KICKOFF: Saturday, Noon ET
SERIES: Texas leads 57-40-5
2008 RANKINGS: Longhorns: offense 12th (5th Big 12), pass 18th (6th), run 27th (3rd), defense 28th (2nd), pass 96th (10th), run 3rd (1st);
Sooners: offense 5th (3rd Big 12), pass 4th (3rd), run 40th (5th), defense 28th (2nd), pass 15th (2nd), run 18th (4th)
KEYS TO THE GAME: A pair of unbeaten, top-five teams that don't like each other very much will play in one of the best rivalries in college football. A concern for Texas entering its annual Red River showdown against Oklahoma is its inability to force turnovers. Texas has forced five fumbles and intercepted two passes to rank 96th nationally in takeaways. Its turnover margin is plus-one ? rather slight for a team ranked No. 5 with a 5-0 mark. In the last 10 meetings of this series, the team with the better turnover margin has won nine times. What they lack in turnovers, Texas makes up for in sacks, averaging a nation's-best 3.8 per game. OU has only allowed five sacks all season, but Texas must try to squeeze Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford into bad decisions, even if he's completing 72.6 percent of his passes and ranked as the country's second-most efficient quarterback. The Longhorns have gotten away with QB Colt McCoy as the leading rusher through the first five games. Against the Sooners, though, that might not be such a good idea.
FAST FACTS: Longhorns ? Led by QB Colt McCoy, the team's leading rusher, Texas is averaging 198 yards per game on the ground ... Along with being the leading ball carrier, McCoy carries an impressive touchdown-to-interception ratio of 16-3 ... Texas ranks sixth in the country in scoring, producing 47.2 points per game, and ranks fourth in points allowed at 11.4. Sooners ? The offense continues to shine, averaging 49.6 points and 540 yards per game ... Opponents have scored 69 points in five games, although 49 of those have been in the second half, typically when the outcome had long been decided ... OU is outscoring opponents, 168-30 in the first half.
QB Colt McCoy ? McCoy needs just one more touchdown pass to become the career leader at Texas after tying Major Applewhite with 67. He and WR Quan Cosby have also tied the UT record for most hookups with 131.
DT Roy Miller ? Miller was named Big 12 co-defensive player of the week after recording eight tackles against Colorado, including one for a loss. He also recovered a fumble.
RB Chris Ogbonnaya ? The sophomore is coming off his best performance, producing 116 yards receiving and 71 rushing off 15 touches at Colorado. He entered the game as UT's third-string back. Ogbonnaya also saved a touchdown with a tackle of Colorado DB Jalil Brown on an interception return.
Sooners
QB Sam Bradford ? Through five games, Bradford is carrying a 204.97 pass efficiency mark and thrown for 1,665 yards while completing 106 of 146 attempts, including 18 touchdowns against three interceptions.
LB Ryan Reynolds ? Reynolds plays in the middle and, following last week's game at Baylor, became the first linebacker ever to receive a 100 percent rating from defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who is also linebackers coach. Reynolds didn't want the perfect score and insisted Venables go back and find a mistake or two. So he did.
RBs DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown and Mossis Madu ? No Sooner running back ran for even four yards per carry against Baylor, though the trio combined for almost 200, still managing to give the offense the balance it prefers. Yet given the history of OU-Texas (the team the runs the ball best almost always wins), there will be a premium on the Sooner ground game Saturday.
INJURY WATCH:
Longhorns
The status of TB Fozzy Whittaker, who's missed four games with knee injuries, remains uncertain. That prompted the UT staff to declare TB Chris Ogbonnaya the starter for the Oklahoma game.
Without starting TE Blaine Irby, who is out for the season with a knee injury, the Longhorns have two receptions at that position from his replacement, Peter Ullman.
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