Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy to meet in showdown No. 3
BY JAKE TROTTER, Staff Writer, jtrotter@opubco.com
Comments 
2
Published: October 17, 2009
DALLAS — In 1947, Jack Mitchell met Bobby Layne on the Cotton Bowl gridiron.
OU quarterback Sam Bradford (left) and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy (right) will be starting against each other for the third time in today’s game. OKLAHOMAN AND AP PHOTOS
Multimedia
NewsOK Related Articles
- Ryan Broyles, Quinton Carter to start for Oklahoma...
10/17/2009 Broyles, Carter to startOklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford will have his favorite receiver back when the Sooners take the field today against Texas. Slot...
- Oklahoma blitz package with David Ubben
10/17/2009 Man in motion →Player to watch: Jordan Shipley, WR/KR, Texas Last season, Shipley caught 11 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. He also returned a...
- Previous Oklahoma-Texas matchups with the most...
10/17/2009 No OU-Texas game in history has matched quarterbacks so experienced in the rivalry. Together, Sam Bradford (two starts) and Colt McCoy (three) have made five...
- Not so long ago, Texas coach Mack Brown badly needed...
10/17/2009 DALLAS — Nice little football game they’ve planned today down on Parry Avenue. A series 104 games old, held at the Texas State Fair annually...
- Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops vs. Texas coach Mack Brown
10/17/2009 With their meeting today, Bob Stoops and Mack Brown move to the top of the OU-Texas series list of coaching matchups: →11: Bob Stoops (OU) vs. Mack...
- Point/counterpoint: Can Oklahoma salvage its season...
10/17/2009 →Jake Trotter: While returning to the national title game was the expectation, all anyone can do is make the best of the cards that are dealt. And OU...
The two All-American quarterbacks traded early jabs, but Mitchell’s
Sooners were still a year away from powerhouse status, and Layne’s Longhorns prevailed, 34-14.
Beginning with Mitchell-Layne, the Cotton Bowl has witnessed titanic quarterback pairings over the last six decades.
But none can match the heavyweight prizefight that will ensue today.
Sam Bradford vs.
Colt McCoy, Round 3.
"I think it’s fair for two of the best quarterbacks in college history to play in this game together,” said
Texas coach
Mack Brown. "It will be fun to see those two guys compete again.”
No game in Red River Rivalry history has matched quarterbacks so experienced, so prolific, so victorious.
So friendly.
Unmatched success has brought the two together. While at the
Heisman Trophy ceremonies last winter, Bradford and McCoy realized they had more in common than golden arms. To this day, the pair often exchange text messages, even during a week like this.
"He’s a great guy and I think him sending me a text message after I got hurt telling me that he was praying for me, to stay with it and keep my head up, that just says a lot about the type of guy he is,” Bradford said of McCoy, who was as happy as anyone to learn his counterpart would be healthy for OU-Texas. "I think a lot of people see us going to rival schools so we probably wouldn’t have done that. But for him to do something like that and just keep encouraging me, it just says a lot about who he is."
Collectively, the two have thrown for 183 touchdowns and 11 miles worth of yardage in their college careers, and boast a combined winning percentage of .824 as starting quarterbacks.
And by day’s end, the duo will have combined for seven starts in the Red River Shootout. No other OU-Texas quarterbacking twosome has more. Few too have performed better in the Cotton Bowl, even in losing efforts.
In a 28-21 loss to Bradford in 2007, McCoy threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns. In a 45-35 loss to McCoy in 2008, Bradford passed for 387 yards and five scores.
"They’re incredible student-athletes and great representatives of their school,” said Sooner coach
Bob Stoops. "And when it comes to Saturday, they’re gonna try to outdo each other.”
The present and past, however, suggests this final showdown won’t be the shootout seen last season.
Both offenses enter with glaring deficiencies. Texas can’t run the ball. OU can’t catch it. And both defenses rank in the Top 10 nationally.
Traditionally, that combination has translated to a low-scoring affair, regardless of the quarterbacks.
In 1951,
Eddie Crowder and T. Jones were both all-conference performers. But the defenses were stout and the game ended with a 9-7 Texas victory.
In 2004,
Jason White was coming off a Heisman season.
Vince Young was about to enter one of that caliber. But dominant defenses dictated, with OU coming out a 12-0 winner.
"I would like to think this game will be 3-0, 3-7, something like that,” said OU linebacker
Travis Lewis. "You always want the limelight to be on the defense.”
But defenders from either side of the river admit Bradford and McCoy are too talented, too seasoned, too tough to contain forever.
"As good as these defenses are,” said Texas defensive end
Sergio Kindle, "with those two guys quarterbacking the offenses, it’s really going to be hard to stop them all the time.”
And so, the limelight will be on Ali and Frazier at the end.
Will McCoy’s drive lead the Longhorns to victory? Will Bradford’s poise carry the Sooners to glory?
Tune in to this main event and find out.
Leave a Comment
Sports Photo Galleriesview all
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).