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The secondary was expected to be an area of strength for Texas heading into this season but injuries, suspensions, and spotty play has turned it into a concern. In their two toughest games of the year the Horns couldn't prevent Anthony Gonzales of Ohio State from running around all by himself and Iowa State's Bret Meyer threw for over 300 yards against the unit. Against Oklahoma the starting four should be healthy and on the field together, which hasn't been the case much this year.

Michael Griffin is the leader in the Horns secondary starting at strong safety. One of the nation's best, Griffin will be expected to assist in run support against Adrian Peterson and play his usual superb centerfield anytime the Sooners drop back to pass. Aaron Ross starts at left cornerback and aside from not being able to cover Ted Ginn one-on-one (but then again who can?) has been incredibly steady this year. At right cornerback Tarell Brown is the Horns' best pure cover guy. Brown should be able to man up on OU's Malcolm Kelly enough to allow Gene Chizik a little more freedom in his defensive play calling. At free safety is Michael's brother Marcus Griffin. Also expect to see promising true freshman corner Deon Beasley see some time as the extra man in the nickel package.

Quarterback Paul Thompson didn't take over for Rhett Bomar till just before practices began this fall but he has performed solidly so far this season. The Sooners haven't faced a secondary group with the talent the Longhorns possess, but Thompson has completed 62% of his passes this year and has a strong 8/3 TD to interception ratio. His main target is Malcolm Kelly. Kelly is the Sooners' lone real threat outside of Adrian Peterson, and this year he's been both consistent and lethal. Kelly is averaging over 22 yards per catch. Receiver Juaquin Iglesias isn't the deep threat Kelly is but can hurt you with the short stuff. At tight end watch out for Joe Jon Finley. Finley is another solid outlet for Thompson that could find himself open a lot on Saturday if the Texas linebackers and safeties are preoccupied with stopping Peterson.

If the Horns play up to their talent level and don't have any mental breakdowns this matchup should be an advantage for Texas. If they play like they have for much of this year then things are a lot closer.

EDGE: Even