Berry Tramel, Sports columnist
All eyes are on Bradford, McCoy
By Berry Tramel
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3
Published: October 11, 2008
DALLAS — One comes from that most Oklahoman of places, Oklahoma City, with a name befitting his pretentiousless home and personality. Sam.
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The best five quarterback matchups in OU-Texas history, based on their reputations going into the game:
5. 1999: OU's Josh Heupel vs. Major Applewhite: Heupel already was a star just five games into his career; Applewhite became the'99 Big 12 player of the year. Both threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, but Heupel threw three interceptions and Texas won 38-28.
4. 1975: Steve Davis vs. Marty Akins. Two senior optioneers short on flash but long on grit. Davis finished 32-1-1 as a starter, Akins 26-9. Davis won this one 24-17, though both QBs were held in check.
3. 1951-52: OU's Eddie Crowder vs. T. Jones. Two all-conference quarterbacks went head-to-head two straight years. Jones won in '51, a 9-7 defensive struggle, but Crowder won in '52, 49-20, in a fabulous derby. Jones completed 10 of 18 for 158 yards and two TDs; Crowder completed five of seven for 133 yards and two TDs.
2. 2004: OU's Jason White vs. Vince Young. White was the reigning Heisman Trophy winner; Young was starting to become Superman. OU won 12-0, but neither did much. Young completed just eight of 23 passes and ran for just 54 yards on 16 carries. White threw for just 113 yards and two interceptions.
1. 1947: OU's Jack Mitchell vs. Bobby Layne. Layne made all-American in 1946 and '47; Mitchell would make it in '48. In Texas' 34-14 victory in '47, Layne completed eight of 11 passes for 120 yards and a TD, and Mitchell ran for two touchdowns, on plays of two and 72 yards.
10 Biggest OU-Texas matchups
The 10 OU-Texas matchups involving two top-five teams in the AP poll:
1950: No. 3 OU 14, No. 4 Texas 13.
1963: No. 2 Texas 28, No. 1 OU 7.
1975: No. 2 OU 24, No. 5 Texas 17.
1977: No. 5 Texas 13, No. 2 OU 6.
1979: No. 4 Texas 16, No. 3 OU 7.
1984: No. 3 OU 15, No. 1 Texas 15.
2001: No. 3 OU 14, No. 5 Texas 3.
2002: No. 2 OU 35, No. 3 Texas 24.
2004: No. 2 OU 12, No. 5 Texas 0.
2008: No. 1 OU vs. No. 5 Texas.
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- All eyes are on Bradford, McCoy
10/11/2008 DALLAS — One comes from that most Oklahoman of places, Oklahoma City, with a name befitting his pretentiousless home and personality. Sam.
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The other comes from that most Texan-sounding of places, Tuscola, with a frontier name befitting his charm and multi-talents. Colt.
And today in the
Cotton Bowl,
Sam Bradford and
Colt McCoy make history.
Dozens of quarterbacks before them have stood where Bradford and McCoy tread today, quarterbacking in crimson or burnt orange for state pride and the Golden Hat Trophy and the gratification of State Fair patrons. For conference and even national supremacy.
But no OU-Texas quarterback derby ever included this: a Heisman Trophy runoff.
OU-Texas has staged some memorable quarterback showdowns.
Jack Mitchell and
Bobby Layne.
Eddie Crowder and T. Jones.
Jason White and
Vince Young.
But no pair playing in the shadow of Big Tex has entered this game with this status.
Both
Scripps Howard and
ESPN list Bradford and McCoy as 2-3 in its Heisman race this week, trailing only
Missouri QB Chase Daniel.
"I don’t see how it could be any better,”
Texas coach
Mack Brown said of the matchup. "These guys have just been on fire. They’re unbelievable the way they’re playing and leading their team.”
Their statistics are crazy good.
Bradford: 18 touchdowns; three interceptions; 1,665 yards; 72.6 completion rate.
McCoy: 16 TDs; three intercepts; 1,279 yards; 79.2 completion rate. Plus 317 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
Both OU and Texas have struggled to run the ball during 5-0 starts. Make no mistake. These quarterbacks enter the renovated Cotton Bowl carrying their teams.
And these defenses, after a diet of Washington’s
Jake Locker and Rice’s
Chase Clement and
Cincinnati’s
Dustin Grutza, step up in class.
"I get excited,” said OU pass rusher
Auston English. "It’s fun to play against people you know are good. Nobody likes to play against someone they know they can beat.”
Nobody ever knows what will happen in the Cotton Bowl, which is why a steady hand on the reins is worth its weight in golden hat.
Hard to imagine steadier hands than Sam and Colt. McCoy will make his third OU-Texas start; he’s already thrown 44 passes in this fiery-furnace series, completing 30 for four touchdowns and just one pick.
As a freshman last year, Bradford was Cool Hand Sam, completing 21 of 32 for 244 yards, three TDs and no intercepts.
"It’s really impressive when a young quarterback can come into this game and play well, because of the pressure surrounding the game,” Brown said. "Colt has done it for two years and Sam did it last year.
"For those two young guys to have that presence in this game for their first year says something about their toughness, their character and their leadership.”
Says something about
Oklahoma Sam and Tuscola Colt, who today duel not just for team honors, but perhaps for the grandest individual award in sport.
Berry Tramel: 405-760-8080. Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1.
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