The Red River Showdown between Texas and Oklahoma is always a sight to see.
Outside of the 2018 Big 12 championship game, the heated matchup between the two programs has been decided by just one score in the last seven matchups.
It’s one of the rare, true rivalry games that is almost impossible to predict the outcome of. We’ve witnessed the lower ranked squad leave the Cotton Bowl victorious on numerous occasions.
Texas will enter this year’s matchup ranked as the No. 21 team in the country, while Oklahoma sits at No. 6. The Sooners are still undefeated, but they’ve been fortunate to narrowly avoid several upsets to lower quality opponents. On the other hand, the Longhorns appear to be legitimate contenders for the Big 12 title this season and deploy one of the top scoring offenses in the country led by Heisman hopeful Bijan Robinson.
Robinson carried the ball 35 times for 216 yards and two touchdowns last week against TCU. When the passing game couldn’t get going with quarterback Casey Thompson, Robinson put the team on his back and willed Texas to a 32-27 win in Fort Worth.
College football expert Kirk Herbstreit doesn’t believe that will be the case against Oklahoma. On the ESPN College Football Podcast this week, Herbstreit mentioned that Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch will do everything in his power to limit Texas’ rushing attack, thus putting the game on the shoulders of Thompson.
“This always brings out the best of the two teams. Oklahoma’s concerns on defense, maybe they’ll get exposed, but I think Alex Grinch and that defense will play their best game. There’s going to be a ton of emotion on that field because of the build-up around this game year-round for these two teams. And now (Steve Sarkisian) gets a chance to feel this for the first time. I think Casey Thompson is the key to the game, because if I’m Alex Grinch, what am I doing? There’s no way, no way Bijan Robinson is going to carry 35 times for 200 yards. We are stopping the run game. I don’t care what we gotta do. And that means, Sark knows that, so that means they’ve got to come up with a way to attack within their pass game and put a lot on Thompson and his ability to create.”
While attempting to limit Texas’ run game isn’t necessarily breaking news to anyone, it does put added pressure on Thompson behind center. His struggles through the air last week can’t afford to happen against a team like Oklahoma regardless.
Whether the Sooners can find success limiting Robinson on the ground, though, is the real question.
Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.