Can Spencer Rattler defy history?
Before Jalen Hurts bucked the trend last year, only two first-time Red River Rivalry quarterbacks since 1990 had defeated their more experienced counterparts.
And in reality, Hurts’ three years of big-game experience at Alabama more or less exempted him from the fires of being a Cotton Bowl rookie.
Now the task falls to OU’s redshirt freshman wunderkind, Spencer Rattler, to somehow produce enough points against the Texas defense to take down a senior on the other sideline, Sam Ehlinger.
Spencer Rattler/Sam Ehlinger
Kevin Jairaj/Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
History lines up against Rattler winning this game: excluding Hurts, in the last 30 years, only Justin Fuente and Sam Bradford went into this game for the first time and took down the other team’s more experienced quarterback.
The qualifier here is that one QB has played in the game before, while the other hasn’t. When both QBs are new to the rivalry, or when both QBs have played in it before, the winner is far less predictable.
But the quarterback with less experience in the Cotton Bowl, when going up against one who played extensively in the game before, is now 3-14-1.
Often, the younger (losing) quarterback has struggled in this game. Sometimes he plays great and just doesn’t win. But most times it doesn’t matter if the new guy was an all-time great — Josh Heupel, Vince Young, Kyler Murray and Sam Ehlinger all took that ‘L’ when the other team had a QB who’d played in this game before.
Everybody wants an experienced quarterback. But this game demands it.
“Oh, just because probably the importance of it, the atmosphere, the intensity,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday. “It’s one of those games that, if you haven’t been a part of it — and we’ve said this before — it’s hard to understand what it feels like to play this game.”
While this week’s Dallas grudge match is Ehlinger’s fourth, it’ll be the first for Rattler.
“Normally when a quarterback is more experienced — not always, certainly not always — there’s certainly an advantage there,” Riley said. “I mean, there’s no question about it. It doesn’t mean you win or lose solely because of that, but obviously it’s a pretty important position.”
This is Riley’s fourth OU-Texas game as a head coach, and he’s had a different quarterback each time. By the time Baker Mayfield was a senior in 2017, he had plenty of Red River Rivalry experience. But Mayfield lost his debut in 2015 (freshman Jerrod Heard was the Texas starter). Kyler Murray also lost his debut (to Ehlinger) in 2018. And Hurts won (against Ehlinger) last year.
Texas coach Tom Herman said having an experienced quarterback “matters in any game,” and “any time you’ve got an experienced quarterback, you’ve improved your odds, especially one that is experienced at doing it a high level.”
But Herman also acknowledged the unique nature of Oklahoma-Texas.
“I think the newness of this game for any freshman is definitely unique,” Herman said, “and something we talk about with our newcomers.”
Herman said when he watches Rattler, he sees a quarterback with a bright future.
“Oh, I think he’s got a tremendous future,” Herman said. “I think you can see why he was rated where he was coming out of high school. He’s got a really quick release and unbelievable arm strength, can throw it off a bunch of different platforms, and he can make plays with his feet, too, so I’m extremely impressed with him.”
Likewise, Riley has “a ton of respect” for Ehlinger.
“Yeah he’s an impressive kid,” Riley said. “I’ve always been impressed with his toughness and his competitiveness, even from watching him play some as a young guy. I think he’s improved as a thrower over the years. And then one of the most impressive things to me about Sam has been his durability. I mean, as physical as he’s played the position, the way he’s run with the ball, as many shots as he’s taken and delivered over the years, to be able to stay on the field for the majority of those and stay healthy has been a big part, I think, of him being able to continue to improve.
“We’ve had a lot of fun battles against him. I have a ton of respect for the player he is and competitor he is and so, like I said, just all the respect in the world for him.”
Both teams are coming off a loss. OU is 1-2 and 2-1 Texas certainly could be after a miracle win over Texas Tech in Week 2. The sheen is definitely off this year’s game, and the oddity of playing it before 25 percent capacity and having no State Fair of Texas in the background diminishes the unique vibe of college football’s best rivalry.
Still, Riley said, this year’s game is special nonetheless.
“It’s still gonna be a great football game,” Riley said. “That’s not going to stop that. But it’s all that surrounds this game is obviously going to be toned down a great deal. Historically yeah, there’s so much that goes on around it and the intensity of the game, the atmosphere of the game is so unlike anything else. That would be my initial guess.”
There will be times during Saturday’s game that Rattler makes a mistake and hurts his team. He can overcome those moments by focusing on the next one and leaning on his teammates for support.
“Yeah, I’ve talked to him about it,” said center and captain Creed Humphrey. “I’ve told him this isn’t just a normal game. No matter what you want to believe, this game is always going to be more intense, more physical. It’s going to be a war for four quarters, no matter what. He’s prepared for it. He’s done a good job of preparing for it. I think he’s up to the task for it, for sure.”
Red River Rookie Record
Here’s how first-year starting QBs in the Red River Rivalry have performed against their more experienced counterparts since 1990:
1990 (TEXAS 14, OU 13)
Steve Collins, OU (v. Peter Gardere)
- PASSING: 1-5, 6 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT
- RUSHING: 3-8
1991 (TEXAS 10, OU 7)
* Cale Gundy, OU (v. Peter Gardere)
- PASSING: 5-17, 69 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT (6 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 9-(-42)
1993 (OKLAHOMA 38, TEXAS 17)
Shea Morenz, Texas (v. Cale Gundy)
- PASSING: 20-36, 263 YARDS, 2 TD, 2 INT (3 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 4-(-10)
1995 (OU 24, TEXAS 24)
Eric Moore, OU (v. James Brown)
- PASSING: 7-15, 48 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT (2 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 9-36
1996 (OU 30, TEXAS 27)
Justin Fuente, OU (v. James Brown)
- PASSING: 15-34, 165 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT
- RUSHING: 1-3
1999 (TEXAS 38, OU 28)
Josh Heupel, OU (v. Major Applewhite)
- PASSING: 31-48, 311 YDS, 2 TD, 3 INT (2 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 6-(-13)
2004 (OU 12, TEXAS 0)
* Vince Young, Texas (v. Jason White)
- PASSING: 8-23, 86 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT (3 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 16-54
2005 (TEXAS 45, OU 12)
Rhett Bomar, OU (v. Vince Young)
- PASSING: 12-33, 94 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT (3 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 12-9
2007 (OU 28, TEXAS 21)
Sam Bradford, OU (v. Colt McCoy)
- PASSING: 21-32, 244 YDS, 3 TD, 0 INT (1 SACK)
- RUSHING: 3-(-6)
2009 (TEXAS 16, OU 13)
+ Landry Jones, OU (v. Colt McCoy)
- PASSING: 24-43, 250 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT (1 SACK)
- RUSHING: 3-(-4)
2010 (OU 28, TEXAS 20)
Garrett Gilbert, Texas (vs. Landry Jones)
- PASSING: 27-41, 266 YDS, 0 TD, 1 INT (3 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 5-(-18)
2011 (OU 55, TEXAS 17)
Case McCoy, Texas (vs. Landry Jones)
- PASSING: 9-15, 116 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT (3 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 9-(-38)
2012 (OU 62, TEXAS 21)
* David Ash, Texas (vs. Landry Jones)
- PASSING: 13-29, 113 YDS, 0 TDS, 2 INTS (3 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 6-16
2013 (TEXAS 36, OKLAHOMA 20)
* Blake Bell, OU (v. Case McCoy)
- PASSING: 12-26, 133 YDS, 0 TDS, 2 INTS (4 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 7-(-27)
2016 (OKLAHOMA 45, TEXAS 40)
Shane Buechele, Texas (v. Baker Mayfield)
- PASSING: 19-36, 245 YDS, 3 TDS, 1 INT (4 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 11-27
2017 (OKLAHOMA 29, TEXAS 24)
Sam Ehlinger, Texas (v. Baker Mayfield)
- PASSING: 19-39, 278 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT (2 SACKS)
- RUSHING: 22-106, 1 TD
2018 (TEXAS 48, OKLAHOMA 45)
Kyler Murray, OU (v. Sam Ehlinger)
- PASSING: 19-26, 304 YDS, 4 TDS, 1 INT
- RUSHING: 11-92, 1 TD
2019 (OKLAHOMA 34, TEXAS 27)
Jalen Hurts, OU (v. Sam Ehlinger)
- PASSING: 16-28, 235 YDS, 3 TDS, 1 INT
- RUSHING: 17-131, 1 TD
* played as a backup in the previous season’s game
+ didn’t start but entered game early in 1st quarter
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