Big 12 Football Game of the Week: #3 Texas vs. #12 Oklahoma
Does it really require any more explanation?
This week's pick for the conference's Game of the Week was the easiest one to make so far. The third-ranked Texas Longhorns and the 12th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners will meet at the State Fair of Texas' Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas for the annual Red River Showdown game between the two programs.
These two teams have treated us to countless classics throughout the rivalry's 123-year history, and this year's game has the makings to be another great one. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 63-50-5, but the Sooners have clearly been the dominant team since the turn of the century. Dating back to 2000, Oklahoma has won 15 of the 23 matchups or 16 of the 24 matchups if you include the 2018 Big 12 Championship Game.
It's hard not to get excited about this game even when both teams are not at their best, but it is impossible to not get excited when both teams are good. This year, both are top-15 teams according to the AP Poll and have Big 12 championships on their minds.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers in the 2022 Red River Showdown.
Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns enter the matchup coming off of a truly dominant beatdown of the, at the time, top-25 ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Yes, maybe the Jayhawks had benefited from an easy schedule that likely made them look much better than they really are, but a ranked win is a ranked win, and Texas left no doubt. In addition, Steve Sarkisian's team also handed Alabama a 10-point loss in Tuscaloosa earlier in the season. No opponent has finished the game within one score of the Longhorns, including the mighty Crimson Tide.
Oklahoma's season has gone a little bit differently from Texas', but it enters the game undefeated, nonetheless. It appears the Sooners have a defense that is for real, which is what Oklahoma faithful were promised when Brent Venables took over as head coach last year. None of the Sooners' opponents have scored over 20 points against them, which is impressive, but the quality of opponent should not be ignored.
OU has played Arkansas State, SMU, Tulsa, Cincinnati, and Iowa State with the Cyclones being the only team to score 20 against its defense. Texas' offense will be the first real test. The Sooners' offense is much more of a question mark. While the unit has punished the bad opponents it has faced, it looks like a shell of itself against decent defenses. Cincinnati's defense, which gave up 31 points to Miami (Ohio) and 35 points to BYU, held the Sooners to 20 points. Once again, Texas' defense will be a true test.
Last year, Texas demolished the Sooners 49-0. It was the first time one of the teams was held scoreless since 2004. Ewers played maybe the best game he's ever played in a Texas uniform (the Alabama game may have stolen the top spot) and gave the Longhorns a signature win in what was an otherwise slightly disappointing season. This year they will try to win back-to-back games against Oklahoma for the first time since 2009.
In my opinion, there is not a better rivalry in college football than the Red River Showdown. Part of this is likely because I grew up in Dallas and have been around it for most of my life. I went to the 2020 game at the Cotton Bowl, where attendance was limited due to COVID, but even so, it was the best sporting event atmosphere I've ever been a part of. It's a special game every year, and I expect this year, the final Big 12 Red River Showdown, will be no different.
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