GAMEDAY: Oklahoma
The Setup
Oklahoma Sooners (2-2) (1-0) at Texas Longhorns (2-2) (0-1)
The AT&T Red River Showdown — Version 111
Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Tx.
Capacity: 92,100
11:05am central
TV: FS1
(you’ll be happy to hear you’re getting an upgrade in play-by-play; meaning it's anyone but that crew)
PXP: Gus Johnson
Color: Joel Klatt
RADIO:
Local (Austin) - 104.9 the Horn
PXP: Roger Wallace
Color: Quan Cosby (presumably)
The ‘voice of the Longhorns’ Craig Way is joining his wife who has become gravely ill with cancer. They should be in the thoughts and prayers of all Longhorns fans. Wallace will slide into the PXP role per the Brian Davis of the AAS, meaning normal sideline-guy Quan Cosby may do color.
National - LRN affiliates and Compass Media Networks (Check Listings)
PXP: Gregg Daniels
Color: Tony Hill
VEGAS
Line: Texas +11.5
Open: Texas +10
O/U: 73
Moneyline: Texas +350
Sharp Money: Definitely on Oklahoma. Only 42% of public bets as tracked by theSpread.com are on the Oklahoma side but the line has had a 1.5-point shift away from public betting volume. This means big-money bets are coming in on OU.
Texas Storylines
- Can D’Onta Foreman go for 100 yards for the sixth-straight game? (Not counting games he’s sat out of).
- If Foreman can go for a big game with a bigger dose of volume than usual and prove he can hold up through being a workhorse in the biggest contest of the season, it will only elevate his stock as a prospect and nationally known player.
- What about the depth behind Foreman? On a team that is set to pound the football, Texas relies on a true freshman in Kyle Porter and a redshirt who’s played even more sparingly than him in Tristian Houston.
- Has Shane Buechele gotten “back to normal” with his downfield accuracy and ability to drive the football on a rope to the quick outs and flanker screens? He was limited by what appeared to be at least some degree of nagging (ribs) versus OSU and the ball didn’t seem to pop off Buechele’s hand in the same way.
- Is Malik Jefferson a big-time football player? I’m asking because big-time football players make big plays in big-time games. Just sayin’.
- If you believe the depth chart (which you probably shouldn’t as a general rule under Strong), we may get our first look at Brandon Jones getting the start at nickel corner. However, if Texas is true to form versus OU, this game will be one of the base-heaviest games of the season. Add in the fact that Strong has shown he loves the double-fox look which takes the defensive backfield from five players down to four, and it’s a recipe for not much nickel and dime-package stuff.
- About those fox players — clearly Breckyn Hager and Malcolm Roach have separated as leaders in productivity, but also keep and eye on the some of the subs who come in behind them. Jeffrey McCulloch has worked in at times as well as Erick Fowler versus OSU. Fowler only played three snaps but flashed a nice burst and wingspan at least. He could be a factor in 2016 before things are said and done after all.
Two Texas-OU pre-game tips for the poors and neurotically cleans
one tip for poor people, one tip for neurotically clean people
For the poors - I'd speculate that these are the general rules of the $20 handshake:
- In the words of one of my oldest friends, look for the ticket-takers who look the most broke and ready to deal. You are broke yourself if you’re doing this, so you should have no problem recognizing your own kind.
- I've heard it’s best to come to the gate with an old ticket or just something that looks like a ticket. Stick the money on top of that and give the guy/gal something that looks like you're having an actual ticket exchange as opposed to a“handshake,” despite the name of the maneuver. They'll need something to hand back to you like they've ripped a ticket and handed you a stub.
- I don't have any personal knowledge of any of this, but, if there are two of you that you’re giving the ticket-taker “two tickets” for, it needs to be a $100 handshake (IMO).
- If I were to do it, I'd enter at the very busiest time right before kickoff. At a time where physically turning you around and making you fight thousands of fans — squashed in like cattle coming up the steps — to return to the fairgrounds seems impossible. I'd probably look to find the entrance with the least security monitoring ticket-taking activity. There have been rumors of ramped-up efforts to curb the handshake but - again - I don't really know much about any of it, as mentioned.
- Once you’re in, I'd guess that finding a seat is choose-your-own-adventure. Just know you’ll find one eventually. Meander around by the bathrooms in the Texas end-zone and you’ll get to see a lot of the action while keeping an eye out for empty seats.
For the cleans: Don’t be the sloppy one who squeezes a whole ton of drippy ketchup and mustard directly on your corn dog to walk around with some sort of weapon of mass-clothes-staining destruction. Don’t be a yellow-mustard-fingered scoundrel among Oklahoma fans and carnies.
- The solution here is easy. First, buy a beer or soda. Drink the beer or soda, then use the wax paper cup it came in to hold an even mix of ketchup and mustard. What I’ve done is buy a beer at the place next to Fletcher’s, go get in line at Fletcher’s, and drink the beer while I’m waiting in line. Get the corn dogs, squeeze ketchup and mustard into the cup — now you just dip your corn dog into that. No mustard hands, no dripping mess.
speaking of fried food …
State Fair Food Judgements
Ranking the worst items at the Texas State Fair* while judging you for eating them (*I have not actually tasted these items).
5. “Injectable Great Balls of BBQ” — a) why does it matter to anyone that it’s injectable, b) what are we injecting?
4. “Down Home Chicken Pot Pie Pocket with Mac and Cheese Dip” — Nothing better to eat on a hot day at the fair than a steamy Chicken Pot Pie Hot Pocket — and since when is “mac and cheese” a dip?
3. “Fried Jell-O” — If you go to the fair and get this, you are either a little kid or a serial killer. There’s no real gray area.
2. “Dorito Bacon Fried Cheese Sticks” — Right, because fried cheese is never enough on it’s own, let’s throw in bacon bits and let’s bread it with Doritos. I’ll give this carny five bucks to put you on that scale to see if you’ve gained five pounds yet.
1. “Deep Fried Pulled Pork Funyun Dings” — It isn’t enough for you to consume fried junk that becomes toxic sludge inside your body, you have to do so with a pork shoulder and funyun mix? I’m not sure there’s any hope for you …
But there is hope — be it slim — for Charlie Strong and the Texas Longhorns. The narratives all week have been about his job security, and directly after the game (perhaps even during it) this will become a topic once again.
But let’s not forget this is the Red River Shootout. This is Texas-Oklahoma. This is the Cotton Bowl; the tunnel.
This is crimson meeting burnt orange at the 50-yard line and it’s everything the pageantry of college football attempts to portray on Saturdays each fall.
It's 116 years of pure, unfettered, mutual hate coming to a head once again.
THIS. IS. GAME. DAY.
The Setup
Oklahoma Sooners (2-2) (1-0) at Texas Longhorns (2-2) (0-1)
The AT&T Red River Showdown — Version 111
Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Tx.
Capacity: 92,100
11:05am central
TV: FS1
(you’ll be happy to hear you’re getting an upgrade in play-by-play; meaning it's anyone but that crew)
PXP: Gus Johnson
Color: Joel Klatt
RADIO:
Local (Austin) - 104.9 the Horn
PXP: Roger Wallace
Color: Quan Cosby (presumably)
The ‘voice of the Longhorns’ Craig Way is joining his wife who has become gravely ill with cancer. They should be in the thoughts and prayers of all Longhorns fans. Wallace will slide into the PXP role per the Brian Davis of the AAS, meaning normal sideline-guy Quan Cosby may do color.
National - LRN affiliates and Compass Media Networks (Check Listings)
PXP: Gregg Daniels
Color: Tony Hill
VEGAS
Line: Texas +11.5
Open: Texas +10
O/U: 73
Moneyline: Texas +350
Sharp Money: Definitely on Oklahoma. Only 42% of public bets as tracked by theSpread.com are on the Oklahoma side but the line has had a 1.5-point shift away from public betting volume. This means big-money bets are coming in on OU.
Texas Storylines
- Can D’Onta Foreman go for 100 yards for the sixth-straight game? (Not counting games he’s sat out of).
- If Foreman can go for a big game with a bigger dose of volume than usual and prove he can hold up through being a workhorse in the biggest contest of the season, it will only elevate his stock as a prospect and nationally known player.
- What about the depth behind Foreman? On a team that is set to pound the football, Texas relies on a true freshman in Kyle Porter and a redshirt who’s played even more sparingly than him in Tristian Houston.
- Has Shane Buechele gotten “back to normal” with his downfield accuracy and ability to drive the football on a rope to the quick outs and flanker screens? He was limited by what appeared to be at least some degree of nagging (ribs) versus OSU and the ball didn’t seem to pop off Buechele’s hand in the same way.
- Is Malik Jefferson a big-time football player? I’m asking because big-time football players make big plays in big-time games. Just sayin’.
- If you believe the depth chart (which you probably shouldn’t as a general rule under Strong), we may get our first look at Brandon Jones getting the start at nickel corner. However, if Texas is true to form versus OU, this game will be one of the base-heaviest games of the season. Add in the fact that Strong has shown he loves the double-fox look which takes the defensive backfield from five players down to four, and it’s a recipe for not much nickel and dime-package stuff.
- About those fox players — clearly Breckyn Hager and Malcolm Roach have separated as leaders in productivity, but also keep and eye on the some of the subs who come in behind them. Jeffrey McCulloch has worked in at times as well as Erick Fowler versus OSU. Fowler only played three snaps but flashed a nice burst and wingspan at least. He could be a factor in 2016 before things are said and done after all.
Two Texas-OU pre-game tips for the poors and neurotically cleans
one tip for poor people, one tip for neurotically clean people
For the poors - I'd speculate that these are the general rules of the $20 handshake:
- In the words of one of my oldest friends, look for the ticket-takers who look the most broke and ready to deal. You are broke yourself if you’re doing this, so you should have no problem recognizing your own kind.
- I've heard it’s best to come to the gate with an old ticket or just something that looks like a ticket. Stick the money on top of that and give the guy/gal something that looks like you're having an actual ticket exchange as opposed to a“handshake,” despite the name of the maneuver. They'll need something to hand back to you like they've ripped a ticket and handed you a stub.
- I don't have any personal knowledge of any of this, but, if there are two of you that you’re giving the ticket-taker “two tickets” for, it needs to be a $100 handshake (IMO).
- If I were to do it, I'd enter at the very busiest time right before kickoff. At a time where physically turning you around and making you fight thousands of fans — squashed in like cattle coming up the steps — to return to the fairgrounds seems impossible. I'd probably look to find the entrance with the least security monitoring ticket-taking activity. There have been rumors of ramped-up efforts to curb the handshake but - again - I don't really know much about any of it, as mentioned.
- Once you’re in, I'd guess that finding a seat is choose-your-own-adventure. Just know you’ll find one eventually. Meander around by the bathrooms in the Texas end-zone and you’ll get to see a lot of the action while keeping an eye out for empty seats.
For the cleans: Don’t be the sloppy one who squeezes a whole ton of drippy ketchup and mustard directly on your corn dog to walk around with some sort of weapon of mass-clothes-staining destruction. Don’t be a yellow-mustard-fingered scoundrel among Oklahoma fans and carnies.
- The solution here is easy. First, buy a beer or soda. Drink the beer or soda, then use the wax paper cup it came in to hold an even mix of ketchup and mustard. What I’ve done is buy a beer at the place next to Fletcher’s, go get in line at Fletcher’s, and drink the beer while I’m waiting in line. Get the corn dogs, squeeze ketchup and mustard into the cup — now you just dip your corn dog into that. No mustard hands, no dripping mess.
speaking of fried food …
State Fair Food Judgements
Ranking the worst items at the Texas State Fair* while judging you for eating them (*I have not actually tasted these items).
5. “Injectable Great Balls of BBQ” — a) why does it matter to anyone that it’s injectable, b) what are we injecting?
4. “Down Home Chicken Pot Pie Pocket with Mac and Cheese Dip” — Nothing better to eat on a hot day at the fair than a steamy Chicken Pot Pie Hot Pocket — and since when is “mac and cheese” a dip?
3. “Fried Jell-O” — If you go to the fair and get this, you are either a little kid or a serial killer. There’s no real gray area.
2. “Dorito Bacon Fried Cheese Sticks” — Right, because fried cheese is never enough on it’s own, let’s throw in bacon bits and let’s bread it with Doritos. I’ll give this carny five bucks to put you on that scale to see if you’ve gained five pounds yet.
1. “Deep Fried Pulled Pork Funyun Dings” — It isn’t enough for you to consume fried junk that becomes toxic sludge inside your body, you have to do so with a pork shoulder and funyun mix? I’m not sure there’s any hope for you …
But there is hope — be it slim — for Charlie Strong and the Texas Longhorns. The narratives all week have been about his job security, and directly after the game (perhaps even during it) this will become a topic once again.
But let’s not forget this is the Red River Shootout. This is Texas-Oklahoma. This is the Cotton Bowl; the tunnel.
This is crimson meeting burnt orange at the 50-yard line and it’s everything the pageantry of college football attempts to portray on Saturdays each fall.
It's 116 years of pure, unfettered, mutual hate coming to a head once again.
THIS. IS. GAME. DAY.
