Angry Sooners Looking to Corral Longhorns in Dallas

Texas Longhorns at No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners (-14.5, 46.5)

There was a time not so long ago when the Texas-OU game actually had national ramifications. That’s not the case this weekend when the Texas Longhorns (2-3, 1-1 Big 12) take on the 11th ranked Oklahoma Sooners (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) at the Cotton Bowl.

Coming of an upset loss to TCU, with fans pointing to Katy Perry’s infatuation with Sooner quarterback Trevor Knight as some sort of a jinx, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops isn’t buying it. Instead, he just wants his team to play better.

That includes Knight, who was a horrific 14 of 35 with two picks against the Horned Frogs.

Stoops said, “At times he’s got to be a little more patient to wait for something to break open, and then at times it’s just the accuracy of the throws, so it’s all of that.”

As for his team’s overall play, Stoops added, “I believe a lot of it is easily correctable, and some of it’s just discipline and fundamentals. I’m not going to detail it because then, you’re calling out these young guys, and that’s not the right thing to do.

“In the end, some of it is very fundamental in what we do, and for whatever reason, even guys with a lot of experience didn’t do it very well, so we’ve got to do a better job coaching them and they’ve got to do a better job being mindful of their disciplines and what we’re doing.”

Then there’s Texas head coach Charlie Strong, who has his offense ranked 114th in the country thanks, in large part, to the up and down play of QB Tyrone Swoopes.

Swoopes said, “(Coach Strong) always tells me to be confident in myself, because if I’m not confident in myself, nobody else will be. The veterans have told me they believe in me. [That] helps a lot to know the guys who have been here a while believe in me to lead them to victory.”

Invariably, the angry Sooners, who average 42 points a game, already smell blood in the water. Take the over in Dallas.