Know Your Foe: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns

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After their bye week, the Oklahoma Sooners return to action in Week 6. A rocky start to the season has seen OU stumble out of the gates with a 2-2 overall record and a 0-1 mark in SEC play. A win over UTEP was followed up by a loss to Michigan, before a win over New Mexico was followed by a loss to Georgia. Head coach Brent Venables is trying to turn the season around this week, and it'll have to come on a big rivalry stage.

Saturday will see OU face off against the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The Red River Rivalry is one of the most iconic rivalries in all of sports, and certainly in all of college football. The annual neutral-site affair, set in the heart of the State Fair of Texas, sees half of the stadium wearing crimson, and the other half clad in burnt orange. It's a one-of-a-kind environment that is pure college football, as each of these two teams is the other's chief rival.

Texas went 10-3 last year, losing to Ohio State, Florida, and Georgia in the regular season, which led to the 'Horns missing the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2022. However, they beat Oklahoma last year and won the Citrus Bowl over Michigan to close out their season.

Steve Sarkisian is in his sixth year as the head coach of the Longhorns after being hired ahead of the 2021 season. In addition to those two CFP appearances (2023 and 2024), he also has a Big 12 title under his belt from the '23 campaign. But with all the talent Texas has, Sarkisian knows winning it all is the only way to truly prove himself.

Texas is 4-0 and is the top-ranked team in the country, and it is rolling so far in 2026. Wins over Texas State (59-7), Ohio State (24-23), UTSA (30-6), and Tennessee (20-17) have vaulted them to the top, and this team is also coming off the bye week heading into South Dallas. The Longhorns have already been tested twice, and they've passed through so far. Their 1-0 mark in the SEC has them right where they want to be this week.

Sarkisian calls the plays himself for Texas' offense. This is the first time this season the Sooners will face a head coach who also calls plays, and Sarkisian will match up directly with Venables, who calls OU's defensive plays. Kyle Flood and AJ Milwee are the co-offensive coordinators for the Horns, but everything runs through Sarkisian. His long history as an excellent offensive mind means Texas' multiple and diverse offense is always hard to stop under his watch. That play-calling chess match between head coaches is a major storyline in this rivalry.

Starting quarterback Arch Manning hasn't lit the world on fire this season, but he's been very sound for the 'Horns this year. He's played well enough in the team's two big wins to help get the job done, and this was about the time last season that he flipped the switch and started to improve. His play is certainly one of the key factors in this rivalry matchup.

Texas' offense is loaded with big names, including Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown at the running back spot. Smothers, a former OU player, leads the backfield, but Brown will get touches as well, and Venables' defense must be ready for both. Manning's running ability could also be a factor, but the Longhorns have been much more effective through the air.

Wide receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo form an excellent duo for Manning to throw to, and Emmett Mosley V and Jermaine Bishop Jr. are strong complements to the two big names. If the aerial attack gets going in a big way, the Sooners could be in trouble, especially with all of the raw talent the Longhorns will put out there.

On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle will face off against Texas co-defensive coordinators Will Muschamp and Johnny Nansen. Muschamp is the play-caller and is new to Sarkisian's staff. A longtime coordinator and head coach, Muschamp knows defense in the SEC, and he's had successful DC stints at LSU, Auburn, Texas, and Georgia. He coached Florida for four years and South Carolina for five. Nansen is in his third year at Texas, after coming over from Arizona.

A brilliant defensive mind, Muschamp presides over an excellent unit, led by star pass-rusher Collin Simmons and top tackler Rasheem Biles. They'll look to keep quarterback John Mateer and the rest of the offense in a rut in Dallas. Other key names include linebacker Justin Cryer and defensive backs Jelani McDonald and Kade Phillips. This is a very strong defense that gets after opposing offenses all game long.

It's a tough matchup for OU's offense, which has to get going after three straight horrid performances. Mateer is under the microscope this week, as his three turnovers against Georgia led to Venables and Arbuckle considering benching him last time out. Ultimately, they chose to stick with Mateer in that game and going into this game, and he's going to have a lot of pressure on him to perform well on Saturday afternoon.

OU special teams coordinator Doug Deakin is matched up against one of the nation's best on the other sideline in Jeff Banks. He came to Austin with Sarkisian, and he's turned Texas' special teams into a weapon. Last year in this game, punt returner Ryan Niblett was able to register a punt return touchdown, which was a major play in a 23-6 Longhorn victory. The Sooners have uncharacteristically struggled on special teams in the last two games, so they need to win that battle on Saturday.

Oklahoma and Texas have met 121 total times throughout history, with the Longhorns holding a slight 65-51-5 advantage all-time. However, Texas has won the last two games in this series and three out of the last four. In each of those three wins, the 'Horns have kept the Sooners from scoring a touchdown. That absolutely cannot continue for Venables, as his team has nine total points in those three losses under his leadership. Sarkisian is 3-2 overall in OU-Texas, losing his inaugural Red River game back in 2021.

Before this recent downturn, the Sooners had won six of the last seven games between the two schools, from 2016 to 2021. That includes the two split matchups in 2018, with Texas winning in the regular season and OU winning in the Big 12 title game rematch. The Longhorns have not won more than two straight games against the Sooners in the 21st century, and Oklahoma is trying to stop that from happening this weekend.

Texas is the clear favorite heading into this game, while Venables is going to be trying to improve upon his 1-3 record in the series. OU's defense is strong, but they'll have to get much more from their offense than we've seen in the last few weeks. They can't turn the ball over, and they can't stall out again and again in the Cotton Bowl. That'll be a hard ask against this Texas defense, but that's the privilege of getting to play and coach in this special game. The Sooners also cannot let the Texas offense get rolling, because a shootout is the last type of game Oklahoma wants on its hands.

Texas looks like a national title contender and is one of three unbeaten teams left in the SEC. Oklahoma is much more desperate, and it has to play hungrier than its opponent this week. It's a role reversal from last season, when the Sooners were the undefeated team and the Longhorns were the wounded, two-loss squad. Texas won that game, and now Venables has to lead his team to do the same.

If Oklahoma wants to salvage this season, it starts here, right now. The playoff is probably already out of the equation, but a loss this week would certainly put that to bed. Another bad performance in the Cotton Bowl would be a tough pill to swallow, as the Sooners have typically fallen flat in the Red River Rivalry under Venables, and Sarkisian has typically had his number.

On the other hand, a win over the No. 1 team in the country would show the Sooners that they can play with anybody when they're playing the right way. It would inject life back into a season that is growing darker and darker by the week. OU needs it, but it won't happen unless the offense found something during the off week.

Kickoff for the Red River Rivalry is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in Dallas on Saturday on ABC at the Cotton Bowl. As they are in all even-numbered years, Oklahoma is the designated home team for this game, leaving Texas as the designated away team for the 122nd edition of this epic rivalry.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Know Your Foe: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns

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