Oklahoma LB Kobie McKinzie Wary of Texas Threat Despite Early Offensive Struggles

NORMAN – Kobie McKinzie knows that No. 6 Oklahoma’s annual battle with Texas is a game where the clichés apply. In rivalry games of this magnitude, you throw the stats and the records out and accept that it will be a rock fight.

The Longhorns come in unranked at 3-2, losing to the only power four teams on their schedule. With a disappointing offensive line and inconsistency at the quarterback position, Texas has taken a visible step back.

Their struggles start and finish on offense — the side of the ball McKinzie is trying to stop. The fourth-year linebacker acknowledged on Monday that while their rival has struggled, the talent is still there.

“They’re really explosive,” McKiznie said. “Arch (Manning), I mean, he played really good versus Florida. Depending on when he had time to throw the ball, he was accurate. And he threw a really good ball. They run the ball really good. They got a good receiver. They're a good offense.”

Oklahoma Sooners, Kobie McKinzie, Robert Spears-Jennings — Oklahoma linebacker Kobie McKinzie, safety Robert Spears-Jennings | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

Of the many clichés that apply, the ‘Texas is still very talented’ is apt.

Despite their struggles, the Longhorns possess talented players that OU and other big time schools wanted out of high school. As McKinzie mentioned, whenever the Texas offense has allowed for enough time for Steve Sarkisian‘s plays to develop, they’ve utilized that talent in explosive fashion.

This is why this game is hard to peg. Oklahoma, despite having one of, if not the best, defenses in the country still has uncertainty at quarterback with the status of John Mateer in flux. Even with Mateer, OU hasn’t been explosive on offense consistently.

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If the Longhorns are able to hit those explosive plays, the question will become can the Sooner defense regroup and minimize the damage.

McKinzie understands that if Texas hits an explosive play, the defense will be up against it according to the numbers.

“If you look at their stats, it might say they’re one of the worst offenses,” McKinzie said. “But if you break it down even deeper, when they get explosive plays on a drive, they are the number one offense in the country in points per game.

“I was pretty shocked because the stats don’t say that unless you take a deeper dive into it”

Oklahoma Sooners, Kobie McKinzie, Kip Lewis — Oklahoma linebackers Kobie McKinzie, Kip Lewis | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

According to ESPN’s SP+, the Longhorns offense is ranked 54th. For reference, they would be ranked behind OU’s other power four opponents they’ve faced so far with Auburn (48) and Michigan (31).

But the Tigers and Wolverines didn’t have the plethora of skill position talent that the Longhorns boast. Manning has struggled to live up to his preseason hype, but he has proven to be able to make big plays.

A positive sign for Oklahoma is that Texas has already faced a defense comparable to the Sooners — Ohio State. According to SP+, the Buckeyes and Sooners rank first and second nationally in defense. Against Ohio State, the Longhorns managed just seven points.

That is why despite the next few days being all about whether or not Mateer will play on Saturday, this game will be dictated by the Sooner defense keeping the Texas offense from having explosive plays.

“We obviously have the experience on the defensive side of the ball versus what they have on offense,” McKinzie said. “I think six of our, like, 11 starters on defense have played in this game four times now.. And we should go win the game on our side of the ball. That's what Coach (Brent Venables) told us.

“No matter what the outcome is or what the score is, we should go win the game on our side of the ball. That's what we're planning to do.”