The annual showdown between Oklahoma and Texas doesn’t need much in the way of extra juice.
“I think it’s just in the dirt,” Oklahoma running backs coach Kobie McKinzie said of why the point spread doesn’t matter in the Red River Rivalry. “Whatever happened there for hundreds of years is just there. As you hit the field, it feels like it’s hard to breathe. There’s nowhere to go.”
There will be a lot on the line Saturday when the top Longhorns take on No. 18 Sooners in Dallas in one of the most unique rivalry games in sports.
The game is played at the center of the State Fair of Texas where the crowd is split 50-50 down the 50 yard line.
It hasn’t been played for “hundreds” of years, as McKinzie says, but it’s been held for nearly a century in its current home.
The Longhorns (5-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) come into the game as heavy favorites, but the wide point spread hasn’t stopped the contest from being competitive.
Of the 10 regular-season meetings, only one — Texas’ 49-0 win in 2022 — was decided by more than eight points.
“It’s a competitive game,” Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We’re popular or not, it doesn’t matter. Records and stuff don’t mean anything in games like this.”
The Longhorns expect to start quarterback Quinn Ewers back for the first time since suffering an abdominal injury against UTSA on Sept. 14.
Arch Manning has started the last two games for Texas.
“We’ll be watching (Ewers) every day to see how he’s doing, but I feel good about how he was (Monday),” Sarkisian said. “I feel good about him coming in on Saturday, but that remains to be seen.”
Ewers is 1-1 against the Sooners, throwing for 289 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in the Longhorns’ 2022 rout, then passing for 346 yards and two touchdowns in Oklahoma’s 34-30 victory last season.
The Sooners (4-1, 1-1) come into the game as one of the top teams in the nation in forcing 13 turnovers — eight fumble recoveries and five interceptions. Texas turned the ball over seven times (three fumbles, four interceptions).
While the Longhorns will look to get their quarterback back against the Sooners, Oklahoma is hoping their new starter can become more established after taking over the struggling SEC opener Jackson Arnold.
Michael Hawkins Jr. he’s in line to become the first true starter to start a kickoff for the Sooners against the Longhorns.
Hawkins was 10 of 15 for 161 yards and no touchdowns and rushed for 69 yards and a score in his first career start, Sept. 28 at Auburn in Oklahoma’s 27-21 win.
McKinzie was impressed with how Hawkins handled the challenge, adding that the quarterback’s stats will serve him well against Texas.
“When you see another quarterback on Sundays and Saturdays, if they make a mistake, it looks like their world just ended,” McKinzie said. “And like, ‘Okay, next game. Okay, I messed up, next game.’ That is difficult.
–Field Level Media