Game Day - October 11, 2024 by ntranscript

gameday

red river rivalry edition red river rivalry

October 11, 2024

The View, G4 | Player Spotlight, G6 | Scouting the Opponent, G7 | Things to Watch, G8

Gameday

Step 1

Ingredients

4 russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried

extra-virgin olive oil

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven 425 degrees F. Pierce potatoes all over with fork. Place on plate and microwave for 7 minutes until tender to the touch. Cut in half lengthwise and when they are cool enough to handle; scoop out inside of potatoes with a spoon leaving a 1/4” border. Discard potatoes or use for mashed potatoes. Place skins on a rimmed sheet pan lined with parchment paper; brush with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Step 2

Meanwhile in a small skillet add 1/4” canola oil, when oil is hot add tortilla strips. Fry until golden, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towel-lined plate and season with salt immediately; set aside.

Step 3

In a mixing bowl combine cheese and chicken; season with pinch of salt and black pepper. Place spoonful of mixture into each potato skin and bake until cheese is melted, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Step 4

Fill each potato skin with red onion, salsa, sour cream, fried tortilla strips, and cilantro. Serve immediately. https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a49878/tex-mex-potato-skins-recipe/

Canola oil, for frying

2 corn tortillas, cut into thin

1” strips

1 1/2 c. Grated Cheddar

2 c. shredded rotisserie chicken

1/4 c. Chopped red onion

1/2 c. salsa

1/4 c. sour cream

1/2 c. Chopped cilantro

If this season’s taught us anything, it’s that anything possible

Earlier in the week, Brent Venables tried intimating that whatever it is Texas might be doing, it has nothing to do with Oklahoma, about which, of course, he could not be more incorrect.

“That’s not a measuring stick for myself or for this program,” he said. “Their success doesn’t have anything to do with ours and their lack of success doesn’t have anything to do with ours …

“We’re focused on us, the things we can control. We compete on the field once a season, and it’s big game, always is, but they’re all big.”

He’s right about the two teams meeting once a year, and maybe about his program focusing on what it can control, but the rest of it?

Sorry.

Most games are big only when you lose them. Some are big because you win them. Some are big because circumstances.

Temple? Not big.

Houston? Almost big because OU almost loss.

Tulane? Not really.

Tennessee? Big.

Auburn? Big for how the Sooners prevailed and for not dropping to 0-2 in the conference.

Texas? Big for many reasons, beginning with it being Texas.

Sure, both programs recruit the nation, but they recruit against each other unlike they recruit against

You never know ...

No. 18 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Texas

When: Saturday, Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m.

Where: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

TV: ABC

Radio: KREF FM 99.3 / AM 1400 Clay Horning GUEST COLUMNIST

anybody else.

And if Venables and the Sooners were to go nowhere in the SEC simultaneous to Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns going nowhere in the SEC, it might be worth another season or two of grace before each coach received his walking papers.

But if OU loses five games this season and give games next season and Texas remains a top 5 to 10 program, well, Venables might be all out of grace.

Of course, before Venables said the Horns were no measuring stick, he also said this about Saturday’s Cotton Bowl skirmish.

“How could you not get excited about this game,” he said. “This is everything you coach for and play for at this level.

“The passion, the emotion, the intensity, the opportunity, all of it. You’re going to have center stage in college football this Saturday.”

Kyle Phillips | The Transcript

Dallas, Texas.

He wasn’t saying that about Temple, Houston and Tulane, was he?

So, the game?

Texas is favored by 14 1/2 points and it appears wrong from both directions.

How could any team be favored two touchdowns plus at the Red River rivalry?

Then again, how could the Longhorns not be favored by more because have you seen Oklahoma’s total offense numbers, 297.8 yards per

game, 121st in the nation and dead last in the SEC?

Also, even as OU’s played terrific defense, it still ranks 41st and gives up 324.2 yards per game while Texas allows 228.2 and ranks third and the Sooners can’t get turnovers in bunches forever.

Still, Alabama beat Georgia, Vanderbilt beat Alabama, Texas A&M throttled Missouri, Kentucky beat Ole Miss and what might be the worst team in the SEC,

Jeff Lebby’s Mississippi State Bulldogs, appeared to play Texas reasonably two weeks ago, falling 35-13.

It could have been 52-10.

That and Texas’ best victory remains a 31-12 decision at Michigan, a win less glittering since the Wolverines fell to Washington and tumbled all the way back to 24th in the AP Top 25.

The thing of it is, given the Sooner Magic Kip Lewis pulled off to top Auburn, all

the upsets right here in the SEC — five words I’ve never previously typed — and beyond, you can convince yourself of almost anything this season.

Not that what Texas does doesn’t matter to Oklahoma, but almost anything else. Can the Sooners win today?

It’s hard to see how.

But stranger things have already happened, the Sooner offense can’t go nowhere forever, maybe the turnovers keep coming and if the Longhorns can find a way to lose this game, they often do.

So enjoy the nation’s best rivalry, and enjoy the rest of the conference finally taking a good long look at it itself.

OU’s head coach Brent Venables meets Oct. 7 with Texas coach Steve Sarkisian during the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in

OU Two-Deep Roster

24 Samuel Omosigho LB 6-2 236 So.

25 Andy Bass RB 5-11 208 Fr.

25 Michael Boganowski DB 6-2 211 Fr.

26 Kani Walker DB 6-2 205 R-Jr.

27 Jayden Rowe DB 6-2 223 R-So.

27 Gavin Sawchuk RB 5-11 200 R-So.

28 KJ Daniels WR 5-9 152 Fr.

28 Danny Stutsman LB 6-4 241 Sr.

29 Casen Calmus DB 5-10 196 R-Fr.

29 Gabe Sawchuk RB 5-10 185 Fr.

30 Trace Ford DL 6-2 246 R-Sr.

31 Cale Fugate DB 5-10 190 R-Fr.

31 Ashton Logan P 6-2 217 R-So.

32 R Mason Thomas DL 6-2 240 Jr.

33 Phil Picciotti LB 6-3 239 R-Fr.

34 Adepoju Adebawore DL 6-4 251 So.

34 Zach Schmit K/P 5-10 196 R-Sr.

35 Liam Evans K 5-7 181 Fr.

35 Jakeb Snyder DB 5-8 180 R-Fr.

36 Josh Plaster K/P 6-0 187 R-Sr.

38 Owen Heinecke LB 6-2 227 R-So.

39 Peter Schuh DB 5-8 184 R-So.

40 Ethan Downs DL 6-4 265 Sr.

41 Emmett Jones III DB 6-0 182 R-Fr.

42 Wyatt Gilmore DL 6-4 245 Fr.

44 Taylor Wein DL 6-4 267 R-Fr.

45 Hampton Fay TE 6-5 245 R-Jr.

45 Mykel Patterson-McDonald DB 5-10 172 Fr.

46 Dax Noles DB 6-0 192 Fr.

47 James Nesta LB 6-3 216 Fr.

48 Luke Elzinga P 6-4 229 R-Sr.

48 Jocelyn Malaska DB 6-1 186 R-So.

50 Ben Anderson LS 6-5 240 R-So.

51 Branson Hickman OL 6-2 301 R-Sr.

52 Troy Everett OL 6-3 308 R-Jr.

52 Damonic Williams DL 6-1 319 Jr.

54 Febechi Nwaiwu OL 6-4 339 R-Jr.

55 Eddy Pierre-Louis OL 6-3 305 Fr.

OU Availability Report

TEXAS

RB CJ Baxter — Out

RB Christian Clark — Out

RB Velton Garnder — Out

RB Colin Page — Questionable

P/K Michael Kern — Questionable

DS Tate Haver — Questionable

DB Derek Williams Jr. — Probable

QB Quinn Ewers — Probable

OKLAHOMA

WR Jayden Gibson — Out

WR Jalil Farooq — Out

WR Nic Anderson — Out

55 Ashton Sanders DL 6-1 295 R-Fr.

56 Eugene Brooks OL 6-3 336 Fr.

56 Gracen Halton DL 6-2 291 Jr.

57 Gunnar Allen OL 6-0 297 R-So.

58 Spencer Brown OL 6-6 321 R-Sr.

58 Ethan Lane LS 5-11 230 R-Sr.

61 Kenneth Wermy OL 6-5 305 R-Fr.

64 Joshua Bates OL 6-3 309 R-Fr.

65 Jayden Jackson DL 6-2 300 Fr.

65 Ty Kubicek OL 6-2 294 R-Fr.

66 Geirean Hatchett OL 6-5 312 R-Sr.

70 Michael Tarquin OL 6-6 317 R-Sr

71 Logan Howland OL 6-6 317 R-Fr.

72 Josh Aisosa OL 6-3 323 Fr.

73 Isaiah Autry-Dent OL 6-6 310 Fr.

74 Evan McClure OL 6-4 275 Fr.

75 Daniel Akinkunmi OL 6-6 321 Fr.

76 Jacob Sexton OL 6-6 322 Jr.

77 Heath Ozaeta OL 6-5 318 R-Fr.

79 Jake Taylor OL 6-6 309 R-So.

WR Andrel Anthony — Out

DB Gentry Williams — Out

DB Kendel Dolby — Out

OL Geirean Hatchett — Out

WR Deion Burks — Questionable

TE Kade McIntyre — Questionable

As of Wednesday’s availability report

‘Already

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

getting butterflies’

TARIK MASRI TRANSCRIPT SPORTS EDITOR

It’s a special week for college football fans on both sides of the Red River. As the big game draws closer and anticipation builds, many will reminisce on favorite memories of the historic rivalry.

Jake Roberts and his father are no different. The longtime Sooner fans talked earlier this week about Jake’s one and only experience in the Cotton Bowl back in 2010.

Oklahoma pulled out a 28-21 win in a game that fans might remember best with two memories — Tony Jefferson flipping Garrett Gilbert onto his head and Demarco Murray tip-toeing almost 10 yards down the sideline before leaping into the endzone for his second touchdown.

OU Football Schedule

Oklahoma 51, Temple 3

Oklahoma 16, Houston 12

Oklahoma 34, Tulane 19

Tennessee 25, Oklahoma 15

Oklahoma 27, Auburn 21

BYE WEEK

Oct. 12 vs. Texas, 2:30 p.m. ABC

Oct. 19 vs. South Carolina, 11-Noon ESPN or SECN

Oct. 26 at Ole Miss, 11-Noon

Nov. 2 vs. Maine, 1:30 p.m. ESPN+ or SECN+

Nov. 9 at Missouri, 2:30-3:30 or 5-7 p.m.

BYE WEEK

Nov. 23 vs. Alabama, 2:30-3:30 or 5-7 p.m.

Nov. 30 at LSU, 2:30-3:30 or 5-7 p.m.

Roberts vividly remembers Murray, now the Sooners’ running backs coach, zipping up and down the field on the Longhorns’ defense.

14 years later, Roberts will finally fulfill his dream of making his own memories on that field and he knows better than most what a big deal that is.

“I feel like I’m already getting butterflies about it,” the OU tight end said on Wednesday.

Roberts grew up an OU fan and played high school football just across town at Norman North. Even while playing at North Texas and then at Baylor, he’d always be sure to check the score of the OU/Texas game. Two years ago, the Mean Green were off the weekend of the Red River Rivalry and he was able to catch some of the game.

Paxson Haws | The Transcript

OU’s Jake Roberts on the ﬁeld during a game against Temple Aug. 30. See SPOTLIGHT on G9

Scouting the opponent: Texas Longhorns

DAVIS CORDOVA CNHI SPORTS OKLAHOMA

The biggest, most intense game on Oklahoma’s schedule is finally here, and the Sooners are a big underdog.

No. 18 Oklahoma will head down to Dallas to play No. 1 Texas at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ABC. The Longhorns are the heavy favorites this week, a 14.5-point favorite over OU as of Wednesday.

Both teams are coming off of a bye week and both earned their first SEC wins the week prior.

OU needed a little bit of ‘Sooner Magic’ to pull off a stunner at Auburn while Texas handled Mississippi State at home.

The Longhorns are understandably the favorites to emerge victorious from the Cotton Bowl on Saturday and will look to get back at the Sooners after last year’s thriller that went in favor of Oklahoma.

Here is a breakdown of the Longhorns’ team:

OFFENSE

The Longhorns are in the same boat as the Sooners in terms of playing two starting quarterbacks this season — but it hasn’t mattered for Texas.

Past 10 Meetings

2023 — 34-30, OU

2022 — 49-0, UT

2021 — 55-48, OU

2020 — 53-45, OU

2019 — 34-27, OU

2018 (Big 12) — 39-27, OU

2018 — 48-45, UT

2017 — 29-24, OU

2016 — 45-40, OU

2015 — 24-17, UT

UT leads all-time series 63-51-5

OU leads series 17-8 since 2000

OU is 6-8 in OU/Texas games played on Oct. 12

The Longhorns seasonstarter Quinn Ewers suffered an injury in Texas’ third game of the season in a blowout win against UTSA and in came quarterback Arch Manning. Manning stepping into Ewers’ role was seamless as the Longhorns continued to steamroll their next two opponents in Louisiana Monroe and Mississippi State, but

OU’s defense stops the ball during the Red River Rivalry, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.

Kyle Phillips | The Transcript

DAVIS CORDOVA CNHI SPORTS OKLAHOMA

MICHAEL HAWKINS JR. HANDLING FIRST STARTS, RETURNING HOME

OU’s freshman starting quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. is making his second start against his school’s biggest rival in his hometown.

Hawkins only attempted 15 passes in his first start against Auburn and a lot of variables played into that. The game was Hawkins’ first and clearly there was an emphasis on running the football, with the Sooners rushing the ball 32 times. Hawkins also had a lack of healthy receivers, with the Sooners’ first five starting receivers out with injury.

But, Hawkins still was able to mount a comeback and lead the Sooners to their first SEC win.

This week, leading wide receiver Burks and wide receiver Anderson are hoping to make their returns this week against Texas, potentially giving the offense and Hawkins a much-needed boost playing the No. 1 team in the country.

OU coach Brent Venables said Hawkins will need to keep cool and stick with the plan when Saturday afternoon comes around.

“I know it’ll be a big moment for him, his family being from Dallas,” Venables said. “But at the end of the day, we’re gonna face a really good Texas team that’s really balanced in all three phases ... And so just executing the plan will be the

3 THINGS TO WATCH

game plan for him. And like I said, he’s gotta be somebody that’s not too high, not too low, things of that nature.”

TEXAS’ HIGH-SCORING OFFENSE AGAINST OU’S DEFENSE

It’s been awhile since Texas’ star quarterback Quinn Ewers has played in a game, but the Longhorns are hoping for a seamless transition between him and quarterback Arch Manning.

Earlier in the season, Ewers got injured and in came Manning to his aid. Manning was able to keep the Texas offense going, leading the team to three victories and an average of 47 points per game through that span.

Sure, the team’s the Longhorns faced — UTSA, UL Monroe and Mississippi State — didn’t have a nationally-recognized defense, but nonetheless, Manning kept the Longhorns scoring points. Oklahoma’s defense will be the best defense that Texas will have faced through this point in the season. Oklahoma has the ability to get to the quarterback, ranking fifth in the country in sacks per game with 3.6, but the counterpoint to that is Texas’ offensive line, which is thought to be among the best in the country.

For OU’s defense, the key is to put pressure on Ewers as much as possible. With Ewers returning from injury and playing his first game since Sept. 14, the defense can make him uncomfortable with constant pressure.

THE HIGH-INTENSITY ENVIRONMENT AT THE COTTON BOWL

It’s no secret the Red River Rivalry is one of the best games each college football season, but the environment and pageantry surrounding the game is what puts the game among the best in the sport.

It’s provided some of the best games in recent memory — the Caleb Williams comeback game in 2021; the 2020 game that went to four overtimes; Dillon Gabriel’s last-minute drive to lead the Sooners to victory last season.

There have been several iconic moments from the series in recent memory and the Sooners plan to add another one on Saturday.

OU linebacker Danny Stutsman went viral last season with his pregame speech, saying, ‘Oklahoma only fears God ... Texas fears Oklahoma,’ prior to the win. Stutsman said being part of this rivalry and making memories playing in these games is one of the best things he gets to do as a Sooner.

“Last year, unfortunately, I’m going to be a little emotional out there,” Stutsman said. “It’s a really big game man, especially being a Sooner, it’s the one you kind of look forward to every year. It’s probably one of the biggest games because of how deep and meaningful the rivalry is. There’s a lot of great memories all the way from freshman year, that comeback, to last year. You can go on and on and hopefully we can continue to make memories in the next one.”

5 STATS TO KNOW

TARIK MASRI TRANSCRIPT SPORTS EDITOR

Oklahoma and Texas will be meeting for the 88th time at the Cotton Bowl. With a win on Saturday the Sooners would tie the Longhorns all-time in those games at 42-42-4. The two sides have met 120 times and the Longhorns lead the series 63-51-5. The Sooners are 17-8 since 2000 and have won five of the last six.They’ve also won 88 straight games when holding opponents to 22 points or fewer.

The Sooners have lost their last four meetings against the No. 1 team in the AP Poll and are 7-16-2 all-time. The last time they knocked off No. 1 was against Missouri in 2007 in the Big 12 Championship. The Sooners’ last regular season win over a No. 1 team was in 2000 against Nebraska. The Sooners have faced four top-ranked Texas teams previously and are 0-3-1 in those games. The last of those games came in 1984 and resulted in a controversial 15-15 result in a rain-soaked matchup between No. 1 and No. 2. Two of the last three OU teams to top the No. 1 team went on to win the national title.

Over the last decade, only one Red River Rivalry game has been decided by more than one score — the Longhorns’ 49-0 win in 2022. Every other game has been decided

by eight points or fewer. The Sooners have gone 10-3 in one-score games against Texas since 2000. Their last one-score loss came in 2018, 48-45.

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The Longhorns are ranked second in the SEC in red zone offense, scoring on all but two trips this season. They’ve been in the red zone 26 times this season and have cashed in 23 touchdowns in those situations. The other three trips to the red zone included two lost fumbles and a missed field goal. Despite an up-and-down season the Sooners are the only SEC team that has converted on more of their red zone opportunities than the Longhorns this season. They rank 20th nationally in red zone offense (94.7%) and 45th in red zone defense (80%).

5.5

Oklahoma defensive end R Mason Thomas is up to 5.5 sacks on the season, which leads the SEC and is tied for fifth nationally. All of those have come in the last three games and five of them came in the fourth quarter of those games. Thomas’ 5.5 sacks is the most by a Sooner over three games since Charles Tapper had six in three games in 2015.

Tarik Masri is the sports editor for The Transcript covering OU athletics and area sports. You can reach him by emailing tarik@normantranscript. com

OU tight end Jake Roberts runs with the ball during the game against Tulane Sept. 14.

SPOTLIGHT

CONTINUED FROM G6

“Deep down, I want them to win every time,” Roberts said. “Now being a part of it, I’m all in.”

Texas has allowed 35 points through the first five games and it hasn’t allowed

an opponent to score more than one touchdown. It also leads the Southeastern Conference in interceptions and is eighth nationally in third down conversion defense.

Roberts is tied for fourth on the team in catches with six for 67 yards and scored a touchdown against Houston. Now in his fifth season

of college football, the 6-4, 253-pound tight end has been tasked with taking over a substantial role in the Sooners’ offense.

In this game, emotion and excitement are never hard to come by. This year the Sooners will have the rare opportunity to play spoiler for the top-ranked Long-

horns.

Roberts understands the weight of the moment as well as any of the players on the field.

For both sides the key will be to convert that added emotion into something positive during the game.

Four out of the last five Red River Rivalry games have

been decided by one possession. In every one of those games the team with the fewest penalties came out on top and in three of those four games the team with the fewest penalties won the game.

“You obviously want to embrace it to a certain point,” Roberts said. “It’s a highemotion game, but we talk

about not letting emotions hijack the moment from us. Like, emotions are good if you use them in the right way.”

Tarik Masri is the sports editor for The Transcript covering OU athletics and area sports. You can reach him by emailing tarik@normantranscript.com

Paxson Haws | The Transcript

TEXAS

CONTINUED FROM G7

Ewers will be the starting quarterback on Saturday for Texas.

Ewers will return from injury on Saturday in one of the best environments in all of sports. Ewers led Texas to two wins prior to his injury, beating Colorado State and then-No. 12 Michigan handily.

In the two and a half games Ewers played in this season, he completed 73.4% of his passes for 691 yards and eight touchdowns along with two interceptions.

Ewers played like one of the top quarterbacks in the country and will need to continue that after a four-week hiatus in order for the Longhorns to stay as the No. 1 team in the country.

Beyond Ewers, the Longhorns have one of the best offensive lines in the country. Kelvin Banks Jr. is expected to be a top-10 NFL pick in April and features a bevy of experience and talent beside him as well.

The Longhorns have speed and top-tier catching ability with Isaiah Bond and Ryan Wingo leading the way for the wide receivers, but the soft spot for the Longhorns is the running backs.

Prior to the season, expected starter CJ Baxter and his backup Christian

Clark suffered season-ending injuries, leaving three scholarship running backs on the roster.

Through five games, the Longhorns’ rushing attack has been by committee with Jaydon Blue and Jerrick Gibson sharing the carries. Blue had a fumbling problem, though, coughing it up twice against Mississippi State.

DEFENSE

The Longhorns’ defense has been lights-out, with 13 being the maximum points that it has allowed this season, but the Longhorns haven’t played any high-scoring teams either.

The Longhorns give up an average of seven points per game and rank third in the country in total defense.

The Longhorns have some playmakers on defense. Linebacker Colin Simmons leads the team with four sacks this season and also has a forced fumble and 18 tackles. Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. leads the team in tackles with 31 and also has 2.5 sacks along with an interception.

The Longhorns have an experienced group on defense that looks ready to contain OU’s freshman quarterback

Michael Hawkins Jr.

Tennessee will be one of, if not, the best defense the Sooners will face this season, but the Longhorns are not far behind in terms of talent and production so far this season.