If not for being the Red River Rivalry, this game would be a guaranteed blowout, but this matchup between an unranked squad and the No. 1 team in college football seems more destined for a nail-biter.
The Oklahoma Sooners meet top-ranked Texas inside the Cotton Bowl at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday for the 122nd edition of the Red River Rivalry. These are two programs that have had vastly different starts to 2025, with Texas at 4-0 and OU at 2-2, but they might not look so different on Saturday afternoon.
Final odds for Oklahoma vs. Texas
Spread
-7.5 Texas
+7.5 Oklahoma
Moneyline
-330 Texas
+260 Oklahoma
Total (over/under)
+/- 38.5 points
Record against the spread
Oklahoma 2-2
Texas 4-0
Odds are courtesy of FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Predicting the Red River Rivalry
If the Red River Rivalry is anything, it's unpredictable. But here it goes anyway.
No one is better at predicting results, though, than Vegas oddsmakers. Despite the Longhorns being on top of college football and the Sooners trying to avoid falling below .500 at 2-2, sportsbooks still apparently don't see a blowout unfolding at the Cotton Bowl with a 7.5-point spread, according to FanDuel.
Texas has a sluggish offense for a team ranked No. 1 in the country and has managed to pull off a pair of top-15 wins already. The Longhorns are averaging 33.3 points per game, which is tied for 55th in the FBS, but against other Power 4 teams, that number dips to 22.
That's still levels above Oklahoma's offense, which has the No. 111 scoring offense with 22 points per game. If you subtract that 51-0 Week 1 blowout over UTEP, the Sooners are putting up only 12.3 points a game.
Although their seasons are headed in opposite directions, these are two teams that both live and die off elite defenses. Texas is giving up 13.3 points per game, while OU is at 16. The Sooners' number would be a lot lower if they didn't have to constantly overcome turnovers from their offense, as OU has the worst turnover margin among Power 4 teams.
That means that not only does the Red River Rivalry seem to be destined for the under, which is set at 38.5 points, but the lack of scoring also diminishes the chances of a blowout. The Longhorns could come out Saturday and absolutely dominate the Sooners, but that doesn't mean the scoreboard will reflect that.
That gives the Sooners hope if the ball bounces a certain way a few times. However, there's no way, as bad as the offense has looked, that OU suddenly surpasses its scoring total in its last three games against the best defense it has faced yet. Even if the Longhorns don't meet their scoring average against OU's stingy defense, it can still be enough to beat the Sooners.
Is there any sort of feeling of victory for OU fans if the Sooners at least beat the spread?
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