Joel Klatt predicts upset in Red River Rivalry and it doesn't matter who's at QB

"I do not see any evidence thus far on tape that Texas is all of a sudden going to turn it around on the offensive side."

Joel Klatt / Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Red River Rivalry between the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners is set to commence on Oct. 11 and Joel Klatt doesn't think the outcome will change no matter who plays QB for the Sooners. Oklahoma was 1.5-point underdogs when Klatt made his prediction.

"I do not see any evidence thus far on tape that Texas is all of a sudden going to turn it around on the offensive side," Klatt said. "Therefore, I've got to take the point and a half. I think OU wins this one straight up, 20-17, in Red River in Dallas."

Oklahoma enters Red River unbeaten with a top-10 defense and a quarterback room that has steadied despite John Mateer's injury. Mateer leads the Sooners with 1,215 passing yards and Isaiah Sategna III leads in receiving yards. OU's defense has been disruptive and they come in at 5–0 with wins over Michigan and Auburn.

Texas is fighting to keep their season alive after suffering their second loss of the year to Florida (the first being the loss to Ohio State in Week 1). Arch Manning has 1,151 passing yards and 11 touchdowns, but has struggled throughout this season. Despite the offensive struggles, the Texas defense has been elite for most of the year. The first sign of the Texas defense cracking was last week as the Longhorns gave up 457 yards and 29 points to Florida. It was just too much to overcome as the offense continues to try to find themselves.

In his preview of the game, Klatt questioned Texas' ability to protect Manning after he was sacked six times by the Gators. If OU can get to the QB — which they have shown the ability to do — it could be a long afternoon for Manning.

"I actually think Florida's really good defensively, " Klatt said. "I don't want to take anything away from Florida. That's a good defense — I think OU's defense is probably better than Florida, certainly up front. And when they're [Texas] not protecting well... you look at this and it's like... Arch was under pressure 60% of his drop backs. He was sacked six times. OU leads the country in sacks at over four per game. They get after it up front. We saw it when they played Michigan. We've seen it over and over. We saw it when they played Auburn. Absolutely got after Auburn. So, like, what leads us to believe that all of a sudden that's going to change?"

Essentially, Klatt doesn't trust Texas anymore, especially when it comes to protecting the QB and that could lead to Manning and the Longhorns offense to struggle again. With Mateer listed as probable for the game, that doesn't bode well for Texas. Klatt is taking Oklahoma to win outright, even if Mateer doesn't suit up.

Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, with ABC carrying the broadcast.

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