Whether it's Vegas or the crew of ESPN College GameDay, it's been a consensus that the Red River Rivalry is a toss-up between the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners and unranked Texas Longhorns at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas.
The cast of College GameDay was split Saturday morning when predicting the winner between OU and Texas, with Pat McAfee and Nick Saban believing in the Sooners. Desmond Howard, who has doubted OU all season, picked Texas, and so did celebrity picker and WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu, who apparently hasn't watched the Longhorns this season because she chose the Longhorns because of quarterback Arch Manning.
Pat McAfee, Nick Saban pick Oklahoma over Texas
Saban, although he roots for his former assistant and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, still can't trust the 3-2 Longhorns and their struggling offensive line, especially against the Sooners' dominant pass rush that's leading the nation with 4.2 sacks a game.
"I'm going to be all for Sark and all for Texas, but until Texas gets their offensive line fixed, they're going to struggle against Oklahoma's defense," Saban said. "I'm taking Oklahoma."
McAfee agreed with Ionescu that he loves Manning, but that still wasn't enough for him to believe in the Longhorns, even though the status of OU quarterback John Mateer was still uncertain but looking positive. Like Saban, though, McAfee also likes the Sooners because of their defense.
"The defense (Manning) is about to play against today is gonna be the best one that he has seen," McAfee said. "Now, he got Ohio State, obviously, Week 1 as a starter. This Oklahoma defense is also unbelievable, and if Mateer's gonna play with a broken thumb -- in his last game, with a broken thumb, completed 11 (straight) passes -- he's one of the toughest dudes walking. I like Mateer coming back in a rivalry game and Oklahoma getting the big win."