OU and Texas have met as unbeatens 15 times since 1950. The Sooners have won nine of those meetings, with Bob Stoops 3-0 against Mack Brown in such instances.
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The Stoops vs. Brown scorecard in battles of unbeaten teams: 2004: OU 12, Texas 0 2002: OU 35, Texas 24 2001: OU 14, Texas 3
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Unhappy with his team’s overall defense, Brown made a move to a more aggressive style when he hired Will Muschamp away from Auburn to be his defensive coordinator. So far, the Longhorns have played well, with a scoring defense that’s allowing 11.4 points a game – tied for fourth nationally. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him, terrific coach,” said OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables. “He’s got his stuff together.” Venables, joking, said that may not have always been the case. Having met when the Sooners played LSU in the Sugar Bowl to close the 2003 season, when Muschamp was defensive coordinator there, and later when he moved on to the Miami Dolphins, Venables took one opportunity to jab Muschamp. “I told him how they screwed up on Rufus Alexander when Rufus came out of Baton Rouge when they were at LSU,” Venables said, “so we’ve had some good fun talks.”
STILL STREAKING
Oklahoma extended its record streak for the most weeks at No. 1 in the AP poll, now at 97. For this group of Sooners, the top-ranked status is something new. But it’s not something that’s not unexpected. “We haven’t been No. 1 in the polls,” said OU senior wide receiver Manny Johnson, “but we feel like we should be No. 1 every year.”
BY JOHN HELSLEY
THIS WEEK ON NEWSOK: GET READY FOR OU-TEXAS
Today
› Berry Tramel begins a special video series looking at the most important games ever in the Red River showdown.
Later this week
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This is football dudes, not English or journalism class
"For this group of Sooners, the top-ranked status is something new. But it’s something that’s expected." would be a more aggressive way to say it, but for the purposes of diplomacy, the way it's written above makes it a little softer.
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Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.