‘Not As Bad as You Think’ — Nick Saban Argues ‘Struggling’ Oklahoma Has ‘Enough Firepower’ To Compete With Texas

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The Oklahoma Sooners have scored 37 points across their last three games, and the nation’s No. 1 team is waiting in Dallas. Nick Saban still sees a path to making the Red River Rivalry uncomfortable for the Texas Longhorns.

His confidence comes with a fairly demanding condition. Oklahoma has to stop giving away possessions before its defense gets a chance to keep it in the game.

Nick Saban Says Oklahoma Has Enough Weapons for Texas

Appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Saban acknowledged the offensive problems facing Oklahoma ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Texas.

“Oklahoma’s really not as bad as you think,”Saban said. “I know they’re struggling in the offensive line, they haven’t been able to run the ball, but if they don’t turn the ball over four times and give Georgia basically 24 points in the game, it would be a game. It would be a competitive game.”

Oklahoma’sofficial recap credited the Georgia Bulldogs with 17 points off turnovers in their 41-13 victory Sept. 26. One was particularly painful. With Oklahoma trailing 14-0 and threatening in the red zone, Chris Cole returned a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown.

Saban’s broader point was that Oklahoma helped turn a difficult matchup into a rout. He believes the offense has enough talent to avoid a repeat of that afternoon against Texas.

“They still have enough firepower, they still have enough weapons, if they would just eliminate their bad plays,” he said.

That last condition has been expensive for the Sooners. A promising drive in Athens ended with Georgia celebrating in the opposite end zone, and Oklahoma went into halftime down 28-0. Its defense had little room left to influence the result.

Saban Wants Oklahoma To Stop Forcing the Big Play

The discussion began with a question about preventing locker-room friction when one unit carries the other. Saban said his teams understood that different games would demand different contributions, with nobody pointing fingers.

His advice to a struggling offense was equally direct.

“You’re creating bad plays for yourself because you’re trying to make big plays so badly, you’re messing it up,” Saban said, recalling what he told players.

Oklahoma’s defense gives that approach some credibility. The Sooners rank No. 2 nationally in PFN’s current 2026PFN’s CFB Defense Impact rankings with a 96.7 grade. Texas ranks fourth at 94.9, setting up a matchup in which possessions could be especially valuable.

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Steve Sarkisian has alsopraised Oklahoma ahead of the rivalry, arguing that the Sooners have played better than their 2-2 record suggests. Texas enters 4-0, with kickoff scheduled for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Cotton Bowl.

Saban’s prescription gives Oklahoma’s offense a manageable starting point. Protect the ball, execute the assignment, and let the defense help keep the score within reach. Against Texas, getting through a possession without handing over a gift would qualify as progress.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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