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    Jeff Howe
    No. 1 Texas didn't report any changes to the SEC office for Friday's student-athlete availability report ahead of facing Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC).
    Justus Terry, who has been dealing with turf toe, remains QUESTIONABLE.
    Jordan Coleman will miss his second consecutive game while recovering from turf toe. According to OTF's Hank South, there's optimism that Coleman could return as soon as next week's home game against Florida.
    The Sooners, however, have three noteworthy changes:
    — Eli Bowen, who OTF's CJ Vogel reported is dealing with an ankle issue that popped up late in the week, is on the report as QUESTIONABLE for the game.
    — Michael Fasusi, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury throughout the season, has officially been downgraded to OUT. He hasn't played since the season opener against UTEP and wasn't expected to be available against the Longhorns.
    — Eddy Pierre-Louis has been downgraded from QUESTIONABLE to DOUBTFUL. If Pierre-Louis misses the game, it would deal a significant blow to an offensive line that's struggled to find its footing early in the season.

     
    Jeff Howe
    There were changes to Thursday's SEC student-athlete availability report ahead of No. 1 Texas facing Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout on Saturday (2:30 p.m.) after Wednesday's initial report was released:
    — Nick Townsend isn't on the report, indicating he's good to go for Saturday
    — Kaliq Lockett and Zion Williams join Jordan Coleman as OUT for the game
    — Justus Terry has been upgraded from DOUBTFUL to QUESTIONABLE
    — Oklahoma's Fred Hinton has been downgraded from DOUBTFUL to OUT
    — While Michael Fasusi remains DOUBTFUL for the game, four Sooners (Jer'Michael Carter, Cole Sullivan, Michael Boganowski, and Jack Van Dorselaer) were upgraded from QUESTIONABLE to PROBABLE

    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — Oklahoma finds itself in the same position No. 1 Texas was in ahead of last season's Red River Shootout in 2025.
    Steve Sarkisian's team traveled to the Cotton Bowl reeling after dropping their SEC opener on the road against Florida, their second loss of the young season. The Longhorns pulled the nose up with a convincing 23-6 upset of the Sooners and made a run at a third consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff, which is why they're not taking their wounded rivals lightly on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC).
    “We know we're going to get OU's best shot. They're a really good team. They're a very talented team and they've got good coaches,” Sarkisian said Thursday during his pregame Zoom call with reporters. “Sometimes, things don't go your way and you just don't quite get the momentum that you need. Hopefully, they don't figure it out Saturday either. Hopefully, we can cause a little more chaos for them. But I know we're going to get their best shot and I know they're going to have a great plan. I know their kids are going to play hard and physical and tough because that's what that program is built on. We know it's going to be a four-quarter game — rivalry games generally go that way — and we know we're going to need to play good football if we want to come out on top.”
    If Texas (4-0, 1-0 SEC) wants to avoid an upset and retain the Golden Hat when the dust settles on the program’s 122nd all-time meeting with Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1), these are the matchups the Longhorns must win.
    WHEN TEXAS RUNS
    A healthy amount of focus will be on how well Brandon Baker, Connor Robertson and Dylan Sikorski handle a stout Oklahoma interior defensive line rotation led by Jayden Jackson and David Stone. But the head-to-head battle that will go a long way toward determining whether the Longhorns can generate explosive plays and convince Sarkisian to stick with the running game is Hollywood Smothers’ ability to maximize runs against the Sooners' active, experienced linebackers.
    Even with Cole Sullivan (questionable) and Owen Heinecke (probable) listed on Wednesday’s availability report, Kip Lewis’ return from injury against Georgia will make it tough for the Texas running backs to get yards after contact. As the Longhorns’ best zone runner (Raleek Brown has been better in his career and this season on gap and power runs), if Smothers (who signed with Oklahoma out of high school and played for the Sooners in 2022) can find the cutback lanes that will be open against Brent Venables’ hard-charging defense, Texas can control the ball, the clock and the game.
    WHEN OKLAHOMA RUNS
    Arguably the most effective way the Sooners can run the football is whenever John Mateer scrambles. According to Pro Football Focus, Mateer has gained 69 yards on 12 scrambles, including one of Oklahoma's three 20-plus-yard runs from scrimmage (a 22-yard scramble against Michigan).
    Mateer has also accounted for 23.3 percent of the 193 yards the Sooners have gained on D-gap runs. That’s the most yards Oklahoma has gained in any direction through four games, according to PFF, putting the fate of a Sooners running game that’s gained just 169 yards (2.82 yards per attempt) between the C-gaps in the hands of the Texas edge defenders and linebackers.
    Maintaining a disciplined pass rush, setting the edge and eye control at the second level and beyond will be paramount, especially whenever Will Muschamp’s defense is in man coverage. The longest run the Longhorns have allowed in four games was a 32-yard scramble by Brad Jackson in the season opener against Texas State, when Jackson took off while the Texas defenders in coverage had their backs to him.
    WHEN TEXAS PASSES
    Expect Venables’ Oklahoma defense to attack the line of scrimmage similar to how UTSA and Tennessee got after the Longhorns. Both defenses disguised their looks well and brought extra defenders on delayed blitzes, with Jim Knowles and the Vols using slants and stunts to break through Texas’ pass protection.
    Sarkisian’s game plan must include more hot reads and quick-hitting, stationary routes than it did in Knoxville so that Arch Manning has somewhere to go with the ball when the Sooners bring the heat. The key matchup, however, will be the Longhorn wideouts winning their one-on-one battles against the Oklahoma defensive backs when those opportunities arise.
    One of the few times Manning got the ball out of his hands before Tennessee's pressure got to him, he hit Cam Coleman down the sideline for a 30-yard gain. While the Sooners pressured Gunner Stockton on nine of his 19 dropbacks two weeks ago, the Georgia quarterback went 3-for-7 for 77 yards and a touchdown, with an average depth of target of 27.5 yards, according to PFF.
    Stockton was 3-for-9 for 106 yards and a touchdown on pass attempts that went 20 yards or more downfield. Manning's deep ball opportunities will likely be few and far between, but he and the Texas receivers need to capitalize when they're available.
    WHEN OKLAHOMA PASSES
    The Longhorns must know where Isaiah Sategna and Rocky Beers are lined up before every snap. Sategna and Beers have accounted for 38 of Oklahoma’s 73 receptions this season, 522 of the Sooners’ 889 receiving yards and they've been on the receiving end of four of the offense’s eight pass touchdowns.
    While Texas will face more prolific offenses the rest of the way, Sategna and Beers can change the game whenever one of them touches the football. That’s why the pass rush getting home is the best answer for whatever new wrinkles Ben Arbuckle might throw at Muschamp to help get the ball to one of Oklahoma’s top two playmakers.
    The defensive line recorded nine of Texas' 10 sacks against Tennessee, including Colin Simmons' school-record 5.5 sacks. Simmons can control the game on his own, but the dominance of Kenny Baker's and LaAllan Clark's groups goes beyond what Simmons brings to the table.
    When the Longhorns needed winning plays up front against the Vols and Ohio State, the defensive line delivered. The Longhorns' deep rotation makes Muschamp's front tough to handle, especially late in games when relatively fresh bodies are on the field for high-leverage snaps.
    With Michael Fasusi not expected to play, Texas must win up front against an undermanned Sooner offensive line to lighten the load for a secondary facing an offense that can get easy yards by drawing defensive pass interference calls in the deep part of the field. The help will be imperative whenever Muschamp decides to play more man coverage and devote more resources to pressuring Mateer while hunting negative plays and turnovers.
    SPECIAL TEAMS
    If the Sooners flip the game with a momentum-shifting play in the kicking game, it’ll likely be when Mac Chiumento is on the field with the Texas punt team. Oklahoma is 15-2 under Venables when scoring a non-offensive touchdown, putting the focus on Chiumento executing his directional kicks and making it hard for the Sooners to set up a return for Sategna, whose 18.6 yards per punt return is No. 8 in FBS, and on the protection holding up for the Longhorns to avoid getting a punt blocked.
    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — With three wins in five meetings with Oklahoma as Texas’ coach, Steve Sarkisian knows what it takes to win the Red River Shootout.
    “The team that runs the ball, the team that converts third downs, the team that wins a turnover battle and the team that can pressure the quarterback generally comes out on top,” Sarkisian said Monday. “You get back to the core fundamentals of what the game of football is all about. As much as we want to talk about the emotions of the game, as much as we want to talk about the trick plays or the craziness that can happen in this game, it generally comes back to the things that are important to football, right? Who can run the ball? You know who can convert third downs and extend drives? Who can create turnovers? Who can take care of the ball? And then, ultimately, who can pressure the other team's quarterback to affect him?”
    If Sarkisian is going to become the first Longhorn coach since David McWilliams to win three in a row over the Sooners and give No. 1 Texas (4-0, 1-0 SEC) the program’s first three-game winning streak over Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1) in almost 30 years (1997-99), his squad must continue to execute four core principles of football at a winning level inside the Cotton Bowl. In winning the last two meetings by a combined score of 57-9, the Longhorns have dominated Brent Venables’ team in the statistical categories that matter when the two long-time rivals lock up in Dallas on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC).
    RUSHING YARDS
    The team that’s won the rushing yardage battle has won 25 of the last 28 meetings. That’s been the case in Sarkisian’s five games against the Sooners, with Texas owning the line of scrimmage over the last two seasons.
    The Longhorns out-gained Oklahoma on the ground in 2024 (177-89) and 2025 (136-48). Even excluding lost yardage on sacks, Texas has still dominated the Sooners on the ground; the Longhorns had a 183-120 edge two years ago and won the rushing yardage battle 142-80 last season.
    Texas played defense at such an elite level in last year’s 23-6 victory that Sarkisian didn’t need to abandon the run. Even in the face of Oklahoma racking up 12 tackles for loss and almost half of the Longhorns’ net rushing yards coming on two plays (a 37-yard run by Tre Wisner in the second quarter and a 29-yard game-clinching run by Arch Manning), Sarkisian kept plugging away long enough that only three of Texas’ 21 non-sack rushing attempts in the second half were stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage.
    “Everybody wants to run the ball and sometimes it's not always pretty. Everybody wants to run the ball and the first run doesn't go for eight yards. Sometimes, it goes for one. You can't just give up,” Sarkisian said. “I think what also helps you stay committed to the run is playing good defense. When you're playing good defensive football, sometimes, games aren't pretty early on, but you can stay committed to it and then, inevitably, the dam starts to break and you can start to snap off some longer runs that way.”
    If Hollywood Smothers and Nick Townsend return from injury, the Longhorns should run the football more effectively than they did in their 20-17 win over Tennessee on Sept. 26, when they recorded a season-low 61 rushing yards (94 yards and 3.1 yards per attempt when adjusted to exclude sacks).
    Venables' run defense is a respectable 42nd nationally, allowing 115.5 yards per game. Oklahoma is 36th in FBS in yards per rushing attempt allowed (3.23) and is tied with the Longhorns for allowing the third-fewest 10-plus-yard runs among SEC defenses (13).
    Still, the challenge the Sooners face stopping the Texas running game isn't as daunting on paper as what's in front of Oklahoma on the other side of the ball. Ben Arbuckle's offense will try to establish the run against a Longhorn defense allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards per game (99.3, ranked No. 26 nationally) while holding opponents to under three yards per rushing attempt (2.84 yards per carry allowed is No. 18 in FBS).
    Oklahoma enters the game with the 131st-ranked rushing offense in the country (99 yards per game) and is 133rd nationally in yards per rushing attempt (2.93). Stanford is the only FBS offense with fewer 10-plus-yard runs than the Sooners (nine).
    The advanced statistics paint Oklahoma's running game in a less favorable light. According to CFBData.com, the Sooners are last in the SEC in line yards per carry (2.5), second-level rushing yards, open-field rushing yards, stuff rate and power success rate.
    TURNOVERS
    The winner of the turnover margin has won 19 of the last 28 meetings. That includes the last four games, with Texas racking up a plus-4 in turnover margin in the last two seasons (plus-5 in Sarkisian’s three wins).
    Since 1999, the team that wins the rushing yardage battle and the turnover margin in the same game is 17-0.
    Playing turnover-free football helped the Longhorns weather the storm in last season’s win over Oklahoma. The Sooners, meanwhile, couldn’t recover from John Mateer’s three interceptions, including one right before halftime that was equal parts a bad decision by Mateer and questionable clock management by Venables.
    Texas left Knoxville with a win despite losing the turnover battle, even if one of the lost turnovers was an onside kick recovery by the Vols that the SEC later clarified was an illegal kick. While the Longhorns are even in turnover margin on the season, Oklahoma’s minus-6 deficit (tied for the worst among Power Four clubs) includes an SEC-leading 10 giveaways, with six fumbles lost tied for the second-most in FBS.
    THIRD-DOWN EFFICIENCY
    Somehow, despite facing third-and-7 or more 11 times, Texas was 10-for-17 on third down in last year’s Red River Shootout while facing an average to-go distance of nine yards. The Longhorns can’t expect the same results in third-and-long situations against a Sooner defense that’s held opponents to a 23.1-percent third-down conversion rate (12-for-52) through four games, the third-best mark in the country.
    Even though Texas was 3-for-12 on third down in its win over Tennessee, it's still a top-20 offense in college football on third down, moving the chains at a 50-percent clip (30-for-60). A 9-for-16 effort in the team’s Sept. 12 win over Ohio State included a 4-for-5 showing in the fourth quarter.
    Will Muschamp’s defense has performed well enough on third down in the last two games to bolster a No. 48 national ranking in third-down defense (34.6 percent conversion rate allowed). Texas held UTSA and the Vols to a combined 5-for-28 on third down; the Longhorns are tied for No. 35 nationally and third in the SEC on fourth down (3-for-8), with only Tennessee (0-for-5) and LSU (1-for-4) boasting better fourth-down defenses.
    The current trend bodes well for Texas against an Oklahoma offense that’s a combined 10-for-32 on third down in its last two losses to the Longhorns. The Sooners are 109th nationally on third down this season (18-for-53), including a combined 5-for-27 (18.5 percent) effort in losses to Michigan and Georgia.
    SACKS
    The 11 sacks the Texas defense has piled up in two consecutive wins over Oklahoma almost matches the historic 10-sack game the Longhorns recorded in their road win over Tennessee. Texas’ run defense in Dallas has opened the door to get after the quarterback; the Longhorns got Mateer on the ground five times in an upset victory in 2025.
    While Oklahoma finished last season’s loss to Texas with 12 tackles for loss, only one of those was a sack of Manning, which came on the Longhorns’ first possession. The offensive line’s protection and Manning’s ability to escape pressure minimized negative plays on a day when the offense struggled to stay on schedule.
    This season, Manning has been a more effective passer under pressure than Mateer.
    According to Pro Football Focus, Manning (pressured on 43 of 146 dropbacks) is 14-for-26 for 190 yards and a touchdown under pressure, with four big-time throws, one turnover-worthy play and an adjusted completion percentage of 71.4. Mateer (pressured on 46 of 127 dropbacks) is 16-for-32 for 237 yards and two touchdowns, but has thrown two interceptions, has committed five turnover-worthy plays and has an adjusted completion percentage of 55.2.
    Mateer has been better at preventing pressure from turning into sacks. His pressure-to-sack rate of 15.2 percent (seven sacks on 46 pressures) is on track to be better than his 2025 mark of 19.7 percent (27 sacks on 137 pressured dropbacks).
    Sacked on 13.3 percent of the pressures Texas allowed last season when he was behind center (22 sacks on 165 pressured dropbacks), Manning has been sacked 10 times in four games. His 23.3 percent pressure-to-sack rate is the fifth-highest among 17 SEC quarterbacks who’ve been pressured at least 25 times.
    Making these two quarterbacks feel the heat is only part of the battle. Getting home and getting the quarterback on the ground is a formidable challenge for two aggressive, talented defenses.
    Jeff Howe
    It’s time to revisit On Texas Football's “One Burning Question,” where we ask a question about the Texas Longhorns heading into a game.
    Entering Saturday’s 20-17 win over No. 14 Tennessee, the burning question was:
    Will the Longhorns start to form an identity on offense against the Vols?
    In short, no.
    Texas lacked the consistency needed to string together successful possessions and didn’t capitalize on opportunities to put Tennessee on the ropes. The Longhorns were out-gained by the Vols on the ground (70-61), lost the turnover battle (2-1), went 3-for-12 on third down and had more three-and-outs (six) than scoring drives (four).
    Yet amid the trash heap of forgettable moments, Texas did some things well. Well enough that if they build on them during the bye week, the Longhorns could come out of the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma on Oct. 10 (2:30 p.m., ABC) with a clearer sense of who they are and what kind of team they can be offensively.
    It’s unrealistic to think every call Steve Sarkisian makes will work. Still, one of the most frustrating things about the offense’s performance in the SEC opener is that when the Longhorns weren’t beating themselves and trusting proven concepts, Jim Knowles and the Vols couldn’t handle Sarkisian’s attack.
    For starters, Sarkisian’s opening script was executed to perfection, with Raleek Brown's 9-yard touchdown run punctuating a 7-play, 75-yard drive on the offense’s first possession.
    After Arch Manning connected with Ryan Wingo on an 8-yard, high-percentage pass on the first play from scrimmage, two tough, between-the-tackles runs (one by Brown and another by Derrek Cooper) set up Manning’s 43-yard play-action bomb to Emmett Mosley V. Two plays later, Brown reached the end zone with help from Connor Robertson and Brandon Baker, who walled off their defenders to create an alley, and Ryan Wingo, who’s second-level insert block (lined up stacked behind Melvin Siani at the snap) got Brown loose.
    “To get the ball in that environment and to go seven plays, 75 yards, to take the lead 7-0 on the road, I thought, was really big for us about owning the environment, owning the arena,” Sarkisian said Monday. “I've never been to a game where the opposing fans were all in their seats by the time we took pregame warmups. That was a different environment.
    “That was a really cool way to start,” he added. “From that point forward, until about the second-to-last offensive drive, we did not play very good offensive football. I'd love to say it was this or that. It literally was us taking turns not doing the things that we had practiced to do.”
    Texas mounted four scoring drives against Tennessee: the game-opening touchdown drive; a 10-play, 62-yard drive in the second quarter for a field goal (a 22-yarder by Gianni Spetic); a 6-play, 48-yard drive in the third quarter for another field goal (a 44-yarder by Spetic) and an 8-play, 60-yard drive in the fourth quarter for a touchdown (Brown’s 4-yard rushing touchdown with 5:41 left in the game).
    Even though a clunky goal-to-go sequence and a delay-of-game penalty on third-and-2 forced the Longhorns to settle for field goals on two of those possessions, the offense was humming on those four drives:
    — Total Plays: 26
    — Total Offense: 230 yards
    — Yards Per Play: 8.8
    — Arch Manning: 11-for-13, 184 yards
    — Rushing Offense: 15 carries, 46 yards (3.1 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns
    — Sack-Adjusted Rushing: 13 carries, 56 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and two touchdowns
    — First Downs: 12
    — Third Down: 2-for-4
    — 10-Plus-Yard Plays: 7
    — 20-Plus-Yard Plays: 3
    What worked for Texas on those possessions:
    — Sarkisian leaned mostly on duo and insert as the primary running game concepts, ditching long-developing plays and running the ball without pulling linemen.
    Baker and Siani caved in the front side of the line on Brown’s 4-yard touchdown run, clearing a path for Emaree Winston to lead Brown into the end zone. The only negative play on 13 non-sack rushing attempts was a 3-yard loss when the Vols’ penetration swallowed up Cooper for a 3-yard-loss on a zone run behind the right side of the line.
    — Most of Manning’s completions on those four drives came on hard play-action passes set up by positive rushing plays, quick throws to stationary targets or screens and other quick throws to the perimeter.
    The football moved through the air when Sarkisian stuck with those calls and Manning pulled the trigger at the right time. The Longhorns found themselves behind the chains in a world of trouble when some combination of long-developing pass plays, poor pass protection and communication breakdowns didn’t give Manning enough time to find an open man before Knowles’ pressure got home.
    — Texas either avoided stubbing its toe and made plays to recover from its mistakes on the four scoring drives.
    The most pivotal moment came on the fourth-quarter touchdown drive, with the Tennessee defense sacking Manning for an 8-yard loss on the first play. But Winston and Trevor Goosby opened a lane over the left side of the line on the next snap, springing Brown loose for a 10-yard gain. From there, with the offense recovering from second-and-18 to face third-and-8, Manning hit Wingo down the seam for 18 yards and a first down, one of four first downs the Longhorns picked up on the drive.
    No college football offense is perfect. Still, what Texas must avoid, by building on the things the offense does well, are possessions that destroy the fabric of complementary football.
    There were three drives in the Tennessee game when the Longhorns could’ve mashed the gas and cruised to a win:
    — A second-quarter drive from their own 43-yard line after Faizon Brandon left the game with an apparent shoulder injury. Texas led, 10-3, with 12:38 remaining in the half.
    — Another possession in the second quarter, this time with 10:17 on the clock and the ball at its own 38-yard line.
    — With 4:50 remaining in the game, the Longhorns had the ball at the Vols’ 41-yard line after Alex January sacked Brandon, forcing a Tennessee turnover on downs.
    What happened on those three drives?
    — A two-play drive that ended when Kayin Lee intercepted Manning’s attempt to hit Cam Coleman on a post route at the 4-yard line.
    — A three-and-out that started with a 12-yard loss when Manning couldn’t handle a high snap from Robertson.
    — A three-and-out that ended on third-and-8 from the Tennessee 40-yard line, with Arion Carter and Tyree Weathersby converging on Manning for the Vols’ sixth sack of the game.
    With three chances to pull away, the Texas offense gained 16 yards on eight plays, didn't record a first down, punted twice and lost their fifth turnover of the season. When the Longhorns needed to execute, they couldn’t protect the quarterback and failed to run and protect the football.
    After 60 minutes, Texas had enough on its four scoring drives to overcome a litany of self-inflicted wounds and failed attempts to execute. The Longhorns must eliminate the extended lulls that have plagued the offense through four games before a stretch of eight consecutive SEC games begins against the Sooners in Dallas.
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