Tag: Texas vs Oklahoma

No. 3 Texas enters Red River as the favorite over No. 12 Oklahoma

Texas is considered the 6.5 point favorite over Oklahoma this week.

According to BetMGM, No. 3 Texas (5-0) are the 6.5 point favorite over No. 12 Oklahoma (5-0) ahead of one of college football’s most heated rivalries this week. Since 2020, the spread has correctly picked every Red River game.

Just because the Longhorns are favored to win doesn’t mean it will happen. Every Texas fan knows the pain of heartbreaking losses when it comes to the team north of the Red River.

From last-second touchdowns to 49-0 victories, anything can happen in the Cotton Bowl. All previous statistics and records can be thrown out the window when it comes to these two teams.

No. 3 Texas will battle against No. 12 Oklahoma in Dallas on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.

Does No. 3 Texas have a case as the best team in the country?

Has Texas played better than Georgia and Michigan so far?

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns have a case to be considered the best team in the country. Georgia (No. 1) and Michigan (No. 2) are currently ranked above Texas in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Looking at Georgia’s schedule, they are 5-0 with Power Five wins against South Carolina and Auburn, but seemingly struggled in those victories.

One of the primary reasons the Bulldogs are still No. 1 is because they’re coming off back-to-back national championships. Rankings are only applied to how well a team has done this year, not in years past. Georgia may still be dominant, but they’re not on the same level as 2021 or 2022.

The Michigan Wolverines are downright playing dominant football. Outscoring their opponents 172-30, their defense hasn’t allowed double-digit points in any game this year.

The Wolverines definitely have a case as the best team in the country, but they likely will not get a ranked opponent until they face off against No. 6 Penn State on Nov. 11th.

The argument that Texas should be No. 1 in the AP Poll is clear: they aren’t just beating teams, they’re embarrassing them.

In every game, Texas has scored at least 31 points and has won by double-digits. They also went into Tuscaloosa and beat Nick Saban and the Alabama dynasty, 34-24.

More recently, they dominated the then No. 24 ranked Kansas Jayhawks, racking up 661 yards of total offense.

The No. 3 Longhorns will have another tough opponent on Saturday, as they match up against No. 12 Oklahoma in the annual Red River Shootout. If they can manage a victory, Texas will likely get the No. 1 ranking they ultimately deserve.

Free Catalon: Why the Texas safety could be full-go against Oklahoma

Texas might fully utilize former All-SEC safety Jalen Catalon on Saturday.

Texas safety Jalen Catalon is a heat-seeking missile. His target is opposing ball carriers at which he runs with intent to bring down with authority. It could be time for the Longhorns to fully utilize Catalon in what will be the biggest remaining game of the season.

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns (5-0) will take on the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners (5-0) on Saturday. The Sooners have made this game significant with their dominant play through five games. The matchup demands that the Longhorns exhaust all effort to win. Catalon stands as one of the players Texas can ill afford to minimize.

The transfer and former All-SEC safety is necessary for several reasons, but one is the Longhorns’ struggling secondary play. Last week continued the trend of the team getting beat by the downfield throw and featured a backup safety or two getting burned in coverage. This isn’t the week to risk that happening again.

Texas faces an Oklahoma squad who can make teams pay for vulnerability at safety. The Sooners can attack with downfield shots, but can also attack weaknesses in the intermediate passing game. The Longhorns need range from their safeties. No safety on the roster has more range than Catalon.

Whatever reason Catalon has been limited to a select amount of plays this season might be thrown out the window on Saturday. The Oklahoma game isn’t the whole season, but it’s certainly the most important conference battle.

Texas can’t hold anything back against Oklahoma. It needs its best players for as many snaps as possible. The team will look to deploy Catalon against the Sooners in Saturday’s game.

Texas RB Jonathon Brooks an X-Factor against Oklahoma

Jonathon Brooks could break the game open with Oklahoma likely preoccupied with the Texas passing attack.

The Oklahoma Sooners will likely be aggressive on Saturday. Chaos is the team’s best mode of defensive attack. They will have to bring pressure to stop the Longhorns in the passing game. Texas can counter with the run.

We are familiar with Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables’ defenses from his days as defensive coordinator for the Sooners. The lasting impression he left on the rivalry involved holding 2009 starting quarterback Colt McCoy and company to 16 points. He did so with aggressive and attacking defense.

Aggression can come with downside. If you do blitz and miss, the offense can attack an off-balanced defense and hit pay dirt.

Former Texas running back Roschon Johnson did that in an otherwise forgettable performance for the Longhorns in the rivalry in 2019. Johnson attacked an overeager Oklahoma defense for a 57-yard run to set up a touchdown. It’s that type of counterattack Texas needs to combat what Venables is about to throw the Longhorns’ way.

Enter Jonathon Brooks who ranks No. 3 in the nation in rushing yards through five games. Brooks has emerged as a dominant force for the team in its last three games, rushing for an average of 162.6 yards in the last three contests. Four of his five touchdown runs came against Kansas and Baylor the last two weeks.

Brooks is emerging as a legitimate problem against which defenses will have to contend. And if he can make the Sooners pay for their aggression, it could give the Longhorns an edge in the game.

First down defense among Texas’ biggest keys to slowing Oklahoma

If Texas prevents Oklahoma from running tempo, it can win the game. It all starts with winning first down.

The Oklahoma Sooners have perhaps the most explosive offense in college football. Certainly, the team possesses the most explosive offense in the Big 12 as long as the UCF Golden Knights are without John Rhys Plumlee at quarterback.

The Sooners’ high scoring offense is cause for concern, but not without its flaws. While the Texas Longhorns have scored more than 30 points in every contest, Oklahoma has fallen below 30 point scoring outputs against SMU and Cincinnati. It’s not feast or famine in Norman, but it is feast or tighten-up-your-belt and conserve.

Oklahoma’s last performance that yielded offensive struggles came against Cincinnati. The Sooners won the game 20-6. The Bearcats did several things well defensively, but what they did best involved preventing the Oklahoma offense from going up-tempo. And when the Sooners could not speed up the pace offensively, they looked pedestrian.

The 2023 Oklahoma up-tempo style is not far off from the 2008 Sooners’ offensive pace. That Oklahoma team had five straight games in which they scored 60 points or more. The next game they faced a Florida team that held them to 14 points. When you can stop a tempo-dependent team from speeding up the game, it becomes a shell of itself.

It is unclear if Oklahoma can execute 12-play drives without fast tempo against the Texas defense. What is clear is the Longhorns’ best chance of stopping the Sooners is winning in the first three plays of the drive and on first downs.

If defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski can slow the Sooners early in drives with negative and neutral plays, the Longhorns should have success on defense.

Jonathon Brooks is No. 3 in rushing yards in all of college football

Texas running back Jonathon Brooks had another spectacular performance against Kansas.

Texas running back Jonathon Brooks has had an exceptional start to the season. He recorded his third consecutive 100-yard game on Saturday against Kansas, rushing for 218 yards, averaging over 10 yards a carry and two touchdowns.

During the 2022 season, Brooks waited patiently behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson. He has now emerged as the third-highest rushing yards leader in all of college football, despite playing one less game than Audric Estime from Notre Dame, who currently holds the top spot.

In each of the three games, Brooks has rushed for more yards than his opponents.

With the Sooners allowing 106 rushing yards per game this season, you can expect Brooks to carry the rock and try to lead No. 3 Texas to a second straight Red River victory over No. 12 Oklahoma.

College GameDay will be in Dallas for Red River Rivalry

College GameDay announces they will be in attendance for Red River Rivalry.

ESPN’s College GameDay officially announced they will be in attendance for Texas vs. Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout for Week 6. Continue reading “College GameDay will be in Dallas for Red River Rivalry”

Oklahoma proving to be worthy adversary for Texas through three games

You might not know the names, but Oklahoma’s team is pushing for a Top 10 Red River matchup.

The Oklahoma Sooners are looking good through three games. After a strong 3-0 start, the team is setting up for a potential Top 10 matchup over Red River weekend.

The Sooners have proven to be among the more dangerous offenses in the country through three weeks. The team is seventh in total offense with 534 yards per contest. Incidentally, fellow Big 12 squad UCF leads college football with 617.7 yards per game.

Oklahoma has been one of the more efficient offenses in the country in 2023. Last week against Tulsa, Dillon Gabriel completed 28 of 31 passes for 421 yards. On the year, he has a 220.4 quarterback rating and has completed 82.5% of his passes for 905 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Some are suggesting Oklahoma isn’t to be feared given who it has played. I would push back against that notion, though the SMU Mustangs put things on tape that Texas can use to stop the Sooners.

Oklahoma is proving to be a worthy opponent for Texas. This time, the Longhorns won’t be able to take the Sooners lightly.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian relives Red River with Texas Alumni

Sarkisian relived the 2022 Red River game with Dallas alumni on Wednesday.

The Texas Fight Tour is underway as Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is rallying the troops for another season of Longhorns football. It appears he’s having a good time.

On Wednesday, he reminisced on the one-sided event with Texas alumni present in Dallas. Sarkisian opened with, “49-0, was that sweet?” According to Danny Davis of the Austin American-Statesman, he then shared that he relished seeing a half-empty Cotton Bowl in the second half after Sooners fans headed toward the exits.

Sarkisian has plenty to accomplish at Texas, but his offensive Red River performances have certainly lived up to standard. His team is averaging 48.5 points against the Sooners in his two rivalry appearances. Frankly, if he wanted to score more last season the average would be a lot higher.

The annual matchup between Texas and Oklahoma is monumental to both fan bases, and certainly the talking point Sarkisian should want to discuss in his tenure so far.

To be sure, he will need to win more than that game to have a long tenure in Austin. Nevertheless, if you can perform well in one regular season game every year, he’s wise to come ready to compete with the Sooners.