The Texas Longhorns bullied the Oklahoma Sooners with a rough-and-tumble ground game in their meeting earlier this season in the Red River Shootout. In the sequel, a 39-27 OU win, the Sooners appeared intent on forcing their blood rivals to beat them another way.
Interim defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill laid out a beefier game plan for the rematch that centered on getting better run defenders on the field. It produced what has to go down as the D’s best performance of the season.
Extra beef
Eschewing the nickel scheme that OU ran in the Cotton Bowl, the Sooners played the hybrid 4-3 base alignment installed by McNeill in the aftermath of Mike Stoops’ departure.