MIKE FINGER TEXAS STILL CHASING RILEY
OU’s talent isn’t the only reason Tom Herman has dropped three of four to his younger rival
DALLAS — Having repeatedly delivered himself from the clutches of his flailing horned pursuers, Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb pulled up a chair late Saturday afternoon and acknowledged a couple of deities.
“Can’t do nothing but thank the big man upstairs and the guy sitting to the right of me,” Lamb said.
Seated a couple of feet over in that direction, Lincoln Riley barely cracked a smile. As far as creators go, the Sooners’ whiz kid of a head coach knew he hadn’t quite earned his day of rest yet.
But on a day like Saturday, when his charges dominated Texas at the Cotton Bowl as thoroughly as any team can in a seven-point victory, it was enough to make one wonder:
If he wanted to, could Riley make the Longhorns chase him forever?
His quarterback didn’t play perfectly this time, and that was the main reason why his sixthranked Sooners didn’t pour it on No. 11 UT any worse than the 34-27 final score. If Jalen Hurts hadn’t gifted the Longhorns two turnovers in the first half, Tom Herman might have been hardpressed to avoid the kind of humiliating Red River shellackings that Mack Brown and Charlie Strong knew all too well.
UT managed to hang around, and might get another chance at the Sooners in December. But Riley now has topped Herman three times in four chances, and it took him less than two months to avenge his only loss.
He has Oklahoma pointed toward a third consecutive playoff berth, with a third different quarterback, and this has to drive the Longhorns crazy.
They were supposed to be the ones to have hired college football’s up-and-coming coaching prodigy, the guy with the innovative offensive mind and knack for recruiting. And yes, Herman has delivered on a lot of that promise, putting UT in a much better place than it’s been in almost a decade.
He also, however, has spent the bulk of his tenure in the shadow of his younger rival. Riley inherited better players, for sure, but his stock as a genius keeps soaring with every crossing pattern one of his brilliant receivers effortlessly turns into a long touchdown, and it’s no wonder that fans of teams such as the Cowboys wonder what kind of plays he might be able to draw up in the NFL.
It’s also understandable why he might want to stick around OU for a while, especially if he gets to keep unleashing athletic specimens like Lamb, who could have been accused of cruelty Saturday if he hadn’t been so nice about the way he kept torturing UT defensive backs.
No, he said, he wouldn’t dream of talking trash about the second-quarter play in which he caught a long pass from Hurts on a flea flicker and then, finding himself surrounded by four burnt-orange jerseys, made each one of them miss on his way to a 51-yard touchdown.
No, he said, he wasn’t trying to punish anyone on his third touchdown of the day, a ridiculous 27-yard catch and run that he completed by tight-roping the sideline while defenders fell by the wayside.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I feel the frustration,” Lamb said of UT’s secondary. “But I feel like you kind of have to be frustrated, because that’s your job, to tackle me, and you missed it.”
Lamb finished with 10 catches for 171 yards, and the ease in which he did it was emblematic of OU’s obvious advantages all over the field. Whether it was at the line of scrimmage, where the Sooners’ rushers overwhelmed UT’s offensive line for nine sacks, or in the running game, where OU outrushed the Longhorns by 176 yards, the gap was unmistakable.
As is usually the case, some of that was related to personnel, and some of that came from coaching. The Sooners always seemed to be in the right position to make a play, and even when they flubbed one, they always had another opportunity waiting for them.
Perhaps this will even out someday. Bob Stoops didn’t own Brown forever, after all, and even Strong got to try on the “Golden Hat” before he was banished to Florida. Herman might not have Riley’s number yet, but he’s also not getting blown out, and given the history of this rivalry, that’s saying something.
But this is now the third year in a row that OU has left UT searching for answers — as Herman put it Saturday, not “what?” but “why?” — and the Longhorns probably wouldn’t mind at all if Jerry Jones eventually comes up with an offer Riley can’t refuse. Until then?
The Sooners can keep thanking the big guy upstairs.
And the skinny guy on the sideline.