The Red River Rivalry wasn’t close this year. Texas dominated Oklahoma in all areas en route to a 34-3 win in the Cotton Bowl.
Last year, turnovers kept the Sooners in the game and OU won very late 34-30. In 2022, Texas won 49-0. The recent trend seems to be tilting Texas’ way.
Oklahoma has had some legendary coaches over the years. Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops all led the Sooners to extended periods of elite success. It doesn’t seem like current head coach Brent Venables is at that level.
Coaching could be the reason for the drop off, but one of those three legends fears it’s something harder to overcome than simply hiring the right coach.
On the “Paul Finebaum Show” Switzer talked about this year’s team and how much help they need.
“We’re short in a lot of areas, Paul. We need help all across there. Defensively, we’re probably better than we are offensively. We’re short offensive line, with running backs, receivers, quarterback. Every area of the offense needs help, and it’s gonna take a while to get there. But I think they can. I don’t know.” — Barry Switzer
While the current team worries Switzer, it’s a greater advantage that Texas has that makes the 87-year-old wonder if it’s now possible to catch UT.
“I question sometimes with NIL whether we can or not, whether we can compete against Texas every year. They can raise more money than we can. We’re a small state, we’ve only got 3.5 million people and it’s gonna be more difficult than it is for the University of Texas, where they’ve got 35 million people. A wealthier state and people to be able to support the programs. We’ll have to wait and see.” — Barry Switzer