All eyes are on Bradford, McCoy

By Berry Tramel Comments 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.

Multimedia

Videoview all videos

Sam Bradford: Uncut

Oct 7OU's sophomore quarterback talks about preparing to lead the No. 1...

Red River Rivalry - 1984

Oct 7Berry Switzer's blood still boils over the 1984 match-up.

A traitor in their midst?

Oct 7Which of the current Sooners used to root for Texas? And how did...

Red River Rivalry - 1994

Oct 8OU-Texas is as much about heartache as exuberance.

Red River War

Oct 10In 1931, a new bridge was a source of friction between the Sooner...

More Info

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.

NewsOK Related Articles

Texas roster
10/11/2008 1 Philip Payne WR 6-2 207 So. 1 Keenan Robinson LB 6-3 225 Fr. 2 Sergio Kindle LB 6-4 239 Jr. 2 Vondrell McGee RB 5-10 205...
Oklahoma Leaders
10/11/2008 PASSING Comp Att Int Yds TD Sam Bradford 106 146 3 1665 18 Joey Halzle 16 22 1 140 1 RUSHING No Yds TD DeMarco Murray 85 431 5...
Oklahoma depth chart
10/11/2008 QB 14 Sam Bradford 6-4 218 So. 15 Joey Halzle 6-4 203 Sr. RB 7 DeMarco Murray 6-1 205 So. 29 Chris Brown 5-11 210 Jr. WR 84 Quentin Chaney 6-5 208...
Texas depth chart
10/11/2008 QB 12 Colt McCoy 6-3 210 Jr. 7 John Chiles 6-2 215 So. RB 3 Chris Ogbonnaya 6-1 215 Sr. 31 Cody Johnson 5-10 254 Fr. WR 8 Jordan Shipley 6-0 190...
Texas leaders
10/11/2008 PASSING Comp Att Int Yds TD Colt McCoy 103 130 3 1280 16 John Chiles 9 10 0 89 1 RUSHING No Yds TD Colt McCoy 45 317 4 Cody...
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. The other...
OU-Texas: It's all about the 'D' in Big D
10/11/2008 DALLAS — Intelligent football minds have often said, "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.” Today, quarterbacks Sam...
Record crowd to watch Sooners today
10/11/2008 DALLAS — The biggest crowd ever to see the University of Oklahoma play football, 92,000-plus, will fill the Cotton Bowl today for the OU-Texas game....
It’s OK, you can call him ‘Duke’
10/11/2008 Oklahoma left guard Duke Robinson is a mountain of a man. While his 6-foot-6, 325-pound frame helps him now, it hasn’t always been easy being the big...
OU roster
10/11/2008 No. Name Pos Ht Wt Yr 1 Manuel Johnson WR 6-0 183 Sr. 2 Brian Jackson DB 6-1 202 Jr. 3 Jonathan Nelson DB 5-11 177 So. 4 Jameel Owens WR 6-3 200...
OU Blitz package: Double Coverage
10/11/2008 Sooners LT Phil Loadholt vs. Longhorns DE Brian Orakpo: A classic matchup of size vs. speed. Orakpo combines speed and agility as one the nation's premier...
OU Point-Counterpoint: Which player is most in the...
10/11/2008 John Rohde: All eyes will be on the quarterbacks, and deservedly so, but I'll go to the other side of the ball and put OU middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds in...

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.