Game Primer OU vs. Texas

Saturday, October 9

Dallas

11:00 AM

University of Oklahoma

Texas

Photo by: Ty Russell

October 08, 2021 | Football

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^6/5 Oklahoma

^21/23 Texas

Saturday, Oct. 9 / 11 a.m. CT / Cotton Bowl

ABC / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• In a matchup of the Big 12's two most successful programs, No. 6/5 Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0) meets No. 21/23 Texas (4-1, 2-0) for the 117th time on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. The AT&T Red River Showdown, played in Dallas for the 93rd straight year, will be televised by ABC with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe announcing. OU is the designated visiting team.

• This is the third season in the last four both OU and Texas enter their October matchup ranked in the AP poll (prior to 2018 it had not been done since 2012). Including this season, the Sooners have been ranked in the AP poll at the time of the October meeting 15 of the last 16 years and in 20 of the last 22 seasons (OU was also ranked in the 2018 Big 12 Championship vs. Texas). UT was unranked when playing the Sooners from 2013 to 2017.

• This marks the 12th time in the last 13 matchups that OU is ranked higher in the AP poll than Texas (UT was 22nd last year while OU was not ranked).

• The Sooners are 15-7 against Texas since the start of the 2000 season and have outscored the Longhorns by 182 points in those 22 matchups.

• Dating back to the start of the 2012 season, Oklahoma is 44-8 (.846) in regular season games away from home. OU has scored at least 30 points in 45 of those 52 contests.

• OU has won 13 games in a row, which represents the 10th winning streak of at least 13 games in program history and the Sooners' longest since winning 14 straight over the 2016 and '17 seasons (last 10 games of 2016 and first four of '17). The 13-game streak is also the second-longest in the country, with only Alabama (19) owning a longer active streak. Just one other Power Five program (Iowa at 11) has a winning streak longer than nine games. OU's last loss came more than a full year ago (Oct. 3, 2020, at Iowa State).

• Oklahoma has won 14 Big 12 titles in the first 25 years of the league, with no other program winning more than three. All 14 of OU's Big 12 titles have come in the last 21 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 eight since then).

• The Sooners have as many Big 12 titles the last six seasons (six) as they have lost games against Big 12 opponents (54-6 record; includes four Big 12 Championship games).

• Come Saturday, Oklahoma will have been Big 12 champion for 2,143 consecutive days.

• OU is 148-31 (.827) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2000 season. That's 26 more wins than the program with the next most victories during that period (Texas; 122-57) and 46 more than the program with the third most (Oklahoma State; 102-78).

• Lincoln Riley picked up his 50th head coaching win Saturday at Kansas State against just eight losses. Only Barry Switzer (56) reached 50 victories at OU faster than 58 games (Bud Wilkinson also did it in 58 games while Bob Stoops did it in 59). Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian also notched his 50th win as a head coach Saturday at TCU. He owns a 50-36 career mark.

• Riley is 12-1 as OU head coach in games against AP-ranked Big 12 opponents. The only defeat came in 2018 when the No. 7 Sooners fell 48-45 to No. 19 Texas inside the Cotton Bowl.

KEY STORYLINES

• Texas is the only Big 12 program with a winning record against the Sooners. Oklahoma trails 62-49-5 in the series but owns a 28-20-3 advantage since 1971. In the Big 12 era, OU is 16-10 against the Longhorns and has won nine of the last 12 meetings and 15 of the last 22. The only other period Oklahoma won at least nine Red River matchups in a 12-or-fewer-game span was in the 1940s and '50s when Bud Wilkinson's Sooners won nine out of 11 meetings from 1948-58.

• Oklahoma has lost only six games against Big 12 opponents since the start of the 2015 season and two of the defeats have come to Texas (OU is 5-2 during the stretch against UT). The Longhorns downed No. 10 OU 28-20 in 2015 and kicked a late field goal for a 48-45 win over the No. 7 Sooners in 2018. OU's other Big 12 losses the past seven seasons came to Iowa State in 2017 and 2020 and to Kansas State in 2019 and 2020. None of the six defeats were by more than seven points.

• During their three-game winning streak over Texas, the Sooners have permitted only 329 rushing yards on 102 attempts for an average of 3.2 per carry. UT averaged 2.8 yards per rush in the 2018 Big 12 Championship and in the 2019 meeting, and 4.1 last year (1.7 through three quarters).

• Over the last two Red River Showdowns, OU has registered 15 sacks (for a loss of 87 yards) and 25 tackles for loss (104 yards). It limited Texas to 4.2 yards per play in 2019 and 4.9 in 2020. Sooners outside linebacker Nik Bonitto has 3.0 sacks and 3.5 TFLs over the last two matchups.

• Saturday's game will feature an Oklahoma run defense that has held all five opponents this season to 100 or fewer ground yards (79.4 average). Over OU's last 18 games, only one running back has rushed for 100 yards in a game against the Sooners (Iowa State's Breece Hall had 139 yards in the third game of last season). Meanwhile, Texas running back Bijan Robinson ranks second nationally with his 130.4 rushing yards per contest and ranks second in the Big 12 with seven rushing touchdowns. OU ranked 19th nationally last year by allowing 3.5 yards per rush and this year is permitting just 2.7 per carry to rank 12th in the country.

• The Sooners have committed only four turnovers through five games and rank 13th nationally with their +5 turnover margin on the season. Oklahoma has yet to lose a fumble (has only fumbled twice) this season while its opponents have fumbled 14 times and lost six. OU has also registered three interceptions.

• Oklahoma's defense has spent a lot of time in the opponent backfield this season. OU ranks 20th nationally with its 3.0 sacks per game and is 11th in the country with 8.0 tackles for loss per contest. Defensive linemen Perrion Winfrey and Isaiah Thomas are tied for fourth in the Big 12 with their 3.5 sacks while outside linebacker Nik Bonitto ranks 10th with 2.5. The Longhorns are permitting 1.8 sacks per outing.

Nik Bonitto

LAST YEAR VS. TEXAS

• Oklahoma held a 31-17 lead and limited Texas to 238 offensive yards through the game's first 55 1/2 minutes but needed four overtimes to win the highest-scoring Red River Showdown matchup in history, 53-45, on Oct. 10, 2020, in Dallas. Quarterback Spencer Rattler connected with receiver Drake Stoops on a 25-yard touchdown pass in the fourth overtime and then cornerback Tre Brown registered a game-ending interception in the end zone.

• The game was just the third involving at least one Big 12 team that went to four overtimes, and the first since 2011. It was the longest contest in OU history in terms of overtimes and duration (4:43).

• Former OU running back T.J. Pledger registered career highs of 22 rushes, 131 rushing yards and two rushing TDs to earn Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. He also caught two passes for 24 yards. Redshirt freshman Marcus Major ran 12 times for 43 yards and recorded his first career touchdown, a 7-yard rush in the second quarter.

• OU had four rushes of at least 20 yards in the game. Entering the day, the Sooners had only two rushes of at least 20 yards on the season.

• Rattler became just the third OU freshman quarterback starter to beat Texas, joining Justin Fuente in 1996 and Sam Bradford in 2007. He completed 23 of 35 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns (one interception) while rushing 14 times for 51 yards and a 1-yard score.

• Marvin Mims (30-yarder in first quarter) and Austin Stogner (11-yarder in first overtime) registered OU's other TD catches. Theo Wease, who entered the game with seven receptions on the season and 15 for his career, caught a team-high eight passes for 56 yards. He also reeled in a two-point conversion pass in the last overtime for the game's final points.

• Texas entered the game allowing 0.7 sacks and 3.7 tackles for loss per game, but OU registered six and 10 on the day. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto paced the team with 2.0 sacks.

• The Sooners recorded three takeaways on the day, their most since the second game of the 2019 season vs. South Dakota. Sophomore defensive back Woodi Washington logged his first career interception with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter and redshirt junior defensive end Isaiah Thomas recovered a fumble on Texas' second play of the game.

• For the first time since Bob Stoops' debut game as OU head coach vs. Indiana State in 1999, the Sooners blocked a punt (David Ugwoegbu in second quarter) and a field goal (Perrion Winfrey in third overtime) in the same game.

DEFENSE PLAYS BIG HAND IN 13-GAME WINNING STREAK

• Oklahoma's defense has figured prominently in the program's 13-game winning streak that started on Oct. 10, 2020, against Texas. Here are some notes pertaining to the stretch:

• OU has held 12 of its last 13 opponents below a 50% third-down conversion rate (Kansas State converted 53% of its tries Saturday; the next highest during the 13-game stretch was 43% by Nebraska three games ago while the third highest was 36% by Texas Tech last year). Eight of the Sooners' last 10 opponents have failed to convert more than 31% of third downs. OU ranks sixth nationally during the time period with its 30.9 opponent third-down conversion rate. In fact, OU ranks third nationally in the category since the start of the 2019 season (defensive coordinator Alex Grinch's first year in Norman) with its 31.0% figure.

• The Sooners have totaled 46 sacks over their last 13 games to tie for first nationally since Oct. 10, 2020 (a total of 291 lost yards). In the same time frame, OU has registered 101 tackles for loss for an average of 7.8 per game and a total of 427 lost yards.

• Oklahoma has registered at least one takeaway in 11 straight games and in 12 of the last 13. It has multiple takeaways in eight of the last 13. OU is plus-14 in turnover margin (26 takeaways to 12 turnovers) during the 13-game winning streak and is plus-9 over its last eight contests.

• OU has 18 interceptions over its last 13 games to rank sixth nationally since Oct. 10, 2020.

2021 OFFENSIVE NOTES

• The Sooners are one of nine teams nationally that have yet to lose a fumble this season. OU ranks 15th with its 38.4 points per contest.

• Among teams with at least 20 red zone trips this season, Oklahoma ranks second nationally with its 96.4% score rate (27 scores on 28 trips). Twenty-one of its 27 red zone scores (77.8%) have been touchdowns.

• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Spencer Rattler enters Saturday's game ranked first in the Big 12 in total offense (271.0 ypg), passing offense (252.0 ypg), completions (122; next most is 98), completion percentage (76.2; ranks second nationally) and passing touchdowns (10). He tied an OU record for TD passes in a half with five vs. Western Carolina (did not play in the second half) and has thrown at least one TD pass in all 16 of his career starts (14-2 record).

• Rattler has completed 37 of his last 41 pass attempts (90%; 22 of 25 Saturday at Kansas State and 15 of his last 16 against West Virginia).

• Receivers Michael Woods II and Mario Williams lead the squad and rank seventh in the Big 12 with 20 catches while another receiver, Jadon Haselwood, has 18 receptions (all three have two TD catches). Receiver Marvin Mims has 14 grabs for a team-high 264 yards (18.9 per catch).

• Haselwood, who missed all but three games last season due to injury, has made his first five career starts this year. He was the consensus No. 1 national receiver in the 2019 recruiting class, while Williams was ESPN's No. 1 receiver in the 2021 class.

• Mims, a preseason second-team All-American, set the OU freshman record for receiving touchdowns last year with nine, besting the former record of seven shared by Mark Andrews (2015) and CeeDee Lamb (2017). Mims has yet to catch a TD pass this season.

• Redshirt junior Kennedy Brooks and junior Eric Gray are OU's only scholarship running backs and have shared the bulk of the rushing workload this season. Gray, a transfer from Tennessee, has started all five games and has rushed 49 times for 245 yards (5.0 per carry; 49.0 yards per game) and has eight catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. Brooks has 54 carries for a team-high 318 yards (5.9 per carry; 63.6 yards per game) and four touchdowns. Walk-ons Jaden Knowles and Todd Hudson earned carries against Western Carolina and each scored two TDs.

Eric Gray

OU FOOT NOTES

• During Lincoln Riley's four-plus-year head coaching career, Oklahoma ranks first in the Big 12 and fifth nationally with its 84.5% success rate on field goal attempts (87 for 103). Kansas State is the next best Big 12 school in the category during the span, ranking 16th at 80.2%.

• During the same period, the Sooners rank third nationally in PAT conversion percentage among teams with at least 150 attempts, converting 323 of 324 tries (99.7%). Only Georgia (239 for 239) and Virginia Tech (185 of 185) have a higher success rate.

• Redshirt junior kicker Gabe Brkic, who was a 2020 first-team All-Big 12 selection (coaches and AP) and a Lou Groza Award semifinalist, is 48 for 56 (.857) on career field goal attempts and has made all 120 of his PAT tries. The OU career record for field goal percentage is .833 (75 for 90) by Michael Hunnicutt (2011-14). Brkic ranked third nationally last season by averaging 2.0 field goal makes per game and this year is averaging 2.2.

• Brkic is 11 for 13 on field goal attempts this season and is 4 for 5 on tries from over 50 yards. The longest field goal made this season nationally is 56 yards and Brkic has two of the four makes from that distance. He is one off the national lead with his eight makes from 50-plus yards since the start of the 2020 season (LSU's Cade York has nine) while no other player has made more than five 50-yarders. Brkic's nine career makes from 50 or farther are the most in OU history (next highest total is four). He also sits atop the Sooners' career chart with 17 makes from at least 40 yards.

• Redshirt senior punter Michael Turk transferred to OU from Arizona State in August and earned the starting job. The 2019 and '20 first-team All-Pac-12 selection averaged 46.2 yards per punt over the last two seasons and totaled 28 boots that went at least 50 yards. He has only punted eight times this year and is averaging 46.5 yards per punt (has four punts over 50 yards).

OU'S BIG 12 DOMINATION

• Oklahoma's win over Iowa State in the 2020 Big 12 Championship resulted in the Sooners' sixth straight Big 12 title and 14th since 2000 (no other program has won more than two during the span). For perspective, the two Power Five programs with the next most conference titles this millennium are Ohio State (11 in Big Ten) and Oregon (eight in Pac-10/Pac-12).

• The Sooners' 14 Big 12 titles are 11 more than the program with the next most. Texas has won three Big 12 championships and is followed by Baylor, Kansas State and Nebraska (two each), and Colorado, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas A&M (one each). Colorado and Nebraska left the Big 12 after the 2010 season and Texas A&M departed after the 2011 campaign.

• Since 2010, OU has won eight Big 12 titles and is followed by Baylor (two) and Kansas State, Oklahoma State and TCU (one each).

• Oklahoma is the only program to win at least three straight Big 12 titles, and it has done so twice (2006-08 and 2015-20). Baylor (2013-14) is the only other program to win two Big 12 championships in a row.

• At 11-1, the Sooners are the only program with a winning record in Big 12 Championship games. Texas has the next best mark at 3-3.

• Since Lincoln Riley came to Norman as offensive coordinator in 2015, OU has posted a 49-6 (.891) record in regular season Big 12 play. The next best mark during the period is 36-20 (.643) by Oklahoma State.

• Every OU freshman class from 1999-2019 has won at least one Big 12 championship and all but the 2011 freshman class have won at least two. The 2015, 2016 and 2017 freshman classes each won four Big 12 titles.

YEAR THREE OF "SPEED D"

• Hired in January 2019, coordinator and safeties coach Alex Grinch, who was a 2019 Broyles Award semifinalist, has overseen major improvement on the defensive side of the ball in his three seasons in Norman.

• OU ranked third nationally last season in interceptions (16), fourth in opponent third-down conversion percentage (27.9), sixth in sacks per game (3.6), ninth in rushing defense (105.1 ypg) and passing defense efficiency rating (112.9), 16th in tackles for loss per game (7.5) and 29th in total defense (350.6 ypg) and scoring defense (21.7 ppg).

• Grinch's unit was particularly stingy down the stretch in 2020. After Nov. 1 (five games), OU led the nation in interceptions per game (2.2) and ranked second in sacks per game (4.0) and passing defense efficiency rating (94.5), fourth in opponent third-down conversion percentage (25.0), sixth in scoring defense (15.4 ppg), eighth in passing yards per attempt (5.4), ninth in opponent passing completion percentage (51.4), 14th in rushing yards per game (112.2) and 18th in rushing yards per carry (3.4).

• Oklahoma's 1.45 interceptions per game last season were its second most in the last 17 years (1.53 in 2015). The team's 16 interceptions were its most in a season since registering 20 in 2015 (13 games) and were three more than it registered over the 2018 (six) and 2019 (seven) seasons combined. And from the second quarter of the Dec. 5 game vs. Baylor through the first quarter of the Dec. 30 Cotton Bowl vs. Florida, the Sooners registered eight interceptions over an eight-quarter stretch (two vs. Baylor, three vs. Iowa State and three vs. Florida).

• OU has allowed opponents to score on their opening drive of a game just seven times in its 30 contests under Grinch. Eighteen of the 30 opponent opening drives have lasted five plays or less.

• In its 30 games under Grinch, Oklahoma has allowed only three opponent wide receivers to register at least 100 receiving yards in a game (Kansas' Stephon Robinson and LSU's Justin Jefferson in 2019; Iowa State's Xavier Hutchinson in last season's Big 12 Championship).

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 in his fifth year as head coach.

• Since the start of the 2015 campaign, OU ranks first nationally in scoring (44.1 ppg; next most is 42.0), total offense (539.8; next most is 500.6), yards per play (7.6), TDs from scrimmage (461), pass efficiency rating (184.3; next best is 174.3) and completion percentage (69.4). It ranks third in passing offense (318.4) and ninth in rushing offense (221.3). No other program during the span ranks in the top 15 in passing and rushing offense.

• In 84 games since the start of the 2015 season, OU has registered at least 500 yards of total offense 55 times (next most is 46), including in 45 of the last 67 outings, topped the 600-yard mark on 27 occasions and gone over 700 yards seven times. Similarly, OU has scored at least 30 points in 72 of 84 games since Riley's arrival, at least 40 points 52 times, at least 50 points 30 times and at least 60 points 11 times.

"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 six 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, 57.3 in 2019 and 50.6 last year.

• Since Riley joined the OU program as offensive coordinator before the 2015 season, the Sooners rank first nationally in passing efficiency rating (184.3; next best is 174.3), second in yards per pass attempt (10.4) and third in passing yards per game (318.4). But during the same span, OU also paces the nation with eight individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons (Samaje Perine in 2015, Perine and Joe Mixon in 2016, Rodney Anderson in 2017, Kennedy Brooks and Kyler Murray in 2018 and Brooks and Jalen Hurts in 2019).

• OU also leads the country with 12 individual running back seasons of 6.0 or more yards per carry (min. 50 carries per season) during Riley's time in Norman.

RILEY'S FAST START

• The FBS's youngest head coach (33) at the time of his hiring, Lincoln Riley became just the fifth mentor in FBS history with no previous head-coaching experience at a four-year college to win at least 12 games in his debut season. At 24-4, 36-6 and 45-8, he also holds the OU record for most wins by a head coach in his first two, three and four seasons (Barry Switzer held the records of 21 and 32, and Bob Stoops held the record of 43). He needs six more wins to set the outright record for most victories in the first five years of an OU coaching career (Stoops holds that standard with 55 [1999-03]).

• Riley is the only person to ever win an outright FBS conference title in each of his first four seasons as a collegiate head coach.

• No one in the previous 125 years won more games in their first three seasons as a college head coach than Riley did from 2017-19. Penn's George Woodruff (1892-94) was the last to win more than 36 games in his first three seasons.

Lincoln Riley

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 (678) than any other program (next most is 638 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma is the highest-scoring program in college football history with 37,048 points (in 1,304 games).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (42), Ohio State (39) and USC (37). The Sooners' 14 league titles since 2000 are the most among Power Five programs (Ohio State ranks second with 11).

• No program has more all-time 10-win seasons than Oklahoma, which is tied with Alabama with 40 (OU has a nation-leading 17 10-win campaigns 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 (240) and points scored (11,493).

EXTRA POINTS

• "ESPN College GameDay" will air from Dallas on Saturday, marking the 39th time the show will have been on hand for a game involving Oklahoma. Only Alabama (50 times), Ohio State (50) and Florida (41) have been featured more often than OU, and the Sooners are 25-13 in such games. This marks College GameDay's seventh appearance at a Red River Showdown contest (OU is 3-3) and first since 2018.

• Oklahoma has 47 players on its team who hail from the state of Texas (most of any state).

• OU is 41-4 all-time as the No. 6-ranked team in the AP poll and 3-1 vs. Texas as the No. 6 squad. It is 22-7-2 against the Longhorns when ranked in the AP's top 6 at the time of competition.

• The Sooners are tied for second nationally this season with their nine forced fumbles and are tied for sixth with their six fumble recoveries. They had three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries all of last season.

• Redshirt senior linebacker Bryan Mead played in his 56th career game two weeks ago against West Virginia to break the previous school record of 55 games that was held by former quarterback and holder Connor McGinnis. Mead has now played in 57 contests.

• Redshirt senior defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas has recorded at least half a tackle for loss in 15 of the last 16 games (14-game streak was snapped vs. West Virginia two games ago). Since the start of the 2020 season, Thomas has OU highs of 16.5 tackles for loss and 12.0 sacks. He has 4.5 TFLs this season (3.5 sacks) and is tied for seventh nationally with his two forced fumbles.

• The Sooners have outscored their opponents by a combined 61-6 margin in the second quarter this season.

• Second-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.