Oklahoma and Texas will meet at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday for the 117th edition of the Red River Showdown, one of the most historic rivalries in all of college football.
It’s the first time the teams will play before a full-capacity Cotton Bowl crowd since 2019. That year was also the last time both teams were ranked entering the matchup. This season, the undefeated Sooners enter the Showdown ranked No. 6 in the nation while Texas is ranked No. 21, back in the top 25 after three straight wins.
Here are five things to know about the Longhorns before Saturday’s classic:
Historic matchup
The Sooners enter Saturday’s Showdown against the Longhorns with a 49-62-5 record all-time against them through 116 games. They’ve had fairly steady control of the rivalry since 2000 though, winning 15 of the last 22 matchups.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian will make his Red River debut. His predecessor Tom Herman went 1-4 in his time as Texas head coach, and that span included a Texas/OU Big 12 Championship Game in 2018, the first time the two teams had played twice in one season since 1903.
Last season, the teams played a thrilling four-overtime game in which OU came out on top, 53-45. It was the highest point total in the history of the rivalry.
RB with Heisman potential
Texas running back Bijan Robinson has burst onto the season in 2021 and has carried Texas to their 4-1 record, often being the only facet of the Longhorn offense that can be depended upon to get the ball downfield.
Bijan Robinson makes every TD look effortless #CFB
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 2, 2021
pic.twitter.com/ISO6YclKUt
Robinson has already tabbed 652 rushing yards in 2021, second-most in all of the NCAA. He’s averaging 6.2 YPC and has scored seven touchdowns on the ground. He’s a threat in the passing game as well, with 10 catches for 167 yards and another two touchdowns.
The Sooner defense hasn’t allowed more than 56 yards to an opposing running back yet this season (though they did allow Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn to go off for 104 yards receiving last week). Robinson will surely put that streak to the test on Saturday.
New QB(s)
For the first time in five years it won’t be Sam Ehlinger leading the way for the burnt orange. Now it’ll be junior Casey Thompson making his Red River debut at quarterback for the Longhorns.
Thompson has started each of the last three games for Texas and had gotten some time off the bench in the previous two. He was named the starter prior to the Longhorns’ game against Rice, after the incumbent Hudson Card went 8/15 passing for a dreadful 4.1 yards per attempt in a 40-21 loss against Arkansas in Week 2.
Since taking over as the starter, Thompson has completed over 70% of his passes for 609 yards and 8 TDs. He’s also thrown three interceptions in that span.
Expect more long possessions
While Casey Thompson has seized the starting job and led the Longhorns to a 3-0 record since, it’s still Bijan Robinson carrying most of the load for this offense. Robinson carried the ball an impressive 35 times last week against TCU for 216 yards.
The big plays for the Texas offense have mostly come via the rush. Thompson only has one passing play on the year that has gone for more than 37 yards, and that was a 62-yard catch-and-run touchdown that busted open only because of receiver Xavier Worthy breaking tackles and winning a footrace to the end zone.
That being said, the Longhorns by no means need big plays to beat OU.
The Sooners are undefeated, but they’ve nearly been done in by teams keeping the ball out of the hands of Spencer Rattler and the OU offense and time-of-possessioning them to death with hardnosed runs and short, safe passes that nullify the talented OU pass rush. On paper, it would appear that between Robinson and Thompson, Texas could have success with that strategy on Saturday.
Punters in for an easy day
Texas has punted three times over their last three games, and OU just played a punt-less game against Kansas State last Saturday.
In Oklahoma’s case, it was the result of the slowed-down, low-possession style of football that teams have employed against the Sooners all season.
Considering the score of last year’s Showdown, the fact that each side has a skilled field goal kicker, and just the environment of a jam-packed Cotton Bowl in a game between ranked rivals, you would think coaches Lincoln Riley and Steve Sarkisian would skew towards the aggressive side of play-calling in this one.
Expect a lot of four-down territory on anything less than 4th-and-manageable for both teams, especially if it looks to be a shootout early on.
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