Texas Longhorns Outmatch Oklahoma Sooners Per PFF's Position Group Grades Comparison

The matchup that both college football analysts and Longhorns fans alike have been waiting for has finally arrived, as the Texas Longhorns take on arch-rival the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry from the historic Cotton Bowl.

The Longhorns walk into the matchup wounded, after dropping their second matchup of the season after falling on the road to the Florida Gators. The loss gives Texas two losses very early in the season and puts their College Football Playoff hope in real jeopardy as the Longhorns look ahead to the difficult matchups awaiting them down the road.

The Sooners should head into the matchup with full confidence as the season could not have gotten off to a better start, currently sitting at an unbeaten 5-0 and just outside the Top 5 in the national rankings. Added, confidence comes with starting quarterback John Mateer trending towards likely playing, listed as probable for the rivalry matchup. However, with the statuses of both teams looking different, position grades from Pro Football Focus tell an interesting story.

What Insight do PFF's Positional Grades give into Texas vs. Oklahoma

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning runs with the ball while Florida Gators defensive end Jayden Woods | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Record-wise, it's obvious to see which team has pieced together better performances, with Oklahoma still unbeaten and Texas already having tasted defeat twice in its first five matchups. According to PFF's position grades and making the comparisons with the Sooners, the Longhorns outscore Oklahoma in every grading metric except at one position.

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At the most important position, quarterback Arch Manning finds himself with a better grade than Mateer, who's started in four games, and Michael Hawkins Jr., who started under center against Kent State. While the Oklahoma quarterbacks received a grade of 75.2, Manning outscored the pair, receiving a 79.1 for his performances through the first part of the season.

Looking at the only position group where the Sooners have a better grade than the Longhorns is along the defensive line, with Oklahoma graded with a resounding 86 compared to Texas's 80.9. The difference in grades should come as no surprise after the Longhorns' rough time defending the run last weekend and the Sooners' stout defensive line, which allowed the second fewest rushing yards per game in the SEC and allowed just two rushing touchdowns through five games.

Elsewhere, where the Longhorns have the biggest advantage per PFF's grades, is in the secondary, with the biggest margin between the two scores, with the Longhorns at a 90.3 and the Sooners with a 79.1. Texas gets one of its biggest pieces of its secondary back with cornerback Malik Muhammad after missing the matchup against the Gators.

And at the other positions groups the Longhorns nearly edge out the Sooners, with Texas having higher graded running backs, pass catchers, and, slightly surprising, the offensive line. While PFF's grades favor the Longhorns tremendously, once on the field, the grades will become insignificant with the outcome decided on the best teams' performance on the day.