Once again, the Texas Longhorns pose a significant challenge to Oklahoma’s Big 12 crown
No, we’re not going to utter that phrase. You know the one that Sam Ehlinger so proudly pronounced after the Texas Longhorns beat the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2019 Sugar Bowl.
After a rocky start to the Steve Sarkisian era in Austin, the Texas Longhorns have come on strong in recent weeks to get to 4-1 and make the Red River Showdown a battle of top 25 teams.
The Longhorns started the season strong with a win over then-ranked Lousiana-Lafayette before dropping a tough one to Arkansas in Fayetteville. Texas went back on their Hudson Card is our starter pronouncement and made the switch to Casey Thompson, and the offense has looked much better since.
The Longhorns did what they were supposed to do and destroyed the Rice Owls 58-0 before putting a whooping on Texas Tech and dropping 70 points in the process. Things got a bit dicier against TCU, though they controlled the game against their Big 12 nemesis for much of the day.
Texas comes into the Red River Showdown, much like the Oklahoma Sooners, with a gritty road win against a team that has given them fits in recent years. Though they have a loss on the season, the Longhorns should be taken seriously this week and a serious contender for the Big 12 championship in 2021.
Though the Sooners will have to navigate a tough schedule that still has Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and TCU, this matchup with the Longhorns always sits as a significant hurdle to winning the Big 12.
Much of the rest of this season will ride on how the Sooners perform in the Red River Showdown. If they can go into the Cotton Bowl and get a win over their rival, the Sooners will have cleared another considerable obstacle to defending their crown.
With ESPN “College GameDay” heading to Dallas, the atmosphere will be rocking for a big-time matchup, renewing the best rivalry in college football.
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How do Oklahoma and Texas stack up statistically heading into the Red River Showdown?
