For nearly 120 years, the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns have been a part of the greatest rivalry in college football.
Last year’s game was a disaster. Dillon Gabriel missed the game due to the concussion suffered in the first half of the TCU game, and Oklahoma had no passing game to speak of. The running game provided some moments, but not enough to keep the Sooners from getting shutout in the Red River Rivalry and suffering its worst loss to Texas in the history of the matchup.
The 49-0 beatdown in Dallas is something everyone would like to forget. This year, like just about every year, Texas comes in with a ton of hype.
But this year feels different for the Longhorns. I get wanting to wait and see because we’ve heard “Texas is back” for more than a decade without them actually being back.
This year it feels the excitement in Austin is warranted. Texas is ranked 19 in returning production, according to ESPN (ESPN+). The offense is returning 85% of his production from a year ago, which ranks third, and the defense is returning 63%, which ranks 68th in the nation.
Though they lost their top two running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, the Longhorns’ offense returns just about everyone.
They have one of the best-receiving groups in the nation, with Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington, transfer Adonai Mitchell, and Isaiah Neyor. They’ve also got one of the best tight ends in the country in Ja’Tavion Sanders.
Quinn Ewers was up and down but showed flashes during the year of why he was so highly thought of. But it should help to have one of the best offensive lines in the Big 12, if not the country.
Whether you like Steve Sarkisian or not, the guy knows how to coach an offense. It would not be surprising to see some packages for quarterback Maalik Murphy.
If they can figure out the running back position, watch out. We could be looking at one of the best offenses in the nation.
Defensively they are losing some solid players. They lose four of their top 10 leaders in tackles.
Most notable is the loss of linebacker Demarvion Overshown, now with the Dallas Cowboys. He was second in tackles last season with 96. He was also tied for second in tackles for loss with 10 and sacks with four.
Jaylan Ford helps to mitigate the loss. Ford was voted preseason Big Defensive Player of the Year by the media.
They’ll most likely replace Overshown with true freshman and the nation’s number one linebacker, Anthony Hill Jr.
They add transfer Jalen Catalon to their secondary, which should help if he can stay healthy. He was someone I really wanted to see in a Sooner jersey.
All in all, things are looking bright in Austin. If this isn’t the year they break through and win the conference, when will it be? If they don’t put things together and win only 7-8 games, Sark could find himself on the hot seat.
While I don’t think it’ll be like last year, I don’t think Oklahoma is far enough along to win this game. Even though I have them starting 5-0 heading into the Red River Showdown, this will be the one to see how real Oklahoma is.
Ultimately, Texas is just too much as we look at it in July.
Score Prediction: 38-27 Texas
Predicted Record: 5-1
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