By John Shinn

Transcript Sports Writer

Football is the ultimate team sport. Name another sport where as many as 40 players will get on a field or court for either team in a tight game.

But for all the positions on a football team, none measure up to a quarterback in terms of importance.

That will be obvious at 2:30 p.m. Saturday when No. 10 Oklahoma (4-1, 0-1 Big 12) faces No. 19 Texas (4-1, 0-1) at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

The last nine games in the century-old rivalry illustrate the importance of the position. Those games represent the modern era for quarterbacks for either side. The ability to throw the ball overtook the ability to run the option for both teams.

The Sooners are 5-4 over the last nine years and a major reason for each victory and defeat was the play of its quarterback.

The differences are staggering. Over the last nine meetings between OU and Texas, the average statistics of the winner’s quarterback are: 15-for-27 for 209 yards with 1.6 touchdown passes and .7 interceptions.

The loser’s were: 16-for-26 for 177 yards with .5 touchdown passes and 2.2 interceptions.

The yards are about the same, but whichever quarterback avoids the interceptions is the one celebrating on the trip back up the ramp.

The Red River Rivalry brings with it an atmosphere that solicits incredible amounts of emotion. Fans pound on the bus as it winds through the state fairgrounds. The stadium is split in half between OU crimson and Texas burnt orange.

Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy certainly didn’t have out-of-this-world numbers in his OU-Texas debut last season. He only threw for 108 yards, but he also threw two touchdown passes and wasn’t picked off.

He played like a seasoned veteran.

“I think the most important thing is handling the emotion of a big game, a big rivalry like that,” McCoy said. “I can remember how tough it was just to go in there and play.”

Over the last nine years, some quarterbacks have handled it better than others.

In 1998-99, Texas’ Major Applewhite was a model of consistency, leading the Longhorns to back-to-back wins.

But 2000-04 belonged to the Sooners and quarterback play was a big reason OU planted its flag at midfield for five straight years.

During those seasons, Josh Heupel, Nate Hybl and Jason White didn’t put up huge numbers. They only threw six touchdown passes with White putting up four of them in 2003. They got picked off six times. Hybl was responsible for four of them in 2002.

But they certainly handled the pressure better than Chris Simms and Vince Young during that period.

Simms made three starts against OU and never threw a touchdown pass, but was picked off eight times. Young didn’t have a touchdown pass against the Sooners until his third trip down the Cotton Bowl ramp.

But the Longhorns have had the quarterback edge the last two seasons. Young vastly outplayed Rhett Bomar in 2005. Paul Thompson threw for 209 yards last season, but his two interceptions were too much for the Sooners to overcome in a 28-10 loss.

The question is how Sam Bradford will handle his first trip to the Cotton Bowl.

Bradford is college football’s top-rated passer. He was close to perfect in his first four games. He threw 10 touchdown passes before his first interception, won his first career start, beat Miami and shined in his first road game.

Then he was just 8-for-19 for 112 yards last Saturday against Colorado.

“I guess come Saturday we’ll find out if he’s ready,” OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. “He’s a great competitor. He played a lot of sports. He typically came to play in great situations, but this is a different one. Until you play in it, you don’t know.”

How players react is never certain. Unknowns have stepped up and become stars on one of college football’s biggest stages. Stars have wilted under the intense pressure.

Heupel, who is currently OU’s quarterbacks coach, went 1-1 in his two starts in 1999-2000. He thinks Bradford has what it takes to lead OU to another win.

“Sam has not gotten overwhelmed by anything,” Heupel said. “He is very confident in what he does. He is very poised, but he has all those characteristics because he prepares himself extremely well.”

Every starting quarterback who has ever walked out onto the Cotton Bowl in early October felt like he was prepared. The ones who took a look at the 80,000 screaming fans and two sidelines bursting with emotion and blocked it all out are few.

But that’s what it takes to be a winning quarterback in the Red River Rivalry. McCoy’s proven he can do it for the Longhorns. Bradford gets his shot Saturday.