Unbeaten Longhorns prepare for improved Sooners
AUSTIN — No. 3 Texas and No. 14 Oklahoma are coming into the Big 12’s final iteration of the Red River Rivalry undefeated for the first time since 2011.
Texas and Oklahoma, both 5-0, are also the only two undefeated teams left in the Big 12, and one of the two will be bowleligible after Saturday.
“The spotlight of college football will be on us,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday. “The beauty for us is (that) this will be our third top 25 matchup in six games. Every team we’ve played has a winning record and is doing good things. I think we’ve been exposed to some high level football now through five weeks, and naturally we understand the emotions that come with this game.”
The Longhorns already have wins over Alabama and Kansas, which were in top 25 when they played.
Here are some other takeaways from Texas football’s Monday press conferences:
Gabriel’s impact
Oklahoma starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel did not play in last year’s rivalry game after suffering a head injury the week before against TCU. Oklahoma lost, 49-0, without Gabriel at the helm.
The former UCF quarterback was the 2022 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year. He’s not afraid of the deep ball and has already thrown 1,593 yards for the Sooners through five games. Gabriel is currently 118-for-157 and has thrown 15 touchdowns and two interceptions.
“Dillon is a fantastic player,” Sarkisian said. “He was a great player at UCF. He’s a great player obviously for OU now. We know we’re going to get the best version of him.”
The Texas defense already knows that a major key to stopping the Oklahoma offense on Saturday is to limit Gabriel’s passing ability.
“He’s the head of the snake,” Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford said. “We know he’s gonna make the team go. He’s the quarterback, so his ability to make certain throws and give his receivers chances to go up and make plays on the ball, I definitely see that on tape.”
The Longhorns have faced backup quarterbacks in their last three games against Wyoming,
OU defense better
Texas’ dominant 49-0 win over Oklahoma last season seems to be an anomaly.
Oklahoma head coach Brett Venables brought in multiple high-level transfers, including former Michigan wide receiver Andrel Anthony.
“He’s been doing it too long at too high of a level to think they weren’t going to get that thing fixed,” Sarkisian said. “I said it last year that they would.”
The Sooners’ defense has greatly improved. Oklahoma’s opponents are scoring an average of 10.8 points per game. The Oklahoma defense allowed 30 points per game last season.
Kicking woes
Texas’ kicking game has been a bit off recently, with kicker Bert Auburn missing three out of his last six field goal attempts.
“Our operation on field goals has got to get better,” Sarkisian said. “Snap, hold, kick — we’ve got to clean that up. Bert’s too good of a kicker to have missed a few here in the last couple of weeks, so we’ve got to get that cleaned up.”
Despite the recent struggles, it doesn’t seem like other Longhorns have lost trust in Auburn to deliver.
“You understand that that’s his job,” Texas offensive lineman and Cypress Woods graduate Christian Jones said. “And he knows his role. He knows what he has to do. Everyone makes mistakes…It’s definitely harder than it looks. Have patience, have empathy for him.”
Injury update
Sarkisian said that starting tight end Ja’Tavion (JT) Sanders and defensive back Ryan Watts are both day-to-day. Sanders and Watts left the Kansas game early due to injury.
“JT and Ryan are both day-to-day right now,” Sarkisian said. “It’s going to take a minute for them to rehab and see if they’ll be able to go. I’ll probably have a better answer for you on Thursday.”