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    Jeff Howe
    Brent Venables is keeping the availability of Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer for Saturday’s Red River Shootout under wraps.
    When asked on Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference about how the No. 6 Sooners planned to list Mateer’s status on the conference’s official injury report, Venables indicated he won’t release anything other than what the league requires coaches to divulge.
    “That’ll come out tonight and everybody will get it at the same time,” Venables said.
    Whether it’s Mateer or Michael Hawkins Jr. behind center at the Cotton Bowl, the Texas defense should hit the field hellbent on proving its run-stopping capabilities are greater than how the Longhorns held up in last Saturday’s 29-21 loss to Florida.
    While the Gators’ final line on the ground (159 yards on 37 carries) isn’t a glaring sign of a leaky run defense on its own, the way Texas (3-2, 0-1 SEC) was gashed in the first half was alarming. After six consecutive games (dating back to last season’s Cotton Bowl loss to Ohio State) in which Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense held its opponents to under 100 net rushing yards, Florida ran roughshod over the Longhorns in the first quarter, tallying 94 yards on an average of 6.7 yards per attempt.
    “No reason,” linebacker Liona Lefau said on Monday when asked why the Texas defense stumbled out of the blocks in Gainesville. “We just need to do a better job of coming out and playing the best defense that we know we're capable of doing.”
    While Steve Sarkisian searches for ways to get the Longhorn rushing attack untracked after a forgettable SEC opener (52 net yards on 26 official attempts, including just 16 yards on 11 carries by the running backs), the defense must do its part to help Texas win the line of scrimmage battle against Oklahoma (5-0, 1-0).
    In the Red River Shootout, winning in the trenches is the best way to ensure a win on the scoreboard when the dust settles. The team that won the rushing yardage battle has won all but three of the last 28 meetings between the Longhorns and Sooners, including Sarkisian’s four Red River games.
    Texas won the rushing yardage battle decisively en route to a 49-0 rout in 2022 (296-156) and in last season’s 34-3 victory (177-89). On the flip side, Oklahoma’s 55-48 comeback win in 2021 saw the Sooners finish with a plus-211-yard advantage on the ground, while Venables’ team out-rushed Sarkisian's squad by 45 yards (201-156) in a 34-30 Longhorn loss in 2023.
    Although the Texas running game is reeling, Oklahoma heads into Saturday’s bout with one of the least productive rushing attacks in the SEC. The Sooners are 12th in the conference in rushing yards per game (137.2), 14th in yards per attempt (3.79) and 11th in runs that have gained at least 10 yards (23).
    With that said, rushing yards from the quarterback position have arguably been the difference in Sarkisian’s two losses to Oklahoma. A 66-yard touchdown run by Caleb Williams ignited his team’s furious rally in 2021, and two years later, Dillion Gabriel’s 113 yards rushing (especially his pulling the ball down and running for big yardage on the Sooners’ game-winning drive) played one of the biggest roles in the outcomes.
    Whether Mateer is back or Hawkins is called upon to start in Dallas for the second consecutive season, the Longhorn defense knows the path to victory includes minimizing the damage that the quarterback runs (designed runs and scrambles) in Ben Arbuckle’s offense can cause.
    “We’ve played Hawkins, we haven’t played Mateer, but we kind of have the same scheme for both of them,” linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. said on Monday. “It's going to be interesting to see what plays out throughout the week and get ready for the game.”
    Jeff Howe
    To what extent Texas can pull the nose up and salvage the 2025 season, which is trending in the wrong direction after last Saturday’s 29-21 road loss to Florida, will depend on what the Longhorns do against No. 6 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC).
    A win over the Sooners would position Steve Sarkisian’s squad for a strong finish to the October portion of the schedule, played entirely away from Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. A loss would be the second in conference play for Texas (3-2, 0-1 SEC) and, with three opponents currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 left on the schedule other than Oklahoma (5-0, 1-0), it likely wouldn’t be the Longhorns’ last.
    Amid the preseason hype that engulfed the program, along with Brent Venables coming off his second losing season among the three in which he’s led the Sooners, Sarkisian’s fifth Texas-OU game seemed like an ideal time for the Longhorns to enjoy a long-overdue run of success against Oklahoma. Sarkisian’s 2-2 record against the Sooners includes two of the most lopsided Texas wins in the history of the series (a 49-0 rout in 2022 and last season’s 34-3 romp) and a pair of last-second losses that were there for the taking.
    Oklahoma’s current run of dominance over the Longhorns is one of the longest in the history of the series. The Sooners have won 11 of the last 16, including 10 of 15 with the Golden Hat on the line.
    Beyond how a win over Oklahoma would boost Texas going into the second half of the regular season, changing their Red River fortunes is key to the Longhorns getting over the hump and closer to winning a national championship under Sarkisian.
    Since Darrell Royal took over the program in 1957, no Texas coach has won a national championship or led the Longhorns to a championship game without simultaneously rattling off a series of wins over the Sooners.
    A win on Saturday would be the program’s third over Oklahoma in four years. That would be the best stretch of success against the Sooners since Mack Brown’s teams won four of five meetings (2005-09).
    Brown’s run, which came on the heels of a five-game losing streak to Bob Stoops, included wins in 2005 and 2009. Texas bookended the four seasons with a national championship and a trip to the BCS title game, along with a memorable series win during the 2008 season, one in which the Longhorns were arguably the best team in the country.
    While leading Texas to undefeated regular seasons in 1977 and 1983, Fred Akers won five of his first seven head-to-head meetings against Barry Switzer’s Oklahoma program.
    Royal, a Sooner standout for Bud Wilkinson, took over the Longhorns at a time when his mentor had won nine Red River Shootouts over 10 seasons (1948-57), including a victory in Royal’s Red River coaching debut. After the 1957 loss, however, Royal won 12 of the next 13 games against Oklahoma, including wins over the Sooners in each of his three national championship-winning seasons (1963, 1969 and 1970).
    Given the state of where Texas is coming off the humbling loss to the Gators, and considering the decade-plus of dominance the Sooners have enjoyed against the Longhorns, there would be no better time than Saturday to take a big step toward rectifying an Oklahoma problem that’s existed for far too long.
    Jeff Howe
    As Saturday’s 29-21 loss to Florida unfolded, it became clear that Texas has significant issues.
    Some of those issues can be fixed over the seven remaining games on the regular-season schedule, but others will require changes after the season. Still, Saturday’s loss to the Gators came down to the Longhorns losing the line of scrimmage battle in a landslide.
    From the jump, Florida (2-3, 1-2 SEC) punched Texas (3-2, 0-1) in the mouth up front and never let up.
    The Gators finished the game with six sacks and seven tackles for loss. While the Longhorn offensive line might not be solely responsible for each of those negative plays, the fact that the Texas running backs ran for 15 yards on 11 carries on a day when the running game tallied 52 net yards on 26 official attempts is a direct reflection of how the offense was soundly defeated at the point of attack.
    ***
    Nick Brooks briefly replaced Connor Stroh at left guard in the first half. The true freshman started the second half next to Trevor Goosby, with Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Flood searching for an answer to help generate a push.
    Although he was flagged for consecutive false starts on a fourth-quarter drive, I could see Sarkisian and Flood giving Brooks another shot.
    Whether Brooks is in the starting lineup against Oklahoma or not, Saturday’s performance made it clear that the starting offensive line mix — as it was through the first five games of the season — isn’t the answer to getting the offense untracked.
    ***
    Offensively, everything Texas couldn’t afford to have happen did.
    Unable to establish the run, the Longhorns had to put the fate of the offense on Arch Manning’s shoulders. The result was a mixed bag, with Manning (16-for-29, 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions; 37 net yards on 15 official rushing attempts) making his share of plays to keep Texas in the game, along with a few turnovers and a final possession of regulation he’d like to have back.
    Operating a one-dimensional offense, moving the ball came down to Manning’s ability to make a play. It’ll require a more nuanced evaluation to determine if the mistakes down the stretch were things to worry about or a case of a quarterback trying to make the best of a bad situation.
    Manning did enough positive things to believe he can truly trend upward in the not-too-distant future. Still, he’s not at a point of elevating everyone around him to the point where he can mask the offense’s deficiencies.
    ***
    It doesn’t seem right that I’ve gotten this far into writing my postgame thoughts without talking about the defense.
    It was disappointing that things played out for the offense the way they did, but it wasn’t a total surprise. I, however, was flabbergasted at how Florida gashed Texas on the ground (159 yards, 4.3 yards per attempt), negated the Longhorn pass rush and gave DJ Lagway (21-for-28, 298 yards, two touchdowns and one interception) enough time to hit six explosive plays (15 or more yards gained through the air).
    Coming into the game, Texas allowed five rushing attempts to gain 10 or more yards. The Gators had five double-digit-yard runs in the first half (only 13 through their first four games).
    Only Auburn had fewer 20-yard gains through the air than Florida (10) before Saturday’s game. Lagway connected on four such plays against a Longhorn defense that allowed only six through four games.
    Jadan Baugh (107 yards and a rushing touchdown on 28 carries) and Dallas Wilson (111 yards and two touchdowns on six catches) made the kinds of plays the Longhorn skill players didn't or couldn't come up with on Saturday.
    ***
    The 2021 Iowa State game (a 30-7 loss) is the last loss I can remember Texas suffering in which it lost the line-of-scrimmage battle as it did in the Swamp.
    You’d have to go back to the Arkansas game that same season to find the last time a Sarkisian-coached Longhorn squad was bullied to the extent the Gators pushed Texas around from start to finish.
    ***
    There’s a lot more to digest from the loss than these time-constrained thoughts.
    Still, the following must be said: Talk of the SEC Championship Game or the College Football Playoff, at this point, is pointless. This is beyond a play-calling issue or a few personnel fixes for this team to become what it hoped to grow into by season's end.
    Against a desperate team, coming off a bye and knowing the kind of road environment they’d be going into, the Longhorns lost a game in which they were soundly defeated in all three phases.
    Considering the circumstances, and with Texas still unable to play disciplined (10 penalties for 70 yards) and/or complementary football, an argument can be made that this was the worst loss of Sarkisian’s tenure. While I have recently given Sarkisian credit for not suffering a head-scratching loss, my trust in the staff to avoid an unnecessary toe stub the rest of the way must be rebuilt after Saturday.
    The Longhorns can still be a good team. But Saturday’s performance didn’t inspire any confidence that Texas can turn the corner any time soon.
    Jeff Howe
    With Emmett Mosley V hopefully making his Texas debut on Saturday, when the ninth-ranked Longhorns travel to the Swamp to face Florida (2:30 p.m., ESPN), and the Gators expected to have true freshman Dallas Wilson available for the first time this season, Arch Manning and DJ Lagway could get some much-needed perimeter weaponry for their respective offenses.
    If Mosley and Wilson are on the field, the wide receivers might do more than beef up the Texas (3-1) and Florida (1-3, 0-1 SEC) passing games. Stressing the opposing defense enough to give the running game a boost could be the difference between winning and losing, especially if the weather gets sloppy and the ground attacks become more of a factor.
    Neither running game has set the world on fire through four games. Based on the raw yardage output, the Longhorns have been good, ranking 37th nationally and seventh in the SEC in rushing yards per game (202.8).
    Still, the team’s average yards per rushing attempt (4.89) is behind last season’s pace (5.01) with one quarter of the regular season in the books.
    Getting Quintrevion Wisner and potentially C.J. Baxter Jr. back will give Texas two proven commodities in the backfield. The return of either runner will take some of the running game burden away from Arch Manning, although his legs will likely continue to be a major part of Steve Sarkisian's game plan.
    Where Wisner and Baxter need to make an impact is their ability to maximize runs. That’s one way to bring some juice to a running game lacking explosiveness.
    Texas has 24 rushing attempts that have gone for 10 or more yards this season, which ranks ninth in the SEC. Alabama and Oklahoma are the only SEC clubs with fewer rushing attempts that have gained 20 or more yards than the Longhorns (three), none of which have come from running backs.
    Manning’s 20-yard touchdown run on a scramble against San Jose State and two big gains in the Sam Houston game by Ryan Wingo (32 yards on an end-around) and Matthew Caldwell (an option keeper for 50 yards) account for the offense’s three longest rushing attempts from scrimmage. Baxter had an 18-yard run against San Jose State, which is the longest by a Texas running back this season.
    With running backs Jaden Baugh and Ja’Kobi Jackson back from last season, along with four starting offensive linemen (preseason All-American Jake Slaughter and preseason All-SEC pick Austin Barber among them), Florida’s running game has the pieces to be arguably the best in the SEC.
    Instead, the Gators are averaging 123 yards per game, which is the third-worst in the conference and No. 106 in FBS.
    Florida averages less than four yards per rushing attempt (3.94) and, like Texas, hasn’t been able to lean on big plays on the ground. Alabama’s offense is the only SEC attack with fewer rushing attempts that have gained 10 or more yards than the Gators (13), who’ve matched the Longhorns’ three gains from scrimmage of 20 or more yards (a 27-yard run by Jackson in a road loss to Miami is the longest gain on the ground for Florida through four games).
    Whether either running game gets untracked on Saturday will be easier said than done.
    Texas is No. 3 nationally against the run (59.8 yards per game allowed), leads the SEC in yards per rushing attempt allowed (2.13), has held five consecutive opponents to under 100 yards rushing and has allowed only five rushing attempts to go for 10 or more yards. The Gators are a top-40 defense nationally against the run (111.3 yards per game and 3.37 yards per attempt allowed) with a Pro Football Focus team tackling grade of 85.7, which is the second-best in the SEC and ranks No. 6 in the country.
    While the Longhorns cruised to a win in last year’s meeting with Florida, with a 49-17 drubbing in Austin, Anthony Hill Jr. remembers the Gators rushing for 197 yards. Florida’s output was second to Arizona State’s 214-yard effort in the Peach Bowl for the most rushing yards allowed by the Texas defense in 2024.
    With Billy Napier’s offense returning a lot of the pieces the Longhorns saw last season, they're preparing for a fierce trench battle on Saturday.
    “We know the type of athletes they have,” Hill said on Monday. “We know who they recruit — we've probably lost some recruits to them — so we know they have the athletes. We're just going to go out there and play the best football we can.”
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