Here's How Michael Hawkins' Red River Rivalry Experience Gives Oklahoma an Edge Over Texas

If it's Hawkins and not John Mateer, OU may have a distinct advantage when the Sooners and Longhorns kick off Saturday in Dallas.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning (left) and Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins |  | Matt Pendleton, Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Statistically speaking, historically speaking, maybe it’s in Oklahoma’s best interest if Michael Hawkins starts at quarterback Saturday against Texas, and not John Mateer.

Here’s why.

Fans of the Sooners and Longhorns likely have seen the evidence over the years, and it’s hard to deny: 

Since 1990, quarterbacks making their debut in the Red River Rivalry are 5-15-1 against their counterparts who have previously started or had significant playing time in the game.

That portends a win for Hawkins and a loss for Arch Manning come Saturday.

Hawkins has played in this game before. Manning has not.

Advantage Hawkins.

Of course, Sooner Nation wants to see their starting quarterback charge down the ramp on Saturday afternoon, not their backup. Mateer is one of the nation’s best QBs. 

But he’s never played against Texas. 

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How Oklahoma QB John Mateer is Seeing His Teammates Through 'a Different Lens'

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Don’t think that that one simple fact doesn’t matter. It does — especially for Mateer, who grew up in the Dallas area well-steeped in the Red River Rivalry.

The OU-Texas game comes with an emotional charge that no other game in sports delivers. It’s a border war, with seeds hatred buried deep in the oil under our feet. It’s a battle for regional dominance, which plays perfectly into the most intense recruiting skirmishes that ultimately shape the trajectory of such an historic series. And since 1996, it’s a conference game — one that just means more now in the SEC.

The pressure of this one game can crush a quarterback — especially if he’s never felt it before. Just look at the statistical chart below.

The transfer portal has skewed the outcome of the first-time QB vs. experienced QB stat just a little. 

Jalen Hurts (2019) and Dillon Gabriel (2023) won their Red River debuts against Texas QBs (Sam Ehlinger and Quinn Ewers) who had felt the heat of the Cotton Bowl before. But Hurts and Gabriel had gained plenty of experience elsewhere: Hurts had 1,606 snaps at Alabama before he transferred to OU in 2019, and Gabriel had 1,757 at Central Florida and another 775 at OU before the 2023 season began.

Gabriel went into that game as a fifth-year senior with 43 career games under his belt, with 12,798 yards and 110 touchdowns. Ewers had played in just 15 career games to that point, with 3,535 passing yards and 25 TDs.

The other recent QB to buck this trend was Spencer Rattler, who beat Ehlinger in 2020 — the COVID year, when the stadium was at 25 percent capacity and everything just felt weird.

It’s undeniable. Experience matters. 

While Hawkins has actually stood in the fires inside the State Fair of Texas and Manning has not, Manning does have a slight edge in career experience, having played 566 snaps in the Burnt Orange while Hawkins has played 281 career snaps in the Crimson and Cream.

OU coach Brent Venables has said this week he’s “assuming (Mateer) can’t play,” and said Tuesday he has “done zero good-on-good work. … I think if you’re gonna play, you’ve gotta do good-on-good, right?” 

Ahead of last year’s game, Venables said “Poise is incredibly important at that position, without question. Everybody looks to that person from a leadership standpoint, a focus standpoint, sometimes emotionally as well. But that goes with that position. From a leadership standpoint, a lot is on that guy. He’s got to have some special qualities.” 

To clarify, this statistic only applies when one team’s starting quarterback has never played in an OU-Texas game before, and the other team’s has. It doesn’t apply when both starters have (like 2021), and it doesn’t apply when both starters haven’t (like 2022). 

Here’s another twist. Of the five quarterbacks who have beaten their more experienced rival since 1990, all five played for Oklahoma: Justin Fuente in 1996, Sam Bradford in 2007, Hurts in 2019, Rattler in 2020 and Gabriel in 2023.

Most times, the first-timer just played poorly (see statistical chart below), but there have been other instances where the new guy was fantastic and still lost.

Even some of the best in history, from Josh Heupel to Vince Young to Kyler Murray, couldn’t overcome it. 

But no football game — not even OU-Texas — is all on the quarterback. Whether it’s Hawkins or Mateer, Oklahoma’s QB is going to need to play well under duress — and he’s going to need lots of help.

“(Hawkins) has some experience playing in there last year,” Venables said. “ … Again, we need to play well in the areas we are in control: taking care of the ball, making layups when they’re there, not trying to do too much. You look at some of our parts as a football team, to complement one another. But I feel great about Mike.”

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 (vs. PETER GARDERE) PASSING: 1-5, 6 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT RUSHING: 3-8 1991 (TEXAS 10, OU 7) * CALE GUNDY, OU (vs. PETER GARDERE) PASSING: 5-17, 69 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT (6 SACKS) RUSHING: 9-(-42) 1993 (OKLAHOMA 38, TEXAS 17) SHEA MORENZ, TEXAS (vs. CALE GUNDY) PASSING: 20-36, 263 YARDS, 2 TD, 2 INT (3 SACKS) RUSHING: 4-(-10) 1995 (OU 24, TEXAS 24) ERIC MOORE, OU (vs. JAMES BROWN) PASSING: 7-15, 48 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT (2 SACKS) RUSHING: 9-36 1996 (OU 30, TEXAS 27) JUSTIN FUENTE, OU (vs. JAMES BROWN) PASSING: 15-34, 165 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT RUSHING: 1-3 1999 (TEXAS 38, OU 28) JOSH HEUPEL, OU (vs. MAJOR APPLEWHITE) PASSING: 31-48, 311 YDS, 2 TD, 3 INT (2 SACKS) RUSHING: 6-(-13) 2004 (OU 12, TEXAS 0) * VINCE YOUNG, TEXAS (vs. JASON WHITE) PASSING: 8-23, 86 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT (3 SACKS) RUSHING: 16-54 2005 (TEXAS 45, OU 12) RHETT BOMAR, OU (vs. VINCE YOUNG) PASSING: 12-33, 94 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT (3 SACKS) RUSHING: 12-9 2007 (OU 28, TEXAS 21) SAM BRADFORD, OU (vs. COLT MCCOY) PASSING: 21-32, 244 YDS, 3 TD, 0 INT (1 SACK) RUSHING: 3-(-6) 2009 (TEXAS 16, OU 13) + LANDRY JONES, OU (vs. 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 (vs. CASE MCCOY) PASSING: 12-26, 133 YDS, 0 TDS, 2 INTS (4 SACKS) RUSHING: 7-(-27) 2016 (OKLAHOMA 45, TEXAS 40) SHANE BUECHELE (vs. BAKER MAYFIELD) PASSING: 19-36, 245 YDS, 3 TDS, 1 INT (4 SACKS) RUSHING: 11-27 2017 (OKLAHOMA 29, TEXAS 24) SAM EHLINGER (vs. 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 (vs. SAM EHLINGER) PASSING: 19-26, 304 YDS, 4 TDS, 1 INT (2 SACKS) RUSHING: 11-92, 1 TD 2019 (OKLAHOMA 34, TEXAS 27) JALEN HURTS (vs. SAM EHLINGER) PASSING: 16-28, 235 YDS, 3 TDS, 1 INT RUSHING: 17-131, 1 TD 2020 (OKLAHOMA 53, TEXAS 45) SPENCER RATTLER (vs. SAM EHLINGER) PASSING: 23-35, 209 YDS, 3 TDS, 1 INT (2 SACKS) RUSHING: 14-51, 1 TD 2023 (OKLAHOMA 34, TEXAS 30) DILLON GABRIEL (vs. QUINN EWERS) PASSING: 23-38, 285 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT (1 SACK) RUSHING: 14-113, 1 TD 2024 (TEXAS 34, OKLAHOMA 3) MICHAEL HAWKINS (VS. QUINN EWERS) PASSING: 19-30, 148 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT (6 SACK) RUSHING: 20-27, 0 TD * played briefly as a backup in the previous game + didn’t start but entered game early in 1st quarter