College Station, TX -- (Sports Network) - The sixth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners are still alive in the race for the national title, and they are clearly favored in this week's clash with the Texas A&M Aggies, a Big 12 opponent.

Through nine games, the only loss for Oklahoma came against Texas in a memorable rivalry game on October 11th. Since then, the Sooners have reeled off three consecutive victories, all by comfortable margins. Last weekend, the team put on an offensive display in a 62-28 romp over Nebraska.

As for Texas A&M, it has seemed to turn the corner under first-year head coach Mike Sherman, who has led the squad to back-to-back victories over league foes. Last weekend, the team held off Colorado in College Station by a 24-17 final. In order to become eligible for a bowl game, A&M will have to knock off Oklahoma and Baylor, the final two teams remaining on the schedule.

Oklahoma holds a 16-10 series lead over Texas A&M, including five straight wins over the Aggies.

Oklahoma is clearly one of the most explosive offensive teams in the nation, as the squad is racking up 49.8 ppg to go along with 538.3 total ypg. It certainly helps to have Sam Bradford running the show, as he may be the finest quarterback in all of college football. Bradford has completed 68.0 percent of his passes for 3,086 yards and 34 touchdowns against only six interceptions, numbers that warrant more Heisman consideration than the signal caller has received to this point. There is no shortage of talent at the receiver position. Juaquin Iglesias leads the way with 47 catches for 783 yards and five touchdowns. Jermaine Gresham has made 34 grabs for 519 yards and nine scores, while Manuel Johnson has recorded 33 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns. DeMarco Murray leads the Sooner ground attack with 681 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Chris Brown has nine rushing scores to his credit. Clearly, this offense is as talented as any group in the nation.

Against Nebraska last week, Murray scored three touchdowns, while Murray reached the end zone twice. Bradford completed 19-of-27 passes for 311 yards and five touchdowns, proving once again to be an elite signal caller. The Sooners finished with 508 total yards and were effective on the ground as well as through the air. "We just came out firing with everybody," said head coach Bob Stoops. "I just thought our guys were really focused and we couldn't have executed much better in all parts of the game."

The Oklahoma defense takes a back seat to the team's offense. Through nine games, the Sooners are yielding 23.1 ppg and 353.1 total ypg, numbers that can certainly be improved. Still, it is important to remember that the Big 12 is loaded with outstanding offensive teams. The player to watch on defense for the Sooners is freshman linebacker Travis Lewis, who has been one of the top players nationally at his position despite his youth. Lewis has made 92 total tackles, 34 more than his closest teammate. He has registered 9.5 TFLs, including 3.5 sacks, and three interceptions.

Oklahoma allowed 418 total yards and four touchdowns to Nebraska last weekend. The Sooners clearly struggled to stop the run, permitting 204 yards on an average of 5.8 ypc. "I can live with it all, but the last one we had a bunch of guys in there who are still learning to play and missed a tackle and couldn't take the run," said Stoops, explaining Nebraska's final rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

For much of last weekend's game against Colorado, the Texas A&M offense was held in check. Fortunately, the Aggies exploded for three touchdowns in the third quarter, all thrown by quarterback Jerrod Johnson. After tossing a 32- yard scoring strike to Ryan Tannehill, Johnson threw back-to-back scoring passes to Jeff Fuller covering 59 and 10 yards, respectively. Johnson only completed 15-of-31 passes and was sacked five times, but his 214 yards and three scores overshadowed the negatives. "Even though the yardage was not where I'd like it to be, the production was very good overall," said Sherman when asked to assess the play of his offense.

Texas A&M is averaging 26.9 ppg and 362.2 total ypg this season. The Aggies rely heavily on the pass, as the ground attack accounts for only 110.7 ypg on 3.4 yards per rushing attempt. Johnson, who has taken most of the snaps this season, has completed 63 percent of his attempts for 1,967 yards and 18 touchdowns against four interceptions. The top receiver on the roster is Tannehill, who has made 44 catches for 663 yards and five touchdowns. Fuller has seven scores to his credit.

The Aggies were able to intercept three Colorado passes last weekend, key to the victory. Sure, the Buffaloes racked up 392 total yards with over 190 yards both on the ground and through the air. Still, the overall effort of the defense was solid. "If y'all could have seen the scene of the locker room, it looked like we had won a championship," said defensive back Trent Hunter after the victory. "We're coming together so good and it's a great feeling."

Opponents are posting 32.6 ppg against Texas A&M, which is surrendering over 200 yards per game both on the ground and through the air. Of the 32 touchdowns scored against the Aggies by opposing offenses, 22 have been rushing scores. Foes are making good on 52 percent of their third down conversion attempts which is completely unacceptable.