Oklahoma vs. Texas NCAA Week 6: Sooners have been money this decade against ranked opponents
While Oklahoma and Texas are expected to keep their annual Red River Showdown rivalry going for the foreseeable future when they move to the SEC next season, Saturday’s matchup from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas between the No. 12 Sooners (5-0) and No. 3 Longhorns (5-0) feels a bit different as the last time it is played as Big 12 rivals – although they may meet again in the conference title game in December. UT is a 6.5-point favorite; will it get to -7?
Saturday is the first matchup with both teams undefeated since 2011 and first as Top 15 foes since 2019. Texas won 49-0 last year, its biggest win in the history of the series to snap Oklahoma’s four-game winning streak in it. While neither team was ranked in 2022, the higher-ranked side in the AP Top 25 has won 19 of the last 30 matchups when both are ranked. Texas is responsible for eight of the 10 victories when the lower-ranked team pulls off the upset, but the Horns aren’t in that spot this year.
Prior to last year's rout, the previous nine meetings between the #HookEm and #Sooners had been decided by eight points or fewer. The team that wins the turnover battle is 14-7 since 2000. Oklahoma had two turnovers last year and Texas one.
After a hugely disappointing first season under Coach Brent Venables, OU is now one of four teams left this season unbeaten against the spread (5-0) along with Oregon, Penn State and Liberty. The Sooners also are 8-2-1 ATS vs AP Top 25 opponents since 2020. OU hasn’t played a ranked team yet this year but went 2-0 against them last year in the regular season under Venables.
Texas, meanwhile, is 5-0 SU for the first time since 2009 and has its highest ranking entering this game since 2009 when No. 3 Texas beat No. 20 Oklahoma 16-13. Both these teams have Heisman candidates at quarterback in the Longhorns’ Quinn Ewers (+900) and the Sooners’ Dillon Gabriel (+2000) and the winner certainly should get a boost. Ewers had a career-high four TD passes in last year’s win.
But it could be a lower-scoring game as Oklahoma ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 in scoring defense at 10.8 ppg and Texas is No. 2 at 12.8. Then again, OU ranks No. 1 in the league in scoring offense (47.4) and Texas has five straight games scoring at least 30 points, its longest streak since a six-game run in 2019-20.