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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Photo by: © Copyright Ty Russell 2019
Game Primer: OU vs. Texas
October 09, 2020 | Football
Oklahoma
22 Texas
Saturday, Oct. 10 / 11 a.m. CT / Dallas, Texas
Opening Kick
• In a matchup of the Big 12's two most successful programs, Oklahoma (1-2, 0-2) meets No. 22/22 Texas (2-1, 1-1) for the 116th time on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Cotton Bowl Stadium. The AT&T Red River Showdown, played in Dallas for the 92nd straight year, will be televised by FOX with Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft announcing. OU is the designated home team.
• Oklahoma has won 13 Big 12 titles in the first 24 years of the league, with no other program during that span winning more than three. All 13 of OU's Big 12 titles have come in the last 20 years, with no other program winning more than two during the span. Texas ranks second with three Big 12 titles (last one in 2009; OU has won seven since then).
• This year's OU-Texas game marks the first since 2009 in which the Longhorns are ranked higher than the Sooners in the AP poll. This is the first year since 2005 that OU is unranked in the AP poll the week of the Red River Showdown.
• Texas is the only Big 12 program with a winning record against the Sooners. Oklahoma trails 62-48-5 in the series but owns a 27-20-3 advantage since 1971. In the Big 12 era, OU is 15-10 against the Longhorns and has won eight of the last 11 meetings and 14 of the last 21. The only other period Oklahoma won at least eight Red River matchups in an 11-or-fewer-game span was in the 1940s and '50s when Bud Wilkinson's Sooners won nine out of 10 meetings from 1948-57.
• Dating back to the start of the 2012 season, the Sooners are 40-8 (.833) in regular season games away from home. OU has scored at least 30 points in 41 of those 48 contests.
• OU has scored at least 28 points in a school-record 55 consecutive games. The next longest streak nationally since at least 1980 is 31 by UCF (2017-19). The next longest active streak is 17 games by Ohio State.
• Since 2000, Oklahoma has lost its game immediately prior to the Red River contest just three times, but beat the Longhorns on all three occasions (28-21 in 2007, 31-26 in 2014 and 29-24 in 2017).
• This marks the first time since Sept. 25, 2016, that OU is not ranked in the AP Top 25. The Sooners had appeared in 64 straight AP polls prior to this week, which was the third longest streak nationally (Alabama has a streak of 201 consecutive appearances and Clemson has a streak of 90) and the sixth longest in program history.
Key Storylines
• Lincoln Riley is looking to become just the second head coach in Oklahoma history to win at least four of his first five games against Texas. Bob Stoops went 4-1 in his first five games vs. the Longhorns (1999-03).
• Redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler is slated to become Oklahoma's sixth freshman quarterback to start vs. Texas. The previous five QBs (also redshirt freshmen) went 2-2-1 as in their first Red River contests. The others were Tink Collins in 1989 (OU lost 28-24), Eric Moore in 1995 (tied 24-24), Justin Fuente in 1996 (OU won 30-27 in overtime), Rhett Bomar in 2005 (OU lost 45-12) and Sam Bradford in 2007 (OU won 28-21).
• Saturday's game will feature the two most statistically productive quarterbacks in the Big 12. Rattler leads the league in passing offense (325.7 ypg; ranks ninth nationally) and passing efficiency rating (187.3; seventh nationally) while ranking second in total offense (331.0 ypg; 10th nationally). He also ranks sixth nationally with his 73.4 completion percentage (the OU single-season record is 70.9 by Baker Mayfield in 2016). Texas senior Sam Ehlinger leads the Big 12 in total offense (351.3 ypg; ranks sixth nationally) while ranking second in passing offense (308.0 ypg; 11th nationally) and passing efficiency rating (173.2; eighth nationally). Ehlingher leads the nation with 14 touchdown passes while Rattler is tied for second with 10. Rattler did not play the second half of the season opener against Missouri State, while Ehlinger only played one series after halftime in UT's opener against UTEP.
• The last time Oklahoma started a season 1-2 was 2016. That team was victorious in its final nine games to finish 10-2, won Big 12 and Sugar Bowl titles and earned a final No. 5 AP ranking. It was Stoops' final year at the Sooners' helm.
• This year's Oklahoma squad is looking to become the fifth in program history to win a conference title with two league losses. The four occasions it happened were in 1976 (5-2 in Big Eight; shared with Colorado and Oklahoma State) and 2002, 2007 and 2010 (6-2 in Big 12; won Big 12 Championship games). No OU team has ever won a conference title after a 0-2 league start and no Sooners squad has ever won a conference championship with three league losses.
Last Year vs. Texas
• CeeDee Lamb made a career-high 10 catches for 171 yards and a career-high-tying three touchdowns and No. 6/5 Oklahoma tied a school record with nine sacks in a 34-27 victory over No. 11/11 Texas last year in the Cotton Bowl (Oct. 12). It marked OU's eighth win over the Longhorns in the last 11 meetings and 14th in the last 21.
• The Sooners' defense also recorded 15 tackles for loss, their second most ever against Texas. Eight OU players registered a sack, 14 recorded at least half a tackle for loss and 23 players were credited with at least one tackle.
• OU outgained Texas 511-310 in total yards (7.7 yards per play to 4.2).
• Jalen Hurts (Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week) carried the ball 17 times for 131 yards (the most rushing yards by an OU quarterback vs. Texas and a Cotton Bowl Stadium collegiate record by a QB) and a 3-yard fourth-quarter touchdown. He was 16 for 28 through the air for 235 yards, three TDs and an interception.
• Lamb's touchdowns covered 1 yard (fourth-down play in first quarter), 51 yards (third quarter; beat five defenders) and 27 yards (fourth quarter; broke two tackles). He made 10 of OU's 16 receptions on the day and moved into sole possession of third place on OU's career receiving TDs list with 28. He was named Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.
• Kennedy Brooks joined Hurts by surpassing the 100-yard rushing mark with 105 yards on 10 carries.
• Safety Delarrin Turner-Yell recorded a career-high 10 tackles and a tackle for loss. Linebacker Kenneth Murray (Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week) had five solo tackles, a sack and two TFLs. Defensive lineman Neville Gallimore registered a team-high two sacks (four total tackles).
Year Two of "Speed D"
• Hired in January 2019, coordinator and safeties coach Alex Grinch, who was a 2019 Broyles Award semifinalist, oversaw major improvement on the defensive side of the ball last season.
• In Big 12 play, OU led the league in total defense (330.6 ypg) and passing defense (190.4 ypg), and ranked second in rushing defense (140.1 ypg), pass defense efficiency (125.7 rating) and third- and fourth-down conversion percentage (33.3 each).
• So far this season, Oklahoma ranks sixth nationally in opponent third-down conversion percentage (25.0), eighth in rushing defense (81.7 ypg; leads Big 12), 14th in total defense (314.0 ypg), 20th in opponent pass completion percentage (56.9) and 31st in passing defense (232.3 ypg).
Snake in the Grass
• Redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler, the consensus No. 1 quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class, threw for a state-record 11,083 yards (116 passing touchdowns) and ran for over 1,000 yards (14 TDs) in his career at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Ariz. The 2018 Elite 11 MVP was the No. 9 overall national recruit by 247Sports, No. 13 by Rivals and No. 29 by ESPN.
• Rattler appeared in three Oklahoma games last season, completing 7 of 11 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown without an interception. He also ran three times for 23 yards.
• Rattler is OU's fourth starting QB in four seasons. Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray won the Heisman Trophy in 2017 and 2018, respectively, while Jalen Hurts was the 2019 Heisman runner-up.
• So far this season, Rattler is tied for second nationally in touchdown passes (10) and ranks sixth in completion percentage (73.4) and yards per pass attempt (10.4), seventh in passing efficiency rating (187.3), eighth in passing offense (325.7 ypg) and ninth in total offense (331.0 ypg).
• In his starting debut in the season opener against Missouri State, Rattler completed 14 of 17 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns (no interceptions) in only one half of work. He followed with 30-for-41 effort for 387 yards and four more TDs (three interceptions) against Kansas State, and a 25-for-36 performance for 300 yards and two TDs (one interception) at Iowa State. In the first half of play, he has completed 83.0% of his passes (44 of 53) for 672 yards and eight TDs.
Young Running Backs Room
• Oklahoma, which has produced a Big 12-high six individual 1,000-yard-rushing seasons by running backs over the past five years (the next most in the league during that span is three) and has led the Big 12 in rushing offense in all three of Lincoln Riley's campaigns as head coach, is dividing its carries in 2020 among a largely inexperienced group.
• OU returned just 20.4% of its rushing yards and only 18.4% of its rushing touchdowns from last season.
• Senior Rhamondre Stevenson is OU's leading returning rusher, but has yet to play this season. He ran 64 times for 515 yards and six TDs in his debut season last year, and his 8.0 yards per rush led the nation among players with at least 50 carries.
• Junior T.J. Pledger carried 10 times for 65 yards and a score last season while redshirt freshman Marcus Major ran 10 times for 28 yards in his three contests. Pledger missed this year's opener against Missouri State before starting against Kansas State and Iowa State (88 yards on 24 carries combined). Major ran 11 times for 31 yards against Missouri State but has not had a carry since.
• Freshman Seth McGowan is a consensus four-star recruit who was rated as the nation's No. 13 running back by Rivals and No. 16 by 247Sports and ESPN after rushing for more than 3,700 yards and 45 touchdowns at Mesquite Poteet High School in Texas. He's led OU in rushing in all three games this season (61 vs. Missouri State, 73 vs. Kansas State and 47 at Iowa State [tied with Pledger]) and has a team-high three rushing TDs.
Foot Note
• During Lincoln Riley's three-plus-year head coaching career, Oklahoma ranks second nationally with its 86.6% success rate on field goal attempts (58 for 67). The Sooners trail only Florida, which has converted 91.8% of its tries (56 for 61) since the start of the 2017 season. TCU is the next best Big 12 school in the category during the span (81.4%; 57 of 70).
• During the same period, the Sooners rank third nationally in PAT conversion percentage among teams with at least 150 attempts, converting 258 of 259 tries (99.6%). Only Georgia (181 for 181) and Utah State (170 for 170) have higher success rates.
"Air Raid" a Misnomer
• Fans and media have often referred to Oklahoma's offense under Lincoln Riley as the "Air Raid." The label is not exactly accurate, however, as the Sooners have rushed more than they've thrown in each of the five years since Riley arrived in Norman, and that's counting plays in which the quarterback was sacked as pass plays (officially they are recorded as rushes). OU's rushing play percentage was 52.6 in 2015, 57.7 in 2016, 53.1 in 2017, 54.7 in 2018 and 57.3 last season. This season has been different so far, with the Sooners running only 43.5 percent of the time.
Offense Has Rolled Under Riley
• Oklahoma owns the nation's most productive offense since the start of the 2015 season, which was Lincoln Riley's first year as OU's offensive coordinator. Riley still calls plays as head coach.
• Since the start of the 2015 campaign, OU ranks first nationally in scoring (44.4 ppg; next most is 41.3), total offense (553.1; next most is 516.2), yards per play (7.8; next most is 6.9), touchdowns from scrimmage (396), pass efficiency rating (188.8; next best is 169.3) and yards per pass attempt (10.7), second in completion percentage (69.4), third in passing offense (324.8) and 10th in rushing offense (228.3).
• In 71 games since the start of the 2015 season, OU has registered at least 500 yards of total offense 51 times (next most is 41), including in 41 of the last 54 outings, topped the 600-yard mark on 25 occasions and gone over 700 yards seven times. Similarly, OU has scored at least 30 points in 63 of 71 games since Riley's arrival, at least 40 points 45 times, at least 50 points 25 times and at least 60 points eight times.
Oklahoma's Big 12 Five-Peat
• Oklahoma's 2019 Big 12 title marked the program's fifth straight league crown. The last time OU won at least five consecutive conference championships was 1972-80 under head coaches Chuck Fairbanks (1972) and Barry Switzer.
• OU is the only program to win at least three straight Big 12 titles, and it has done so twice (also from 2006-08). Baylor (2013-14) is the only other program to win two Big 12 championships in a row.
• OU's and Clemson's current streaks of five straight outright league championships are the longest among Power Five programs since Alabama won five in a row from 1971 to '75. The last current Power Five program to win six straight outright conference titles is Oklahoma (12 in a row from 1948 to '59).
Big 12'S Bell Cow
• Since the first year of the Big 12 in 1996, OU has claimed 13 league titles and is followed by Texas (three), Baylor, Kansas State and Nebraska (two each), and Colorado, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas A&M (one each). All 13 of the Sooners' titles have come since the start of the 2000 campaign, with no other program during that span winning more than two. OU is 140-31 (.819) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2000 season. That's 24 more wins than the program with the next most victories during that period (Texas; 116-55) and 44 more than the program with the third most (Oklahoma State; 96-75).
College Football's Best
• During the modern era of college football (since the end of World War II), the Sooners are the nation's No. 1 team with more wins (665) than any other program (next most is 621 by Ohio State).
• Oklahoma is the highest-scoring program in college football history with 36,496 points (in 1,291 games).
• OU leads all FBS programs with 49 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (42), Ohio State (38) and USC (37). The Sooners' 13 league titles since 2000 are the most among Power Five programs (Ohio State ranks second with 10).
• No program has more all-time 10-win seasons than Oklahoma, which has 40 (including a nation-leading 17 since 2000). In addition, OU's 26 seasons with at least 11 wins are the most in college football history.
• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads all Power Five conference programs in wins (227) and points scored (10,893).
• Only Alabama (122) and Ohio State (105) have been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll more weeks than Oklahoma (101).
• The Sooners have made 421 all-time appearances in the AP poll's top five, more than any other program (Alabama is next with 416 and Ohio State third with 388). That means OU has been in the top five in 36 percent of all AP polls (1,173 total polls), which started in 1936. OU has made 26 AP top-5 appearances since the start of 2017.
• Only Ohio State (642) has more all-time top-10 AP poll appearances than OU (607).
• Only Alabama (10) and Notre Dame (8) have earned more all-time AP national championships than Oklahoma (7).
Extra Points
• Oklahoma has won five of its last six meetings vs. Texas as the designated home team (that includes the 2018 Big 12 Championship game).
• First-year OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray played in four Red River Showdowns (2007-10), accounting for 670 all-purpose yards (254 rushing yards [three touchdowns], 203 receiving yards and 220 kickoff return yards. He was particularly effective in OU's two wins, rushing 17 times for 128 yards and a TD as a freshman in a 28-21 victory and rushing 25 times for 115 yards and two scores as a senior in a 28-20 triumph.
• Oklahoma has absolutely dominated the first quarter this season, outscoring Missouri State (31-0), Kansas State (7-0) and Iowa State (10-3) by a combined 48-3 margin. The Sooners have limited the three opponents to 125 total yards on 40 plays (3.1 average) in the opening 15 minutes. OU holds a 79-20 first-half scoring advantage and has given up just 348 yards on 75 plays (4.6 average) in the opening half of play.
• Sooners freshman Marvin Mims has a team-high-tying three touchdown catches and registered those over the first two contests. He became the program's first player since redshirt freshman receiver Ryan Broyles in 2008 to register three TD receptions in his first two career games (Broyles is OU's career records holder for receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs). Mims, who attended Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas, is the state's high school record holder for receiving yards in a career (5,485) and in a season (2,629 on 117 receptions and 32 touchdowns last year). He has 11 catches for 144 yards this season.
• Every Oklahoma freshman class since 1999 has won at least two Big 12 championships. Baylor's 2011, 2012 and 2013 freshman classes are the only other ones that have won two Big 12 titles (BU won league crowns in 2013 and '14).
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