Red River Rivalry Game: What the Stats Say

Texas and Oklahoma hold two of the best defenses in the SEC, but just how good have they been?

Oklahoma's Nik Bonitto (11) and Isaiah Thomas (95) put pressure on Texas' Casey Thompson (11) during the Red River Showdown college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. Oklahoma won 55-48. Ou Vs Texas | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Red River Rivalry game is only a few days away, and the Sooners are looking for revenge after Texas toppled the conference rival 34-3 in last season's matchup.

This year's contest may see a closer result, with the Sooners boasting one of the SEC's best defenses.

Oklahoma Defense

Sep 20, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman R Mason Thomas (32) reacts after recording a sack during the third quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Oklahoma's roster sports the best defense in the SEC with an impressive start to the season thus far. Currently, the Sooners lead the conference in total yards, passing yards and points allowed per game. The team is also second in the conference in total rushing yards allowed per game. Leading in almost every major category, they face a struggling Texas offense.

So far this season, the Sooners have allowed an average of 118 passing yards, 74 rushing yards, and 193 yards total per game. They will be set to face a Longhorns team that struggled to produce in the run game last Saturday against Florida. Texas running backs totaled 15 rushing yards on 11 combined attempts against the Gators, the team's most disappointing performance on the ground this season.

The struggles may continue for the Longhorns when facing an Oklahoma team that has recorded 21 total sacks through five games. While facing the Gators, the Longhorns allowed six sacks against quarterback Manning.

Texas Defense

Sep 6, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Colin Simmons (1) reacts after making a tackle during the first half against the San Jose Spartans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Although Texas's offense has faced some struggles this season, the defense, for the most part, has been impressive. The unit faltered against Florida last Saturday, but still boasts some of the best talent in the country on the defensive side of the ball.

While the Sooners top a lot of the big stat categories, Texas doesn't fall too far behind. The Longhorns are third in total yards and rushing yards allowed per game, and are second in points allowed, behind Oklahoma. Texas would perhaps rank higher in these categories if it weren't for a surprisingly disappointing performance on the defensive side of the ball against Florida.

While facing the Gators, the Longhorns allowed their opponent a season high 29 points, bringing the team's average points allowed to 12. Before the Florida game, Texas allowed 7.8 points per game, which still would have fallen behind Oklahoma, but it is impressive nonetheless. The average points allowed especially stand out when you remember the team's week one opponent, No. 1-ranked Ohio State. The Buckeyes put up a mere 14 points against the Longhorns.

Though last week was not the result the defense hoped for, this week poses a good opportunity to get back on track, especially if star Sooners quarterback John Mateer is unable to play Saturday due to a hand injury.