Tag: red river rivalry

Saints’ team doctors have sought advice on treating Derek Carr’s injury

The Saints’ doctors can’t just keep doing what they’ve been doing. They consulted with Texas after Quinn Ewers suffered the same injury as Derek Carr:

The New Orleans Saints will be without starting quarterback Derek Carr for  a few more weeks, which gives Spencer Rattler an opportunity to learn on the job and take more live reps. But it’s not like the Saints are planning to keep Carr on ice forever. They want him back in the lineup, and their doctors have been doing their homework to devise the best plan for treating his oblique muscle injury.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers suffered a similar oblique strain, which is an unusual injury for a football player. But the school’s medical staff treated him well and Ewers only missed two games, plus a bye week, before returning against Oklahoma in the “Red River Rivalry” game. Ewers scored a touchdown pass and ran for another score in the Longhorns’ 34-3 rout on Saturday.

And on the broadcast, FOX Sports sideline reporter Holly Rowe shared an interesting footnote. She said the Saints had reached out to consult with Texas’ doctors on how they treated Ewers so effectively.

“It’s such a rare injury, it’s actually something that we see in baseball pitchers and volleyball players,” Rowe said, misspeaking and calling Carrr by his older brother’s name, “Actually David Carr in the NFL had a similar injury, they reached out to Texas this week to find out how they’re treating him, treating Quinn Ewers, because he has looked good. A lot of different techniques.”

That misstep aside (it’s not the first time the Carr brothers have been confused for one another, and it won’t be the last), this is good information. There’s nothing unusual about medical professionals consulting with each other especially for rare conditions like this one. The best surgeons in the world still sit through seminars and visit universities for workshops to learn how to better treat their patients.

But that hasn’t stopped fans on social media from laughing at the Saints’ expense — what kind of sports doctors can’t treat sports injuries? That seems to be a negative response due to all the frustration the team has had with injuries over the years, which is a little unfair. It would be more concerning if the Saints weren’t looking for help when working outside their area of expertise. They can’t just keep doing what they’ve been doing and hope for different results.

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Brent Venables discusses Red River Rivalry with ‘College GameDay’s’ Kirk Herbstreit

Brent Venables tells ESPN “College GameDay’s” Kirk Herbstreit why the Red River Rivalry is so unique.

The Oklahoma Sooners are just days away from squaring off against their arch rivals, the Texas Longhorns, in the 120th playing of the [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] matchup.

There’s plenty of hype surrounding this year’s game, as the top-ranked ‘Horns are 5-0 and looking to stay unbeaten. OU, on the other hand, is 4-1 with a loss against Tennessee. They’re dealing with major injury concerns and big problems on offense, but a stout defense and a true freshman quarterback won’t be going down without a fight.

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, who will be on the call for Saturday’s game, sat down with Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables to discuss what makes this game so special.

“Everybody in that stadium is invested,” Venables said. “There’s nothing like it … You have a group of people that are incredibly excited, they think that their encouragement in that moment is gonna be the difference, and when you’re winning, there’s a lot of energy that you feel.”

Herbstreit also asked Venables about the iconic close finishes that this game seems to always produce.

“Everything that goes into it and preparation leading up to it,” Venables said. “Nine of the last ten years have come down to, essentially, the last series of the game.”

When asked about the Golden Hat trophy, given to the game’s winner each year, Venables smiled as he answered.

“This is pride,” Venables said. “This means a lot to a lot of people. The past players, the past coaches, certainly to the current team. We know that for three hours when we go down to Dallas, Texas and compete in this game, everybody can take whatever problems you got, man you forget about them. You lose yourself in three and a half hours in the Red River Rivalry game and the joy that it can bring so many people.”

The Sooners and the Longhorns will square off again at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The game will broadcast on ABC.

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247Sports’ Josh Pate says this will be the key to the Red River Rivalry

Josh Pate of 247Sports thinks revealed a key component for the Red River Rivalry.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are two of college football’s fiercest rivals. The iconic [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] will be renewed on Saturday for the 120th time. It’ll be the first time this contest has been played with both teams in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag], providing an added layer of intrigue to one of the greatest games in sports.

As both teams prepare and fans around the country size up these two blue bloods in 2024, 247Sports college football analyst Josh Pate offered up his expertise in previewing the game. On Wednesday’s edition of “Josh Pate’s College Football Show” Pate said one stat could play a pivotal role in how this game goes.

“Oklahoma thrives on stopping that run,” Pate said. ‘They’ve done it well all year. Texas can probably win this game running the ball three and a half yards per carry. They don’t need to own it on the ground. Now what it does is, if you can’t run the ball well and you are having to throw to win, yes there’s a lot more variability that is mixed into the equation, but that’s Texas’ game. It’s not like they’re uncomfortable playing that.”

OU’s strength on defense, and really as a team, has been stopping the run in 2024. A defensive line with some question marks coming into the year has played well above expectations through five games. A strong inside linebacker group behind them has led to the Sooners being pretty stout against the ground game.

Another thing Pate said the Longhorns will be on the lookout for will be some different looks from Oklahoma, most likely on the defensive side of the ball.

“Here’s the thing that (Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian) said the other day that I think is very key here,” Pate said “He said and I quote ‘We’ve got to be ready for things Oklahoma hasn’t put on film.’ That is part one of how they pull this off.”

[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and Zac Alley will certainly be looking for advantages that he can rely on against a potent Longhorn offense. He’s already employed plenty of different looks in OU’s last two games against Tennessee and Auburn. Mixing up the front and getting tricky in blitz and coverage schemes seemed to work well for the most part for Venables and [autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag] against the Volunteers and Tigers.

Alley will have to call an excellent game, and Oklahoma’s defense will have to create chaos on Saturday. If they do, they might just be able to get Venables another statement victory in the Cotton Bowl.

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How Brent Venables, Steve Sarkisian last coordinator stops brought them to OU-Texas

Mirror Reflections: Steve Sarkisian and Brent Venables are very different, but also quite similar.

The 120th edition of the iconic [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] is days away from coming to fruition. The Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners will face off yet again in Dallas at a neutral site in the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas in one of the greatest rivalry games sports has to offer. There’s simply nothing like it. The atmosphere and the stakes are simply unbeatable in college football.

On the surface, the two head coaches in this game couldn’t be more different.

Texas’ [autotag]Steve Sarkisian[/autotag] enters his fourth Red River with a 1-2 record in the game. He’s one of the best offensive minded coaches in all of college football, renowned for directing some of the greatest units in recent memory. He’s a quarterback whisperer who played the position at BYU in the mid-1990s for LaVell Edwards. His teams put points on the scoreboard in an entertaining fashion.

Oklahoma’s [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], on the other hand, enters his third Red River at 1-1. He’s regarded as one of college football’s greatest defensive minds, and has also been in charge of some of the best units of the 21st century. His specialty is linebackers, as he played the position at Kansas State in 1991 and 1992. His teams suffocate opposing offenses and create chaos defensively.

But as different as these two men are, we can look at their most recent gigs before becoming the head coaches at Texas and Oklahoma to see how they’re building things very similarly.

Sarkisian had multiple stints coaching quarterbacks for Pete Carroll at USC from 2001 to 2008, though he spent the 2004 season doing the same in the NFL for the then Oakland Raiders. In 2007 and 2008, he was the offensive coordinator for the Trojans, in addition to his role as the quarterbacks coach.

From 2009 to 2013, Sarkisian served as the head coach at Washington before returning to USC after Lane Kiffin’s firing. For two seasons, he coached Southern California, but was fired midway through the 2015 season due to personal issues.

But it’s what happened next that got him where he is today. Sarkisian was hired as an offensive analyst by Nick Saban at Alabama for the 2016 season. He then spent two years as the Atlanta Falcons’ OC before returning to Tuscaloosa to be the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide.

In 2019 and 2020, Alabama and Sarkisian had some of the best offenses college football had ever seen. The Tide were particularly dominant in 2020, winning the national championship with an undefeated record and an incredible offense. All of that happened with Sarkisian calling plays on offense for a defensive-minded head coach in Saban.

Sarkisian was hired to be Texas’s head coach following his success in Tuscaloosa in 2020, replacing Tom Herman. It took a couple of years, but he has brought Texas “back” after nearly 15 years of dormancy. He learned from his time at Washington and USC, but his most crucial steps were the three years he spent learning how to build a program under Saban. He’s taken those lessons to Austin, building the team the way it has to be done in college football, something his two predecessors failed to do.

His philosophy is a combination of Edwards, Carroll, and Saban, but he certainly draws from his time in Tuscoloosa on how the process needs to look in the modern era of college football.

Venables coached at Kansas State under Bill Snyder for six seasons, serving as the linebackers coach from 1996 to 1998. [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] hired him to be the co-defensive coordinator and coach linebackers at Oklahoma, where the Sooners won the national championship in 2000. Venables eventually became OU’s solo defensive coordinator a few years later, coaching some of the best units in college football.

He decided to leave Norman to go to Clemson, serving as the defensive coordinator under Dabo Swinney from 2012 to 2021. The Tigers won the ACC and made the College Football Playoff six times in a row, winning the national championship in 2016 and 2018. Clemson was often led by stingy defenses in their run atop the sport. All of that happened with Venables calling the defense for an offensive-minded head coach in Swinney.

Venables was hired to replace Lincoln Riley after the 2021 season and has taken on the task of rebuilding the program and leading it into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. Though the job isn’t finished, there are certainly things to like about the way Venables is steering the ship.

His philosophy is a combination of Snyder, Stoops, and Swinney, but what he learned in Clemson mirrors how the Tigers were always the biggest foil to the Crimson Tide. Swinney’s squads were often the only team capable of matching up across the board with Saban’s teams. The two programs were often “shadowy reflections” of each other, as René Belloq once said to Indiana Jones.

Swinney built the Tigers from an also-ran to a powerhouse, and Venables was there for a lot of it, watching how it was done. He’s taken those lessons to Norman, building the program in a way his predecessor could not.

Alabama and Clemson were the titans of college football for over half a decade, dominating the four-team era of the CFP. Both teams are still very good and positioned nicely in the twelve-team era and beyond as well. Saban and Swinney will go down as the two greatest coaches of that era. Bama and Clemson faced off in the title game three times and once in the semis. The Tigers went 2-1 in the national championship, but the Crimson Tide had the edge in the 2017 semifinal.

As a change in leadership has taken place for the Tide, and the Tigers have seen their death grip on the ACC weaken, two former top assistants have made their way to the Red River Rivalry, applying what they’ve learned to their programs.

All of that said, both teams are on their way up entering the SEC. It may not take long for Texas under Sarkisian to look similar to Alabama under Saban. And it may not take long for Oklahoma under Venables to look a lot like Clemson at their best under Swinney. The chess match between the two every October will no doubt be intense.

Even though one head coach has a gifted mind for offense and the other has a brilliant mind for defense, and even though they come from completely different backgrounds, Steve Sarkisian and Brent Venables may be far more alike than you think.

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Red River Rivalry gets ESPN’s lead broadcast crew on Saturday

Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be on the call for OU-Texas 2024.

ESPN “College GameDay” may not be going to the [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] this week, but the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns will still have ESPN’s top broadcast crew on the call for Saturday’s game.

Despite “GameDay” choosing to go to Eugene, Oregon in Week 7 for Ohio State vs. Oregon, the Sooners and the Longhorns will still get ESPN’s lead duo on the call for “The SEC on ABC” at the Cotton Bowl. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes and the Ducks will be on NBC in primetime.

Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will call their second OU game of the year. The duo were also on the call for Oklahoma’s loss against Tennessee earlier this season. Herbstreit even boldly declared the Sooners had found their quarterback in the final minutes of the loss to Tennessee.

It’s the third Red River Rivalry game in four years for Fowler and Herbstreit, with the Sooners winning the other two in thrilling fashion. The duo has also called each of the last ten national championship games together and are considered among the best in college football at what they do.

In addition, ESPN’s top sideline duo of Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge will be in Dallas as well, as the network is making sure the first [autotag]SEC[/autotag] OU-Texas game gets the best of the best. Herbstreit will have to move quickly to get from Eugene to South Dallas by kickoff, while Rutledge will have a full day of highlighting both teams, as she hosts SEC Nation, which will also be in attendance.

It’s a national television audience for one of the greatest rivalry games in all of sports, as Oklahoma and Texas will square off on ABC at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

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Dr. Pepper kept Brian Bosworth in the dark about his new deputy, Texas QB Quinn Ewers

“The Boz” had no idea Quinn Ewers was going to be his new co-star in 2024.

If you watch college football, you’re absolutely familiar with Dr. Pepper’s “Fansville” campaign. The popular series of commercials is in season seven, with Oklahoma Sooners all-time great [autotag]Brian Bosworth[/autotag] playing the role of the town’s sheriff since 2018.

This year, “Fansville” needed a deputy sheriff, so Dr. Pepper chose Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers to play the role. Ever since NIL deals became legal, there’s been a player in the commercials each year.

However, this presents a few problems, especially this week as we inch closer to the [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag]. One of college football’s most heated rivalries is days away from being renewed.

Bosworth was asked about a Longhorn being his co-star by The Ref earlier this week. He said Dr. Pepper didn’t let him know the 2024 player played for Texas before the shoot.

“They didn’t tell me Quinn was my deputy until we got to the set,” Bosworth said. “And I said, ‘So, who’s the guy?’ Because every year the last 2-3 years they’ve brought a new guy on. And they didn’t tell me this year, probably because I would say, ‘No. Hell No! I’m not doing that!’ Then they said it’s Quinn Ewers, and he wants to meet me. I said, ‘Alright, tell him I’m outside his trailer and when he walks out don’t look anywhere but straight ahead. And I’ll be coming from one side or the other, but I won’t let him know. He’ll hear me.”

“The Boz” was finally able to embrace his new co-star, even though he certainly still hates the ‘Horns. He’s rarely been shy about expressing his displeasure for burnt orange, after all.

“We had fun together,” Bosworth said. “It was a great opportunity. He’s a great kid. A great competitor. But yeah, it took all I could to be nice to him for the first few minutes, then I realized he’s too nice a kid not to be nice to. I just wish he was wearing Crimson and Cream.”

Personally, I think Dr. Pepper missed out on a golden opportunity to have OU  star linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] play the role of Bosworth’s deputy, but maybe Stutsman will just have to take his frustrations out on the Texas offense come Saturday.

The Sooners and the Longhorns will take the field at the Cotton Bowl at 2:30 p.m. this week, and the game will broadcast on ABC.

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Oklahoma Sooners name captains for Week 7 vs. Texas Longhorns

The Sooners announced their captains for a huge game against the archival Longhorns.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are just days away from renewing one of the greatest rivalry games sports has to offer. The [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] pits the undefeated Longhorns against the 4-1 Sooners in Dallas.

Oklahoma head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] has chosen six captains to represent his team in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. Tight end [autotag]Bauer Sharp[/autotag] and offensive lineman [autotag]Febechi Nwaiwu[/autotag] represent the offense, while defensive linemen [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and defensive back [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] represent the defense.

https://twitter.com/OU_Football/status/1843426222828818746

Sharp, a transfer from Southeastern Louisiana, is making his first appearance in this rivalry. He’s been OU’s leading receiving tight end so far this season. While he’s struggled a bit with blocking, he’s been a reliable target over the middle in the passing game.

Nwaiwu is also a newcomer to this game, after transferring in from North Texas. He’s been a constant at right guard for OU this season, and has had his fair share of good and bad up front. Still, he’s been healthy and good enough to hold down the starting gig.

Williams is another new face in this matchup after arriving in Oklahoma from TCU via the portal. A big NIL and recruiting win for Venables, he’s been a strong starter on OU’s nasty defensive front. Sooner Nation is still waiting for Williams’ true breakout game, but he’s been very good in his first five games in Norman.

Downs is a Red River veteran, playing in his fourth game against Texas. He was one of the stars of this matchup a season ago, pressuring QB Quinn Ewers again and again. Downs is one of many players that OU rotates in and out at defensive end, but his veteran leadership and his technique are huge for  the coaching staff.

Stutsman continues to serve as the leader of OU’s defense and is responsible for so much from play to play. His now-iconic quote before last year’s game is indicative of what he brings to the table for this team. He’s playing in his fourth Red River game and leads the Sooners in tackles so far this season.

Bowman is another veteran on this defense, also playing in his fourth matchup against the “Horns. He was another one of Oklahoma’s many defensive stars in this game last year, forcing an interception in the first quarter with a huge hit, and coming up with the defining fourth-down stop of OU’s legendary goal-line stand. He’s the leader of an excellent safety trio for the Sooners that will have to come up big once again in this game.

Oklahoma and Texas will kick things off on ABC on Saturday, and the game will begin at 2:30 p.m.

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Where does Oklahoma land in latest CBS Sports bowl projections?

Where do the Oklahoma Sooners land in the latest bowl predictions from CBS Sports?

The Oklahoma Sooners have an opportunity to make a statement this week when they take on the archrival Texas Longhorns in the 2024 edition of the Red River Rivalry.

Texas is 5-0 and the No. 1 team in the country heading into Week 7. They’ll be looking for revenge after Oklahoma pulled off the 34-30 upset a year ago.

The game always has massive implications, and it will once again happen in 2024.

Most experts have placed OU in lower-tier bowls than they’re used to. A sluggish start to the season certainly didn’t help, nor did a tough loss against Tennessee or a heart-stopping win against Auburn. The chaos of week six in college football also didn’t move the needle much in Oklahoma’s favor.

CBS Sports college football writer Jerry Palm released his latest bowl projections after a wild week but still had OU headed for a below-expectation postseason destination.

Palm has the Sooners earning a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl. That game will be played on December 27th. The bowl typically pits the Big Ten against the Pac-12.

Smith predicts that the Sooners will match up against the Arizona Wildcats, the same team that defeated OU in the Alamo Bowl last year.

Arizona has a new coach this year, as Jedd Fisch was hired away by Washington after the Huskies lost Kalen DeBoer to Alabama when Nick Saban retired. The Wildcats responded by hiring San Jose State’s Brent Brennan to lead them into the Big 12.

Arizona is currently 3-2 and 1-1 in conference play. They concluded a very successful season last year by knocking off the Sooners 38-24 in San Antonio, dropping Oklahoma to 10-3 by forcing turnover after turnover. Arizona leads the all-time series between the teams 2-1, winning at home in 1989 after losing in Norman in 1988.

Being in the Las Vegas Bowl isn’t what Sooner Nation was hoping for to begin this season. But if that’s the way the year goes, OU could do a lot worse than getting a shot at revenge to cap off 2024.

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SEC chaos in week 6 revealed anything’s possible ahead of OU-Texas

It was a wild week in the SEC in week six, with several top teams falling prey to an upset. Can Oklahoma keep it rolling?

The Oklahoma Sooners aren’t being given much of a shot heading into the Red River Showdown. It’s understandable. The Sooners have a lot to improve on offense heading into the Cotton Bowl. They’ve undergone a quarterback change and needed a lot to go right in the fourth quarter against [autotag]Auburn[/autotag].

A week off gave true freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr[/autotag]. more work with the first-team offense and the Sooners more time to get healthy. With a matchup with the No. 1 Texas Longhorns, could the Sooners keep the chaos we witnessed in Week 6 rolling?

OU and Texas play in the biggest rivalry in the sport. It’s one that the Longhorns lead in the all-time series, but a matchup that Oklahoma has dominated for much of the last 25 years.

Yes, the Longhorns look like the better team on paper. They’re the No. 1 team in the nation for a reason. At the same time, what happened in Week 6 provides hope that the Sooners could pull off an upset, much like they did last year when Texas was a top-five team in the nation.

Vanderbilt beat the No. 1 team in the AP Poll for the first time in program history. Arkansas, who dropped a game to Texas A&M the week before, beat what looked like a national title contender in the Tennessee Volunteers. Missouri, which many thought was a national title contender, was dominated by Texas A&M. In week five, an unranked Kentucky team went into Oxford, Mississippi, and knocked off the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels.

Through six weeks of the 2024 college football season, the only thing that seems certain is uncertainty. And the SEC may be as wide open as ever.

People are claiming Texas is an elite team. They very well may be.

Well, Saturday before Alabama-Vanderbilt kicked off, those same people were saying the same thing about Alabama. I know I was. But how quickly opinions change.

Texas is a really good football team. They dominated Michigan in Ann Arbor earlier in the season. Although the Wolverines don’t have a passing game, the Longhorns completely shut down their impressive rushing attack. At the same time, that Michigan team just lost by 10 to an unranked Washington squad.

Despite their spot at the top of the national rankings, we still don’t know exactly how good the Longhorns are just yet. Again, they’re a really good team, but how good?

The same can be said for the Oklahoma Sooners. They’ve yet to play their best football in 2024.

Oklahoma has a defense that looks ready to roll into the Cotton Bowl. They have one of the best front sevens in the nation and a secondary that has played good ball despite a few big plays allowed against Auburn and Tennessee.

Offensively, the Sooners had some good moments in the fourth quarter against Tennessee and in the win over Auburn. Hawkins is protecting the football and showing off his ability to create big plays with his arm and his legs. The offensive line is the healthiest it has been all season, which could create an opportunity to find a better running game and improved protection for the Sooners true freshman quarterback.

This week, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who picks the Oklahoma Sooners in this big-time rivalry matchup. But as we’ve seen this season in the SEC, there are few guarantees. And in a rivalry game as big as OU-Texas, there’s no telling which way next Saturday could go.

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SEC Nation will be at the Cotton Bowl for Oklahoma vs. Texas

SEC Network’s ‘SEC Nation’ will be in Dallas for OU-Texas.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are a week away from renewing one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. As part of a loaded Oct. 12 slate, the [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] will have some special guests in the house in Dallas.

SEC Network’s “SEC Nation” show will be live from the Cotton Bowl for the first-ever [autotag]SEC[/autotag] edition of the Red River Rivalry. The cast on the scene that day will include Paul Finebaum, former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper, and host Laura Rutledge. In addition, the duo of Marty Smith and Ryan McGee will be on hand as the SEC gets introduced to one of college football’s most iconic games.

Oklahoma got the signature win of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era in this game last season, upsetting the ‘Horns 34-30 in one of the best games of the entire college football season and in the history of this rivalry.

The Sooners are 4-1 and will be coming off of a bye week before this matchup. It’s a well-timed open date, as OU looks to get healthy.

Texas will be 5-0 heading into South Dallas, and is also coming off of a bye. Steve Sarkisian’s team defeated Michigan on the road earlier this season, and they’re coming off a win over Mississippi State. They’ll likely be the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation heading into the matchup.

The Sooners and the Longhorns will kick off on ABC on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

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