OU is the better team. But very slightly because Texas Tech is great. (Yes, we know the Red Raiders beat Texas by a second, and it only took the biggest play in Tech's history to pull it off.)

The Sooners are 59-2 at home under Bob Stoops, who is plenty mad about the 2 and has called out his own fans for being too reserved. Texas can relate.

The week off helped OU heal and hurt Tech's avalanche of momentum because the streaking Red Raiders just might have beaten the Tennessee Titans the way they were playing before the break.

Texas Tech is 4-0 on the road but has beaten no one better than a suspect Kansas team.

Bob Stoops will find an NCAA loophole that allows the Sooners never to kick off, given they've allowed a nation's-worst three kickoff returns for touchdowns this season.

A very average Nebraska team pushed Tech to overtime in Lubbock before losing. Those same Cornhuskers trailed OU 35-0 in the first quarter en route to a spectacular 62-28 loss and a Bo Pelini meltdown.

OU is not a Division I-AA opponent.

Austin Box, Ryan Reynolds' replacement at middle linebacker, is more athletic than Reynolds and has already started three games. (OK, we're reaching.)

Bob Stoops will pooch kick.

Brent Venables, the Sooners' very good defensive coordinator, will use this game as a platform to promote himself for the Clemson job.

Mike Leach might be distracted by job openings at Washington, Clemson and Tennessee, all of which would be stupid not to hire him, even with all his quirks and penchant to keep his players off limits to the media.

Mike Leach might be distracted by a butterfly.

Defensive ends Jeremy Beal and Frank Alexander are part of what was once the second-best defensive line in the Big 12 (take a bow, Brian Orakpo and the Horns front) until sackmaster Auston English sprained a knee to become doubtful for this game. Beal and Alexander had better be good because there's next to no depth behind them.

Graham Harrell has enough arrogance to try to force one too many passes into one too many tight spaces.

The OU defense has forced 15 turnovers in the last four games.

Sam Bradford wants to win the Heisman, too.

The Sooners are rumored to be considering using a 3-0-8 alignment on defense and consider putting the 8 on Michael Crabtree.

Bob Stoops will decide to squib kick.

Quintin Carter will replace a down lineman as an extra Sooners DB in pass coverage. (Not really a strong reason, but Carter's mom likes to see her kid's name in print.)

Tech will probably get called for holding once or twice, but don't hold me to that.

Harrell will be sacked at least three times after getting dropped five times in, I believe, 2.3 million pass attempts.

The Sooners have lost two of the last three to the Red Raiders and are very angry about it. Of those two defeats, one came in a controversy-riddled game (yeah, Leach gets some calls) and the other resulted from an early injury to OU quarterback Sam Bradford. Both games were in Lubbock.

OU does not want to go to the Alamo Bowl.

OU's freshman Jimmy Stevens will take some lessons from Garrett Hartley and learn how to kick field goals.

The Sooners offensive line that was supposed to be great will finally play like it.

Bob Stoops did the worst job of his coaching career in last year's game when, playing his below-average backup quarterback, he forgot it was legal to run the ball.

DeMarco Murray has regained confidence in his knee and his mental toughness.

The coin I flipped came up heads.

Of course, I could be wrong.

kbohls@statesman.com; 445-3772