Jeff Howe

Jaylan Ford is in the same boat as Elliott. He started the season on short-term IR.

DeShon Elliott returned to practice today. This starts the 21-day window for him to return to the Steelers' 53-man roster and make his 2026 debut.

Longhorns in the NFL: 52 Longhorns on the 53: 40 Practice Squad: 6 Injured Reserve: 9 *** Arizona Cardinals (3): Hayden Conner, Devin Duvernay Atlanta Falcons (2): Bijan Robinson, Cameron Williams Baltimore Ravens (1): Ethan Burke Carolina Panthers (2): Jonathan Brooks#, Ja’Tavion Sanders Chicago Bears (3): Roschon Johnson, Christian Jones*, Malik Muhammad Cincinnati Bengals (1): Jack Endries Cleveland Browns (1): Isaiah Bond Dallas Cowboys (2): PJ Locke#, Demarvion Overshown Denver Broncos (5): Jahdae Barron, Sam Ehlinger, Lil’Jordan Humphrey*, Brandon Jones, Malcolm Roach Green Bay Packers (2): Matthew Golden, Barryn Sorrell Jacksonville Jaguars (1): Quinn Ewers Kansas City Chiefs (1): Xavier Worthy Los Angeles Chargers (1): Cameron Dicker Los Angeles Rams (5): Jack Bouwmeester*, Matthew Caldwell#, Poona Ford, Bill Norton*, Jordan Whittington Miami Dolphins (3): DJ Campbell, Trey Moore#, Michael Taaffe New England Patriots (1): Brenden Schooler# New Orleans Saints (3): Kelvin Banks Jr.#, Vernon Broughton, Jaylan Ford# New York Jets (4): Andrew Beck, Adonai Mitchell, Joseph Ossai, T’Vondre Sweat Philadelphia Eagles (4): Jaydon Blue*, Jake Majors, Andrew Mukuba, Moro Ojomo Pittsburgh Steelers (1): DeShon Elliott# San Francisco 49ers (1): Alfred Collins# Seattle Seahawks (2): Michael Dickson, Byron Murphy II Tennessee Titans (2): Gunnar Helm, Anthony Hill Jr. Washington Commanders (2): Samuel Cosmi, Charles Omenihu * — Practice Squad # — Injured Reserve

Transfer defensive lineman from LSU.

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 View full news story

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. View full news story

There have been some great offensive linemen come through the program, but I think the conversation is between Jerry Sisemore and Kelvin Banks for the best in school history. If I'm doing a Mount Rushmore of Texas offensive linemen, they're my two no-brainer picks.

Every time I hear a new fact or stat about Oklahoma's running game, it's worse than I imagined.

Fasusi is listed as "doubtful" on Wednesday's availability report.

FWIW:

It's the best game in the history of the series, IMO.

You know the big turnovers and/or special teams plays that swung those game in one team's favor. Failure to protect the football and sloppiness in the kicking game are two sure-fire ways Texas can let Oklahoma hang around.

I don't think Oklahoma has a wide receiver as good as Mike Matthews, for one. Second, after what he did against Ohio State, I'll chalk up the Tennessee game as an off day for him rather than a sign of things to come. Still, if I'm Ben Arbuckle, I'm telling Mateer to look for Texas playing press man and take a shot because a DPI could be OU's best way to get chunk yards against the Longhorns.

Whatever Arbuckle has in his playbook, this is the game when he'll use it (at least he should). If you're going to go down, go down throwing haymakers.

Those are two areas where the Longhorns can beat themselves and give Oklahoma hope. Texas must be buttoned up with both of those things.

That would be a welcome change of pace, for sure.

Thanks for the kind words!

I don't remember if Bobby or Gerry said it on "State of the Program" today, but it's true: Texas can win the game without a fast start. I'm not sure Oklahoma can win unless it starts fast. The quicker Texas gets ahead and forces Oklahoma to be one-dimensional on offense, the better the Longhorns' chances will be to win and win big.

I'm happy that someone is getting something out of it! Much appreciated!

There's a reason why the core principles of football (run the ball, stop the run, protect the ball, take it away, execute critical situations) apply in this game, more so than others on the schedule. You can't hide from physicality in Dallas. The more physical, disciplined team wins the Red River Shootout. The team that wins is usually the one that shows up ready for a fistfight and hopes a football game breaks out. The discipline usually shines through in the more experienced team. If you've never played in the game, there's nothing that prepares you for the first time.

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. View full news story