After getting upset by Florida, Texas will attempt a return to form in the Red River Rivalry against No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday. Texas needs to beat the Sooners to keep its playoff hopes alive, while a win for the Sooners would certify them as contenders in the Southeastern Conference.
Generate Turnovers
Despite their impressive record, the Sooners have a negative four turnover differential, which is tied for 114th-worst amongst Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
Redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer’s gunslinging has contributed three of those turnovers, while his teammates’ miscues have led to three additional fumbles. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma defense has only managed to generate two turnovers all year.
The Longhorns have a tied-for-No. 37 plus-3 turnover margin. The Longhorn defense has caused havoc, generating four fumbles and five picks over the first five games of the season. Sophomore quarterback Arch Manning has thrown an interception in all but one game this season, but the rest of the offense has only combined to cough up one fumble.
In an environment like the Cotton Bowl, where the crowd is fired up, turnovers represent huge momentum swings that often decide games.
Win in the Trenches
Oklahoma boasts the fifth-best rushing defense in the nation and has absolutely stifled opposing rushers to the tune of 2.4 yards per carry. They held the then No. 15 Michigan Wolverines to 146 yards on the ground, nearly 92 yards below their average.
The Sooners also possess the best pass-rushing unit in college football, ranking first in both sacks and sack percentage. Head coach Brent Venables has managed this despite only having one player with more than three of their 21 total sacks. His mixed defenses and exotic blitzes have wreaked havoc all season, with opposing passers unable to identify where the pressure is coming from next.
All of this is a nightmare for a Texas squad that gave up six sacks to Florida last week. The offensive line allowed Manning to get hounded by the Gators’ rush all day as he was pressured on a gaudy 58% of dropbacks.
The line could not open holes in the running game either, as the Longhorns finished with a measly 52 yards on a two yards per carry in Gainesville.
On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma sports a rushing offense that has underperformed the Longhorns’ to this point. The Sooners have found little success on the ground outside of freshman running back Tory Blaylock and their quarterbacks. However, what they lack in run blocking, they make up for in pass-protection, having only given up eight sacks all year.
The Longhorn pass-rush will likely struggle to get to Oklahoma’s signal caller unless they can get sophomore edge Colin Simmons, who had nine sacks last season, back in his destructive ways.
Be prepared for multiple quarterbacks
Mateer suffered an injury in his right hand in their week four win against Auburn and has undergone surgery since then. Sophomore quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. filled in and played well in lieu of Mateer, but that has not stopped Mateer from pushing himself to come back specifically to play against the Longhorns.
Venables has said that he does not expect Mateer to be able to play despite reports that the quarterback is eyeing a return. Head coach Steve Sarkisian is not blindly following this and has stated that he will prepare for both Mateer and Hawkins in practice.
With so many camps sending so many different smoke screens, it is imperative that the Texas defense is prepared for whatever the Sooners’ backfield holds if they want to get the win on Saturday.
