Gators set to upend Sooner Schooner. As much as I become a fan of the Big 12 during bowl season, there is, of course, a line to be drawn. Just like my defensive coordinator, that line etched in the sand keeps me from ever becoming a Sooner fan. That being said, I'm not here to fellate Tim Tebow, as most of the national media spends an inordinate amount of time doing. No, the point here is to break down the match up a little bit.

• Put pressure on Bradford. Any of the teams that have faced Oklahoma this season will tell that you that if you let Sam Bradford stand in the pocket untouched, he will absolutely pick you apart. Since it was so long ago, I only have faint recollections of it, but I do believe that the Longhorns and Brian Orakpo were able to pressure Bradford, causing uncharacteristically off-target throws and exposed Bradford's relative lack of mobility. Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham are the type of elite rushers who can give massive Phil Loadholt problems, especially since the officiating crew won't be from the Big 12 and likely won't allow the rampant holding condoned in the nation's most offensively prolific conference.
• Evolution of the spread linebacker. There might be any better example in the country of the evolution at the linebacker position forced by the proliferation of spread offenses than Oklahoma's Travis Lewis. The high school running back and converted safety has clocked 40 times in the mid-4.3 range--certainly fast enough to go stride for stride with the self-proclaimed fastest team in the country. Longhorn fans will remember the 19 tackles registered by Lewis at the Cotton Bowl, no fluke considering his 137 stops on the season. Lewis ranged from sideline to sideline that game and the Longhorns only achieved success in the running game when they got lineman to the second level. Without the size or disposition to take on offensive lineman and disengage to make plays, look for Florida to try to put a hat on Lewis to keep him from ranging free.
  
• Ain't seen no one like Gresham. Not only was the Big 12 the conference of the quarterback, but it also sported the three finalists for best receiver and the three finalists for the best tight end in the country. Suffice it to say that Florida has not faced a tight end with the ability of Gresham on the year. Watching Gresham, it is flat out unfair that someone with that size can move so quickly and with such fluidity. Stiff he is not.
  
• As if they need any more motivation. If the continued questioning of the "Big Game" Stoops moniker wasn't enough, Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes had to go and pull a Martellus Bennett this week, calling the Sooner defense "a joke." True, perhaps, but having seen the damage done by Michael Jordan to teams daring to slight him in the least, I'm a believer in providing as little bulletin board material as possible. Unfortunately for OU, playing with a chip on their shoulder may be not enough.

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OU gets healthy. Any premature speculation about OU missing line stalwarts Jon Cooper, Gerald McCoy, DeMarcus Granger, and Frank Alexander appears to be exactly that. Premature. Cooper and McCoy practiced Monday after sustaining minor injuries against Baylor, while Granger and Alexander may be healed in time for the game. Certainly bad news for Longhorn fans, particularly since the offensive and defensive lines are major strengths for OU. However, Cooper may be slowed enough to allow half man/half beast Roy Miller easier access to the OU backfield.

It's all about the timing. We've all been there: You've got something going on with that girl you're crazy about, but you can't get together because the timing isn't right for her. Attempting to defend spread offenses requires the same confluence of timing. Either the defensive line must get pressure, or the secondary has to stay on their receivers to disrupt the quarterback's timing.

Easier said than done with the premium placed on getting the ball out quickly. Several times against Colorado Colt McCoy held the ball less than a second before finding an open receiver. On the other side of the ball, Texas sometimes got pressure on Cody Hawkins at around a second and a half.  Success against Oklahoma will depend on pressuring Bradford in the 1.5-2 second range.

Press man coverage on the outside could be the key to allowing the defensive line enough time to acquaint themselves with the OU quarterback, Rhett Bomar-style. Given some time by the secondary, the speed of Brian Orakpo and Sergio Kindle on the outside may be too much for the mammoth OU offensive tackles.

Time to step up, o-line. Texas fans and coaches aren't happy with the short-yardage production from the football team after failing several times third-and-short situations against Colorado. Greg Davis expects 75% conversion on plays of less than two yards:

We're not doing that. We've got to evaluate what we're doing in those situations, everything from play-calling to personnel groupings.

Davis estimates the Longhorns are converting at around 66% in those situations. In the Colorado game, I think part of the problem was not using a fullback in the power formations, instead going with two tight ends. The loss of Luke Tiemann may be more significant than originally thought. Even though Ullman and Smith are supposed to be the "blocking" tight ends, the Longhorns haven't had much success running the ball from the two tight-end formation. After four games, it appears that the offensive identity of Texas football is a finesse passing team. Not a good sign for those moments when lining up and bludgeoning the other team into submission becomes necessary.

Better than expected? After losing Curtis Lofton to the NFL after his junior season, the OU linebacking corp wasn't expected to be a strength of the defense. In fact, compared to the excellent defensive line, the linebackers looked like a real weakness on the defense, particularly after two disappointing seasons from highly-recruited Ryan Reynolds. After Reynold's 14-tackle performance against Baylor, which defensive coordinator Brent Venables graded out at a 100, it may be time to re-evaluate. The other two linebackers, Keenan Clayton and Travis Lewis (a converted safety), have 5.5 sacks between them, while the three are the top tacklers on the team. What looked like an exploitable group before the season no longer looks that way, and coupled with secondary play also exceeding expectations, the back seven of the OU defense may well hold their own against a Texas offense lacking Blaine Irby to exploit the seam.

 Chris O knows all-purpose yards. Texas coaches named Chris Ogbonnaya the starter at running back against Oklahoma after his outstanding performance against Colorado. Obgonnaya caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from Colt McCoy on a scramble when McCoy appeared to cross the line of scrimmage, while also breaking of a 51-yard run and another touchdown on a run.

The question remains, however, even after his career-best performance: Is Ogbonnaya the answer at running back? It seems like too big of a leap after one good performance to say that all the running back issues at Texas are resolved, but with Ogbonnaya showing a combination of speed and power not witnessed before in his career, he certainly seems deserving of more touches. With his ability to catch balls out of the backfield and pick up blitzes, he provides a versatility at that position no other running back on the team can. And that looks like enough for him to be a critical part of the game plan against Oklahoma.