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Threat Assessment: 4 dangerous Longhorns the Sooners will face in the Red River Showdown

As the Oklahoma Sooners get set for their Red River Showdown with the Texas Longhorns, they’ll look to extend their 13-game win streak that dates to last season. At 5-0 and the highest-ranked member of the Big 12, the Sooners come into this game as favorites, if by a small margin.

The Longhorns will have something to say about the outcome of this game; they boast talented players on both sides of the football.

To get you ready for the Red River Showdown, let’s take a look at the Texas Longhorns and four players the Oklahoma Sooners should be concerned with heading into Saturday’s matchup of top 25 teams.

Opponent

Texas Longhorns

Opponent Record

4-1 (2-0 Big 12).

All-time Series

Texas leads 62-49-5

Recent Trend

Oklahoma has won three straight. However, four of the last five meetings have been determined by a single score.

Threat Level (1-10): 8

Debrief of the Texas Longhorns

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The Oklahoma Sooners face the Texas Longhorns for the 117th time in Red River this Saturday. OU and its 18th-ranked defense per Pro Football Focus will attempt to stop an opposing offense averaging 43 points per game.

The strength of this Texas team rests in a running game that has amassed 19 touchdowns and an efficient passing attack that’s racked up 10 scores on 90 completions.

One of the Longhorns’ weaknesses is run defense. Opponents have pushed them around all season and average over 170 yards against them. Texas also struggles to protect their passer and getting after the other team’s. The Longhorns have allowed more sacks (11) than anyone in the Big 12, and their leading pass rushers have eight quarterback pressures per Pro Football Focus (for comparison, Nik Bonitto has 24 pressures by himself.)

 

Bijan Robinson, RB

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What Bijan Robinson has been able to do against defenses makes Arkansas’ 40-21 win over Texas look all the more impressive. The No. 1 back in the 2020 recruiting class is averaging 130 yards of offense per game and already has nine touchdowns entering the weekend.

Robinson drives the Longhorns’ ground game in a variety of ways. With a devastating hesitation step and quick jump cuts, the 214-pound rusher can make defenders miss entirely. But with a potent combination of elusiveness and strength, he looks just as comfortable barreling through tacklers as he does running past them.

With 105 rush attempts under his belt in 2021, Robinson averages 6.2 yards per carry, and his 3.6 yards after contact have moved the chains for Texas on countless occasions. While Robinson is the unquestioned leader of the Longhorns’ ground attack (the next leading runner has 73 fewer rushes), Steve Sarkesian has done a nice job of ensuring other areas of the offense can benefit from Robinson’s impact.

The Tucson native has tallied 167 yards and two scores through the passing game and is a willing blocker in two-back formations.

Casey Thompson, QB

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Casey Thompson may not have been the Week 1 starter for the Longhorns, but he certainly making up for lost time. In fact, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit believes Thompson could be the difference-maker in Red River

“This always brings out the best of the two teams. Oklahoma’s concerns on defense, maybe they’ll get exposed, but I think Alex Grinch and that defense will play their best game. There’s going to be a ton of emotion on that field because of the build-up around this game year-round for these two teams. And now (Steve Sarkisian) gets a chance to feel this for the first time. I think Casey Thompson is the key to the game, because if I’m Alex Grinch, what am I doing? There’s no way, no way Bijan Robinson is going to carry 35 times for 200 yards. We are stopping the run game. I don’t care what we gotta do. And that means, Sark knows that, so that means they’ve got to come up with a way to attack within their pass game and put a lot on Thompson and his ability to create.”

The Oklahoma native has the tool set needed to be the difference-maker. However, sharing the field with Hudson Card and operating in an offense that runs more than anyone else in the Big 12 makes it difficult to understand exactly what Thompson is capable of at this point in time.

Thompson has thrown the football 66 times this season. In that sample size, the junior has matched Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler in both touchdowns (10) and interceptions (4). Thompson’s passing attack sputtered into 142 yards last week, and Texas needed an enormous game from Bijan Robinson (who generated 217 of the team’s 437 total yards by himself) to steal the win in Fort Worth.

But the fact remains that Texas would not be undefeated in Big 12 play without him. The Longhorns’ quarterback is feeding the two-headed monster of Jordan Whittington and Xavier Worthy in the passing game while also dealing his fair share of damage as a runner (3 TDS, 144 yards.)

Jordan Whittington, WR

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The first part of Texas’ two-headed receiving monster is Jordan Whittington. The converted running back is electric in the open field and was the only receiver to find the end zone against the Horned Frogs.

A groin injury against Lousiana Tech in 2019 forced Whittington into a redshirt season in 2020. Now, fully healthy, Texas is reaping the benefit of its 6-foot-1 receiver and the big plays he provides. He averages 15.4 YPC and has four multi-catch games on the year.

Xavier Worthy, WR

Oct. 2, 2021; Fort Worth; Texas Longhorns wide receiver Xavier Worthy (8) goes for a catch as TCU Horned Frogs safety Nook Bradford (28) defends during the second quarter at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

A true freshman from Fresno, California, Xavier Worthy has the Big 12 on notice after erupting for three touchdowns against the Red Raiders in Week 4.

However, through five games, his season is bookended by one reception performances in weeks 1 and 5.

But thanks to strong play against Rice and Texas Tech, the young receiver is worthy (pun intended) of a threat assessment by Alex Grinch and the Sooners’ secondary. The drops that plagued him against the Horned Frogs last weekend can’t be expected again. Oklahoma’s defense must prepare for him as if he’s Texas’ top pass catcher and not a flash in the pan.

If not, bad things can happen.

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