Oklahoma is a more talented football team than Texas Tech. I think even the most ardent Red Raiders fan would have to acknowledge that the Sooners, from the top of their roster to the bottom, have more NFL-type football players.

But Texas Tech, which is a touchdown underdog at Oklahoma despite being the No. 2 team in the country,
can win Saturday night. And the reason is that the Red Raiders, while having less overall talent than the Sooners, will also have the best player on the field.

That player, wide receiver Michael Crabtree, is the player who needs to have a big game if Texas Tech is going to pull the upset and take a big step toward a spot in the BCS national championship game. While Texas Tech has plenty of good players, Crabtree is the one guy who can look at the opposite sideline and say, “I’m better than all of them.”

Will Crabtree do it? I expect Oklahoma to make stopping him its first, second and third priority on defense, but I still think he can. This is the biggest stage yet for the best player in college football, and I think he’ll come up big.