While Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has never led the Longhorns in Stillwater, he knows No. 20 Texas will have to be composed to come out of the game against No. 11 Oklahoma State with a victory.

The Longhorns are 1–5 in true road games so far in the Sarkisian era, including a 37-34 collapse at Texas Tech in their only road game of the season besides the Red River Showdown so far. On Monday, Sarkisian said maturity is the key to Texas generating more success on the road.

“When adversity strikes on the road, that doesn’t have to mean it’s adversity for the next quarter,” Sarkisian said. “It can be for that one play, and then you got to have the ability to move on to the next.”

Last week, Oklahoma State saw its undefeated season get spoiled. After being up 30-16 against TCU in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys blew their lead, and ultimately lost in double overtime. 

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said his team became one dimensional offensively down the stretch, relying solely on the passing game and not effectively running the football. After scoring 24 points in the first half, the Cowboys only mustered two field goals in the second.

If Oklahoma State wants to get the better of Texas on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, the Cowboys will have to leave the devastating loss to the Horned Frogs in the rearview mirror. 

“(We’re) on to Texas,” Gundy said on Monday. “Guys were back last night and had good meetings and practice. So, as the world turns in college football, we’re back at it.”

The injury status of redshirt senior quarterback Spencer Sanders complicates things for Oklahoma State. The fourth-year starter reportedly has been dealing with a shoulder injury.

Sanders has completed less than half of his passes in each of his last two starts, something he had done only twice in his previous 36 games. This could indicate the quarterback is playing through some pain. 

Gundy refused to reveal his hand on whether Sanders would be healthy enough to start on Saturday. 

“I’m not going to tell you who practices and who doesn’t,” Gundy said. “It’s just not smart on my part.”

Although his status for the game is yet to be revealed, Sanders has Sarkisian’s respect. In preparation for the possibility of facing Sanders, Sarkisian said he has used freshman Maalik Murphy as the scout team quarterback. 

Sanders is dangerous with his polished passing and ability to make plays with his legs. The quarterback has thrown for 1,639 yards, and has rushed for 309 yards this season.

“This guy has a fire inside of him; that is clear,” Sarkisian said. “He’s going to do whatever he has to do to help his team try to win.”

As quarterback for Texas, redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers will make his first true road start against Oklahoma State. Ewers said he is excited for the environment in Stillwater on Saturday.

“It’s going to be sold out and good for the guys and good for me,” Ewers said. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”