It's Red River Rivalry week, which means there will be plenty of hating one another from both fan bases. The Oklahoma Sooners have dominated this rivalry over the last few years, and, well, it's not looking as likely that happen in 2024. That's not saying it can't happen, because in this rivalry anything can happen. But, things haven't looked great for Oklahoma, and they have looked great for the Texas Longhorns.
But, with a defense like the one that the Sooners have, there is room to create havoc and maybe even some damage when both teams take the field at the Cotton Bowl. With the Texas State Fair in the background and over 200 thousand fans in the area, the Sooners could shock the sports world, because everyone has Texas winning this game, and rightfully so.
But, first, three questions are being asked from the Sooners' side when it comes to the Longhorns, a team they see once every single year. I asked A to Z Texas' Brian Davis a few to get behind enemy lines.
Three important questions to ask for Sooners vs. Longhorns
What’s the difference between having Manning start and Ewers start? Which presents a bigger challenge for defenses?
If it were up to Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, it wouldn’t be a question. He wanted Ewers to start all season. But Ewers’ injury history made that a gamble to begin with. With Ewers, you get an experienced pocket passer who knows how to read defenses and is more mature. He’s played in big games, shown nice touch on all the throws, and is generally regarded as the team’s No. 1 leader. With Manning, you get a true dual-threat athlete, someone who can rip off a 67-yard touchdown run and air it out. Manning throws too many deep balls to Sarkisian’s liking at the moment. Still, he’s the quarterback of the future. Ewers is Texas’ quarterback for the now.
What’s the one area on offense that the Sooners' defense can take advantage of?
The Texas offensive line’s season goal is to win the Joe Moore Award. Is that realistic? So far, the Longhorns have had three different players win SEC Lineman of the Week honors. Kelvin Banks Jr. is a true first-round pick at left tackle. Right tackle Cam Williams is getting more NFL scouts to take notice, as is center Jake Majors. Lots of teams are now pushing their edge rushers out as far as possible, but you can only do that if you have strong defensive tackles to hold the point of attack. If I were the Sooners, I’d test out that offensive line with some exotic blitzes, twists, and stunts just to see how durable the unit really is.
Is there any way the Sooners offense, one that’s seriously injury-riddled, find a way to keep up based on what you’ve seen from Texas' defense?
If Ewers is healthy and the Horns are clicking on offense, this could get away from the Sooners in a hurry. Before Michigan, there was a feeling the Texas offense would be more than capable of taking care of business. I’ve got that same vibe this week. Oddsmakers have Texas as a 14.5-point favorite, which feels like a lot in this red-hot rivalry. But Texas wants to bounce back after a meh performance against Mississippi State. OU may not be able to keep pace in a shootout, and that is what this game is called — the Red River Shootout.
Related: Oklahoma Sooners defense to get reinforcements back against Texas Longhorns for rivalry week
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