The No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners (4-1) and the No. 1 Texas Longhorns (5-0) will be in Dallas on Saturday, Oct. 12 for the first Red River Rivalry game of the SEC era. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (CT) as opposed to the typical 11:00 a.m. (CT) slot that the game is usually played in.
The Longhorns are currently 14.5 point favorites, but you never know what can happen in this rivalry game. Fun fact: In the eight Red River games with double-digit point spreads this century, the favorite is just 2-6 against the spread.
What to watch for:
Oklahoma’s defense vs Quinn Ewers
Quinn Ewers gets his starting position back after suffering a strained abdomen in week three vs UTSA. When it comes to the Oklahoma defense, we need to see a lot of what we saw in this game last season. The defense had Ewers rattled at the start with two interceptions on the first two drives, along with a forced fumble in the second half by Peyton Bowen. Granted, Ewers still ended up throwing for 346 yards, but the forced turnovers were enough for Oklahoma to escape.
The Longhorns have a lot of speed at wide receiver, so Oklahoma can not allow Ewers to have all the time in the world to throw the ball. OU’s defense MUST cause choas and win the turnover battle to escape with a victory.
Shorten the game
Oklahoma will have to get the running game going somehow. Running back Taylor Tatum is expected to be back, and that should definitely help. It also doesn’t hurt having Michael Hawkins Jr. as a running threat that will keep the Texas defense on their heels.
But if the OU offense can’t get anything going whatsoever, it could be a very long day. Multiple three-and-outs CANNOT happen. No turnovers. No bad penalties. The Sooners cannot afford to have their defense on the field the entire game. Time of possession is going to be huge.
Staff Predictions
Tanner Johnson: 21-17 Oklahoma
Addam Francisco: 24-20 Oklahoma
A.J. Bussey: 42-17 Texas
Jonathan Goudeau: 31-21 Texas
