Oklahoma

Pessimistic view of Texas Football’s win over Oklahoma in Red River Rivalry

Published

5 months ago

October 12, 2025

Pessimistic view of Texas Football’s win over Oklahoma in Red River Rivalry

Texas was able to get the 23-6 win in Red River yesterday over Oklahoma. It’s easy to find the bright side, but this is about the issues. They are much smaller and insignificant now.

We are back on a victory Sunday for the first time in three weeks with the Longhorns, but this is about the negative side. Some good news is it’s much harder to put this together today than it has been this season. Texas finally played complementary and smart football for the first time this year, and it led to a win that gives this season life again.

For now though, let’s take a look at where Texas needs to be better:

Early Game Success

This is something that continues to follow Texas. It’s not overly surprising against a defense like Oklahoma’s, but it’s something Texas will need to improve on moving forward. Prior to the FG drive at the end of the half, the Texas offense had 20 total yards, two first downs and had faced 3rd downs of 23, 12 and 30 yards. They looked much like they had the first five games. Now, it’s not a massive issue if you can stay within a score early, but that won’t always be the case. The Texas offense just has to find a groove earlier.

WRs After The Catch

This, again, is a relatively small thing, but one that can catch up to you if you aren’t careful. Outside of Tre Wisner, there weren’t a ton of missed tackles forced by the Texas skill players. Some of that is Oklahoma being one of the best tackling teams in the country, but those are the teams you run into if Texas wants to make a CFP run. The longest pass play of the day was 24 yards to DeAndre Moore Jr., which isn’t terrible, but it’s not what the Texas offense wants to be. Wingo, Moore and Livingstone continue to improve, but the Longhorns need some massive YAC plays going forward.

FG Misses

This is one I don’t worry about much going forward. Mason Shipley missed a 55-yarder off the goalpost and a 56-yarder short. Mason Shipley’s leg is plenty strong, but there needs to be maybe a shorter cap on him going forward. Special teams have gotten much better for the Longhorns this season compared to last, and Shipley is a big part of that. I tend to believe he will continue to be a plus kicker, but Texas will likely need something more at some point to make a run to 10-2. It’s hard to know how much to make of the long misses yesterday, but it’s another nit-picky thing to watch going forward.

I just went through three things that the Longhorns have to do better, and none of them will outright keep them from success. Those three things are both capable of being handled, and areas I expect Texas to improve with more reps. It’s incredibly hard to come out of a Red River win and try to find the dark side of things, especially when the Longhorns put together that second half performance. There are a few very small things that Texas needs to improve, but overall today is about celebrating the Longhorns rising to the occasion.

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Oklahoma

Fire in Oklahoma City scrapyard produces massive smoke plume visible from downtown

Published

9 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Fire in Oklahoma City scrapyard produces massive smoke plume visible from downtown

A fire at a scrapyard near the OKC Fairgrounds has produced a massive plume of smoke visible in downtown Oklahoma City, officials report.

Oklahoma City Fire Department Assistant PIO John Chenoweth told The Oklahoman that the fire started at the scrapyard building near Northwest 10th Street and May Avenue, northeast of the OKC Fairgrounds.

The fire has been marked as “basically contained” as the Oklahoma City Fire Department is currently shifting to defensive methods. There are some active rubbish fires surrounding the metal building.

Chenoweth states there are no injuries, and all inside the building have been evacuated.

The cause of the fire and the extent of damage are unknown.

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Oklahoma fire map: See smoke, wildfires across state, red flag warnings

Track the latest wildfire and smoke information in Oklahoma with data that is updated frequently based on input from several incident and intelligence sources.

If you can’t see the map below, please click here.

How to prevent wildfires

While severely warm weather can worsen a wildfire spread, most are the result of human behavior. In fact, nearly 85% of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by humans, according to the National Park Service.

With its wide acres, rural areas and inconsistent weather patterns, Oklahoma is prone to grass fires. Forestry and safety experts offer several guidelines for residents on how to avoid starting a fire, which can often breakout from just one wrong spark.

Avoid using welding equipment.
Never drive on a flat tire.
Extinguish cigarettes completely before properly disposing of them, and never throw them outside of a window while driving.
Avoid parking on dry grass or dragging chains behind your car.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma ranked in top 10 states attracting new residents, study says

Published

21 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma ranked in top 10 states attracting new residents, study says

Oklahoma is in the top 10 states receiving new residents in the nation in recent years, a new survey suggests.

StorageCafe conducted a recent study utilizing U.S. Census data showing Oklahoma welcomed over 25,000 new residents in 2023, with millennials being the largest-represented generation among those entering the Sooner State.

Here’s what the study had to say about migration into Oklahoma.

Oklahoma among top 10 states to move to

According to StorageCafe, Oklahoma welcomed 25,000 new residents in 2023 in net migration.

New residents in Oklahoma were largely made up of millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, at 27%.

Though Oklahomans and Texans don’t seem to be eye to eye in the football arena, Texas is “by far the largest source” of new Oklahoma residents.

Among the major reasons for the increase in migrants is likely Oklahoma’s affordability, with 36% of millennials buying a home within their first year in Oklahoma.

In addition, Oklahomans found major success in recruiting former California and Colorado residents to move to the state, rounding out the top 3 states bringing new residents.

What are the states attracting the most residents?

These states are the states with the highest migration numbers:

Texas (138,000)
Florida (137,000)
North Carolina (111,000)
South Carolina (72,000)
Georgia (62,000)
Arizona (57,000)
Indiana (32,000)
Colorado (31,000)
Tennessee (28,000)
Oklahoma (25,000)

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Oklahoma

Why Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Says John Mateer is ‘Focused’ Ahead of Spring Ball

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Why Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Says John Mateer is ‘Focused’ Ahead of Spring Ball

NORMAN — High highs and low lows defined John Mateer’s first season at Oklahoma.

Mateer, who transferred to OU ahead of the 2025 season, led the Sooners to a 10-3 record and their first College Football Playoff appearance since 2019. He threw for 1,215 yards and logged 11 touchdowns in OU’s first four games, helping them win each of them.

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“His best football was as good as there is in college football,” OU coach Brent Venables said.

In the back half of the season, though, Mateer wasn’t as efficient. After returning from a hand injury that kept him out of the Kent State game, Mateer completed only 59.4 percent of his passes for 1,670 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions over the Sooners’ final eight contests.

Venables is well aware of the good and the bad from Mateer’s first season in Norman. And the coach is pleased with Mateer’s focus throughout the first few months of the offseason.

“He’s in the building every day with his coaches, and very focused in that space,” Mateer said. “And I’ll meet with him frequently as well, from a leadership standpoint.”

Mateer’s up-and-down campaign came after his superb season at Washington State in 2024. As the Cougars’ starter that year, he threw for 3,370 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The SEC, though, is much more challenging than the primarily-Mountain West schedule that Mateer faced at WSU.

Venables is confident that Mateer will be more consistent in his second season with the Sooners, thanks to one year in the conference under his belt and the reps against Oklahoma’s defense throughout its spring and fall camps.

“I try to give him a defensive lens with plays that we’ve made some different cut ups for him,” Venables said. “The more you know about the other side of the ball, like intimately, deeply, like you know it maybe better than your side of the ball you can just elevate your game to another level.”

Though Mateer’s production dipped late in the season, he was far from the only inconsistent player on OU’s offense.

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The Sooners scored more than 30 points in only one of their final eight games. Oklahoma also averaged just 316.3 yards per game during that stretch and rushed for only 3.4 yards per carry.

OU’s front office did plenty to reinforce the unit during the offseason.

The Sooners signed three wide receivers — Trell Harris, Parker Livingstone and Mackenzie Alleyne — from the transfer portal. Oklahoma also added multiple tight ends, offensive linemen and running backs from the portal. The Sooners will also have several true freshmen — like running backs DeZephen Walker and Jonathan Hatton Jr. and wide receiver Jayden Petit — who may contribute immediately.

Venables noted how Mateer has grown as a leader since the start of last season and that he is much more “relational” than he was previously.

Ultimately, the coach believes that Mateer is in a better position to be one of college football’s best quarterbacks in 2026.

“He cares about the freshman walk-on guy as much as the new right tackle, and those are some of the qualities that John has that make him very endearing to everybody in the building,” Venables said. “He’s a passionate and an enthusiastic guy too, but he’s never been an over-the-top fake kind of guy, and you can’t fabricate just being genuine and authentic. And so he’s very relational with the guys.”

Oklahoma will begin its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.

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