The annual showdown between Oklahoma State and Texas doesn’t require any extra attention.
“I think it’s just the dirt,” Oklahoma linebacker Koby McKinzie said of why the point differential didn’t matter at Red River Rivalry. “Whatever has happened there for the last hundreds of years, it’s just there. When you just walk out on the field, you feel like you can’t breathe. There’s nowhere to go.”
All eyes will be on Saturday as the top-ranked Longhorns take on the 18th-ranked Sooners in Dallas in one of the most unique rivalry games in the sport.
The game will be played in the middle of the Texas State Fair, with the crowd split 50-50 at the 50-yard line.
Although it hasn’t been played for “hundreds of years,” as McKinzie says, it has been held at its current home for nearly a century.
The Longhorns (5-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) enter this game as heavy favorites, but the widening lead doesn’t prevent them from competing.
Of the past 10 regular season matchups, only one has been decided by eight points or more, a 49-0 win by Texas in 2022.
“This is a rivalry game,” Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Whether we have the advantage or not, it doesn’t matter. Records and things don’t matter in games like this.”
The Longhorns expect starting QB Quinn Ewers to return for the first time since suffering an abdominal injury against UTSA on Sept. 14.
Arch Manning has started the past two games for Texas.
“We’re going to monitor (Ewers) every day to see how he continues to progress, but we were happy with how he looked (Monday),” Sarkisian said. “I think it will be good for him to be on Saturday, but it remains to be seen.”
Ewers threw for 289 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in the 2022 loss to the Sooners, and passed for 346 yards, one touchdown, and one touchdown in Oklahoma’s 34-30 win last season. He had two interceptions and was 1-1 against the Sooners.
The Sooners (4-1, 1-1) entered the game as one of the top teams in the nation forcing turnovers with 13 (eight fumble recoveries, five interceptions). Texas turned the ball over seven times (three lost fumbles, four interceptions).
While the Longhorns will look to get their quarterback back against the Sooners, Oklahoma hopes to further solidify its freshman starter in place of the struggling Jackson-Arnold in the SEC opener.
Michael Hawkins Jr. could be the first true freshman quarterback to start for the Sooners against the Longhorns.
Hawkins made his first career start on September 28 at Auburn, Oklahoma, completing 10 of 15 for 161 yards and no interceptions for 69 yards and one score in a 27–21 win.
McKinzie was impressed with how Hawkins handled the challenge, adding that the quarterback’s demeanor will serve him well against Texas.
“When you look at other quarterbacks on Sundays and Saturdays, if they make a mistake, it literally looks like their world ends,” McKinzie said. “And he just said, ‘OK, next play. OK, screwed up, next play.'” That’s serious. He literally looks the same in every series. ”
–Field level media
