It's OU-Texas week. That means the only thing that matters along the 370-mile stretch of Interstate 35 that runs between Norman, Oklahoma, and Austin, Texas, and is separated geographically by the Red River, which divides the bordering states, is the outcome of the annual gridiron battle that takes place between the two schools on Saturday afternoon in Dallas, halfway between.
Saturday marks the 122nd edition of the classic gridiron rivalry between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas. While the interest in this game runs heaviest among the fans in the two connecting states, its following is actually national in scope.
This is the 90th consecutive year Oklahoma and Texas have played one of college football's greatest rivalries at the Cotton Bowl and the 98th year, since 1929, the game has been played at Fair Park in Dallas. It has grown to become one of the main features of the State Fair of Texas every fall, along with Big Tex and Corny Dogs.
Texas comes into the 2026 Red River Rivalry as the top-ranked team in college football. It is the fifth time in the long history of the rivalry that the Longhorns have faced Oklahoma ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll era. The Sooners are 0-4-1 in those games. By contrast, Oklahoma is 6-2 against its archrival when the Sooners have come into the game ranked No. 1 in the nation.
This is just the eighth time since 1971 that Oklahoma has been unranked in a game against Texas, but this is the third time in the last five seasons under Sooner head coach Brent Venables. OU is 3-4 in the previous seven such meetings.
Oklahoma has won five of the last eight games in the Red River Rivalry series, 11 of the last 17, and 17 of the last 27.
How to watch Oklahoma vs. Texas
- When: 2:30 CT Saturday
- Where: ABC (watch using Fubo TV free trial)
- Announcers: Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), and Katie George (sideline reporter)
What to know about Texas
- Despite being undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation, Texas ranks 55th in scoring offense (33.3 per game), 87th in total offense (378.5 per game), 88th in rushing (147.3), and 71st in passing (231.3). The Longhorn defense, however, makes up for the somewhat pedestrian offensive numbers. Texas is 11th in scoring defense (13.3), 22nd in total defense (271.0 yards allowed), and 14th in sacks.
- Texas quarterback Arch Manning's numbers through four 2026 games are surprisingly comparable to Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, who has been highly criticized for much of the Sooners' struggles on offense this season. Manning has completed 63.5% of his passes for 862 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. Mateer, by comparison, owns a 66.1 completion percentage for 883 yards through the same number of games, eight touchdown passes, and four interceptions.
- The Longhorns have a pair of two-headed monsters at both running back and wide receiver, providing their quarterback with some of the best offensive weapons in the country. Transfers Hollywood Smothers (a former Sooner) and Raleek Brown share the running back duties. The pair has combined for 394 yards and six rushing touchdowns and both average over 4.0 yards per attempt. When the Longhorns put the ball in the air, Manning has two of the best and most sure-handed receiving targets in the college game. Auburn transfer Cam Coleman, the biggest prize in the 2026 transfer portal, has 12 catches for 208 yards and four touchdowns. Ryan Wingo has 19 receptions for 239 yards and two TD catches.
- Two of Texas' key contributors -- running backs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers -- have Oklahoma connections. Brown originally committed to Oklahoma as part of the Sooners' 2022 recruiting class but flipped his commitment to USC when Lincoln Riley became the Trojans' head coach. Brown played two seasons at USC, transferring to Arizona State after the 2023 season. This is his fifth collegiate season. Smothers played one season (2023) at Oklahoma before transferring to North Carolina State. He played in four games for the Sooners as a true freshman, gaining 41 rushing yards on 11 carries.
What to know about Oklahoma
- Oklahoma's struggling offense has dropped to 120th nationally out of 138 FBS teams. The Sooners are 109th in scoring (averaging 22.0 points per game), 131st in rushing yardage (99.0 yards per game), and 80th in passing offense (222.3 yards per game). To add insult to injury, OU ranks 80th nationally in sacks allowed, and against Texas, the Sooner offensive front will be facing a defense that ranks No. 4 in the country in quarterback takedowns.
- The OU injury situation continues to grow. Among the 13 different Sooners whose names appeared on the midweek availability report for Saturday's game vs. Texas are key contributors WR Trell Harris, CB Jacobe Johnson, and RB Xavier Robinson listed as out, and OL Michael Fasusi and TE Trynae Washington as doubtful.
- Through four games, the Sooner defense ranks in the top-five nationally in six statistical categories: passing touchdowns allowed (1st), red-zone conversion percentage (2nd), first downs allowed (2nd), third-down conversion percentage (3rd), passing defense (4th), and total defense (5th). Oklahoma's opponents have scored on just 11 of their 47 offensive possessions (23%).
- First-year Oklahoma wide receiver Parker Livingstone spent his first two collegiate seasons at Texas. Last season, Livingstone caught 29 passes for 516 yards and six touchdowns. In four games for the Sooners, he has six receptions for 51 yards.
Other storylines for the 122nd Red River Rivalry
- Oklahoma and Texas rank fifth and sixth, repectively, in all-time winning percentage. OU is 962-353--53 (.723), while the Longhorns are 975-398-33 (.705).
- Longtime Texas athletic director and the Longhorns' winningest head coach, Darrell Royal, was an All-American quarterback at Oklahoma (1949), playing for another coaching legend, Bud Wilkinson.
- This year is the fourth time in OU program history that the Sooners have faced the No. 1 and 2 teams in the Associated Press poll in back-to-back games. The other times were 1963 (No. 1 USC followed by No. 1 Texas), 1987 (No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Miami) and 2000 (No. 2 Kansas State and No. 1 Nebraska). Oklahoma was 4-2 in those games. The Sooners are 0-1 this season after losing 41-13 to No. 2 Georgia.
- Oklahoma has beaten the AP's No. 1 team seven times previously (Nebraska three times, Maryland, Missouri, Penn State, and USC once each).
- Texas is 36-6 under head coach Steve Sarkisian when it scores first. The Longhorns are 44-7 when they lead at halftime. They're 6-11, however, when they trail after two quarters. When the game is decided by fewer than 10 points, Texas is 14-15 under Sarkisian.
Prediction
It's probably going to take a near-perfect game by Oklahoma to spring an upset over a very good and battle-tested Texas on Saturday. The Sooners must get some semblance of a running game going and John Mateer needs to be given time, but not take too much time, to find open receivers and make good decisions with the ball.
Unfortunately, beyond the season-opening win over UTEP, we've seen no indication from this OU offensive unit that this is anywhere near doable, and certainly not for a full 60 minutes.
If...if...if the Sooners can play complementary football the way they did in the second half against Georgia, and if the OU defense can snare a couple of takeaways and keep the game close against Texas going into the fourth quarter, it should be enough to keep fans at both ends of the Cotton Bowl in their seats until the bitter end.
In the words of Brent Venables at his press conference this week, "We haven't played our best football yet, and if we can do that, we'll have an opportunity." We've seen quite a few unlikely outcomes in this rivalry before, but I'm afraid this year will not be one of them.
Texas 30, Oklahoma 13
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