The eyes of all college football fans will be on Norman this weekend when OU takes on Texas Tech. A match-up between two top-five teams this late in the year — and outside of a conference championship — is rare, and this one game could throw a massive wrench into the BCS.

Plenty of people have talked all week about the keys to this game. The strengths and weaknesses of both teams have been analyzed over and over, and there’s one major message I’ve gotten from such analysis: OU and Texas Tech are virtually carbon copies of each other.

This may come as no surprise, considering that Bob Stoops’ former assistant, Mike Leach, is now at the head of the Tech offense. And the best-known players for both teams — and rightfully so — are their quarterbacks: Sam Bradford for OU and Graham Harrell for Tech.

But a deeper look at these two teams reveals just how similar they are.

Both teams dominate in the passing game. Tech is No. 1 in the nation in passing while OU is No. 3. Harrell has been responsible for 25.6 points per game, which ranks first in the nation. Bradford trails by only .4 points per game, and is second in the nation.

Tech is No. 2 in the nation with 566.3 total yards per game, while OU is No. 4 with 549.8 yards per game.

Such similar offensive numbers should come as no surprise to fans who have followed both teams all year. But the teams also have near-identical stats on defense.

Tech has given up 107.4 rushing yards per game, while OU is close behind at 107.5. The Sooners have given up 238.8 passing yards per game, while Tech surrenders 244 per game.

The two teams also have identical statistics in the red zone. Both teams allow the opponent to score 79 percent of the time it gets inside the 20.

How about in the turnover department? OU and Tech are tied for No. 21 in the nation with 24 takeaways. However, the Sooners have only committed eight turnovers all season, while Tech has given the ball away 14 times.

The point of all these statistics is to show just how alike these two teams are. They are good at all the same things, and bad at all the same things.

They are led by two eerily similar quarterbacks and two head coaches that are very familiar with one another.

Based on talent alone, these two teams are essentially even in every category, making it nearly impossible to break things down and decide which team should win. Both teams will basically be playing another version of themselves.

That’s what makes this game so great. It’s strength vs. strength, one Heisman candidate vs. another and mentor vs. protegé.

There’s a reason why students are camping out for tickets while others are selling theirs for astronomical amounts of money: It’s going to be one hell of a game.