How Oklahoma's Secondary, Pass Rush Can Exploit Texas' Struggling Passing Game

The Sooners have one of the best pass rushes in the nation, and they'll battle a struggling Texas offense in the Red River Rivalry game.

Oklahoma defensive tackle Jayden Jackson | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

NORMAN — Through five games, Oklahoma hasn’t given opposing quarterbacks much room to work.

The Sooners are second nationally in passing defense, allowing 118.4 yards per game. Between a stout pass rush and a deep secondary, OU has made passing almost non-existent for its opponents.

Will that change against Texas?

When Arch Drops Back

Commanding the Longhorns’ offense is Arch Manning.

Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning and the son of Cooper Manning, was the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2023.

Manning, though, hasn’t done much at Texas to fulfill the expectations that come with being a 5-star prospect.

The quarterback made the first two starts of his college career last year and played well, throwing for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions on 90 pass attempts. 

In 2025, though, Manning has been inconsistent. With Manning behind center, Texas is 3-2 and unranked after starting the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25. He has completed only 60 percent of his passes for 1,151 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Most recently, Manning had a rough outing in the Longhorns’ 29-21 loss to Florida.

In defeat, Manning threw for 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 16-of-29 passing. His Pro Football Focus (PFF) offensive grade of 54.5 was his second worst of the season, ahead of only his performance against UTEP.

Not all of Manning’s inconsistent play, though, can be traced to poor performance from the quarterback — Texas’ offensive line has been dreadful in passing situations.

The Longhorns have already allowed nine sacks, and some of those came against much lesser competition (i.e. San Jose State, UTEP and Sam Houston). Only two Texas offensive linemen that have played more than 100 snaps have PFF pass-blocking grades above 75.

---

READ MORE OKLAHOMA SOONERS

• The First Step for Oklahoma Against Texas: Stop the Run
• How Do Oklahoma’s RBs Stack Up Against Texas’ Run Defense?
• John Mateer Listed as Questionable on SEC Availability Report Ahead of Oklahoma-Texas

---

That said, Manning still hasn’t been magnificent. But he’s not to blame for the entirety of the Longhorns’ inconsistency through the air.

If Manning ever gets time, the Longhorns could be a dangerous passing team, thanks to the talent they have at wide receiver and tight end.

Wideout Parker Livingstone leads Texas with 279 receiving yards, while Ryan Wingo is just behind him at 263. Those two have combined for seven receiving touchdowns through five games.

And while they’ve yet to put up gaudy numbers, tight ends Jack Endries and Jordan Washington give Texas a couple of bigger options for Manning to hit down the field.

Texas has the potential to be a dynamic passing offense. The Longhorns’ ability to reach that ceiling — or even come close to it — has yet to be seen.

Oklahoma's Secondary Finally at Full Strength

As mentioned, Oklahoma has been stellar at limiting opposing arms.

Much of that can be traced to the Sooners’ stellar pass rush. Oklahoma is tied for the national lead with 21 sacks, and the Sooners tied the program record for sacks in a game with nine against Auburn.

Auburn quarterback and former Sooner Jackson Arnold had the best day behind center so far — and that’s crazy to say, considering he was sacked nine times. 

Still, Arnold threw fairly well when he had time, finishing the game with 220 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-32 passing. Much of Arnold’s success came when he targeted wide receiver Cam Coleman, who finished the game with three catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. 

Coleman had a big day against freshman cornerback Courtland Guillory, but that’s not overly surprising, considering Coleman is widely viewed as a future first-round NFL talent and Guillory is only a freshman. 

Wingo and Livingstone have proven themselves to be quality college receivers, but they aren’t as explosive as Coleman.

OU’s defensive backs haven’t gotten too much work, thanks to how frequently the Sooners’ big guys have been in the backfield. But when balls have come their way, they’ve been very solid.

Safety Peyton Bowen has been OU’s most consistent defensive back. 

In 114 snaps in coverage situations, Bowen has registered a PFF grade of 76.2, the best mark on the team for players with more than 50 snaps in coverage. 

Guillory is the only other Sooner to play more than 100 snaps in coverage, and his grade is 63.6. The freshman has largely been great in the secondary, but his grade took a hit, due to his struggles when defending Coleman.

The Sooners will also have cornerback Eli Bowen for the Red River Rivalry. Bowen missed the first four games of 2025 before making his season debut against Kent State. Bowen's return is massive for OU, as the defensive back earned ESPN Freshman All-American honors in 2024.