Game Primer: OU vs. Texas

Saturday, October 12

Dallas, Texas

2:30 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Texas

Tickets

Photo by: Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

October 10, 2024 | Football

Game Day Central Watch Listen State Fair Know Before You Go

#18/16 Oklahoma

#1/1 Texas

Saturday, Oct. 12 / 2:30 p.m. CT / Cotton Bowl

ABC / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes / Know Before You Go

OPENING KICK

• In a matchup of the SEC's new members, No. 18/16 Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1) takes on No. 1/1 Texas (5-0, 1-0) for the 96th straight year in Dallas when the teams meet Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT in the Allstate Red River Rivalry. The game will be played at the Cotton Bowl and televised by ABC with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge announcing. OU is the designated home team.

• Saturday's game will mark the 120th meeting between Oklahoma and Texas, with the first matchup occurring Oct. 10, 1900, in Austin. Since 1929, the Sooners and Longhorns have played annually at Fair Park in Dallas. The game has been played inside the Cotton Bowl every year since 1937.

• Oklahoma has won five of its last six meetings against Texas, 11 of the last 15 and 17 of the last 25.

• Since 2000, the Sooners are 4-3 in the series when Texas is ranked in the AP top 5.

• OU has posted an 11-8 (.579) regular season record against AP top-5 teams since the start of the 2000 season, good for the best winning percentage nationally. Stanford (9-7; .563) ranks second, followed by Alabama (14-12; .538), Ohio State (7-8; .467) and LSU (13-19; .406).

• Oklahoma and Texas rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in all-time winning percentage. OU is 948-342-53 (.726) while UT is 953-392-33 (.704). The Sooners have played 1,343 games and the Longhorns have played 1,378. UT has played two more seasons than OU.

• Oklahoma has won its last four games against Texas when both teams are ranked in the AP poll, seven of its last eight and 13 of its last 17. The Sooners are 24-16 in the series under the circumstance.

• OU won 14 Big 12 Conference championships in the league's first 28 years, including six in the last nine years. Texas ranked second with four titles (one in the last 14 seasons).

• This marks the first season since Oklahoma and Texas started playing each other annually in 1929 that both teams had a bye immediately before the October matchup. The Sooners are 3-9-1 in the series when they've had a bye the week before playing the Longhorns (wins came in 1954, 1966 and 1972). This is only the second time since the 1984 season OU had a bye the week before meeting UT (also in 2006).

• The designated visiting team has won the last three Red River Rivalry matchups and six of the last seven. Before that stretch, the home team won five straight matchups (2012-16) and seven of eight.

• The 2024 season marks the 130th in OU football history. The Sooners lead the nation with their 50 all-time conference championships, 27 11-plus-win seasons (tied), 33 AP top-five finishes and five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (tied). They rank second with their seven Heisman Trophy winners (tied), third with seven AP national championships, their 101 weeks as the AP's No. 1 team and 431 total weeks in the AP Top 5, and fourth with their 57 bowl appearances, 31 bowl wins (tied) and 417 NFL Draft picks.

• Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 704 wins (31 more than Alabama, the program with the next most). Texas ranks fifth with 634 wins during the same span.

AUBURN, AL - September 28, 2024 - Oklahoma Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (#9) and Oklahoma Running back Jovantae Barnes (#2) during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, AL. Photo By Morgan Givens

KEY STORYLINES

• OU head coach Brent Venables has faced Texas 15 times as a member of the Sooners' coaching staff and is 9-6. He went 8-5 against UT as an OU assistant coach (he was co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 1999-2003 and associate head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2004-11) and is 1-1 as head coach. The Sooners won five straight from 2000-04, outscoring UT 189-64 (average of 38-13). In a 55-17 win in 2011, OU scored three defensive touchdowns (on two fumble returns and an interception).

• Michael Hawkins Jr. is slated to become Oklahoma's seventh freshman quarterback to start vs. Texas, but the first true freshman. The previous six QBs (all redshirt freshmen) went a combined 3-2-1 in their first Red River contests. They 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), Sam Bradford in 2007 (OU won 28-21) and Spencer Rattler in 2020 (OU won 53-45 in four overtimes).

• Oklahoma owns a 7-16-2 all-time record against teams ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. OU's wins over AP No. 1s occurred in the 1953 season (7-0 vs. Maryland in Orange Bowl), 1963 (17-12 at USC), 1984 (17-7 at Nebraska), 1985 (25-10 vs. Penn State in Orange Bowl to win national title), 1987 (17-7 at Nebraska), 2000 (31-14 vs. Nebraska) and 2007 (38-17 vs. Missouri in Big 12 Championship Game). The Sooners, who have lost their last four games against the AP's No. 1 team, are 0-3-1 against Texas when the Longhorns are ranked No. 1 (lost 20-13 in 1946, 28-7 in 1964 and 19-0 in 1965, and tied 15-15 in 1984).

• Saturday's game will pit an Oklahoma team that ranks fourth nationally in turnovers gained (13) and third in turnover margin (+1.6 per game) against a Texas squad that is tied for 67th with its seven turnovers lost and ranks 46th in turnover margin (+0.4 per game). Last year in the Red River Rivalry contest, UT had three turnovers on offense and OU none.

• OU has registered five interceptions and a nation-leading eight fumble recoveries, two more than it had all of last season (no other team has more than six recoveries this year). Texas has thrown four interceptions and lost three fumbles.

• Since the start of the 2023 season, OU is 12-0 when it wins the turnover battle (4-0 this year) and 2-3 when it loses it (0-1 this year).

• During the Venables era (since the start of the 2022 season), Oklahoma's defense leads the nation with its 42 interceptions. The Sooners have registered at least one interception in 10 of their last 11 games and in 26 of their last 31.

• OU has featured a different starting offensive line in all five games this season and nine players have started at least one contest. Febechi Nwaiwu (right guard all five games), Jacob Sexton (two games at left tackle and three at left guard) and Michael Tarquin (two games at left tackle and three at right tackle) have started all five games. Other starters have been Branson Hickman (three games at center), Joshua Bates (two games at center), Logan Howland (two games at left tackle), Geirean Hatchett (one game at left guard; out for the year), Heath Ozaeta (one game at left guard) and Jake Taylor (two games at right tackle).

LAST YEAR VS. THE LONGHORNS

• Quarterback Dillon Gabriel accounted for 398 total yards and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nic Anderson with 15 seconds remaining to give No. 12 Oklahoma a 34-30 over No. 3 Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Oct. 7, 2023. It was OU's fifth win in its last six meetings with UT and 11th in the last 15 matchups.

• The Sooners, who led for the majority of the day, fell behind 30-27 with 1:17 remaining. OU's ensuing 75-yard touchdown drive consumed 1:02 of game clock.

• OU gained 486 yards (285 passing, 201 rushing) and scored 34 points against a Texas team that entered the day giving up 290.8 yards and 12.8 points per game.

• The Sooners' defense registered three takeaways (interceptions by Gentry Williams and Kendel Dolby on UT's first two possessions and a fumble recovery by Williams [forced by freshman defensive back Peyton Bowen]) while the offense finished with no turnovers.

• Gabriel completed 23 of 38 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a career-high 113 yards and a TD on 14 carries (8.1 yards per rush). He became the first Sooner to ever throw for at least 250 yards and rush for at least 100 yards in a game vs. Texas. He was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, Maxwell Award Player of the Week, Walter Camp FBS Offensive Player of the Week and Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week.

• OU rushed for 201 yards, its second-highest total of the season, against a Texas team that was allowing 94.6 rushing yards per game. Junior running back Tawee Walker rushed for 46 yards and two TDs.

• Wide receiver Jalil Farooq was named the Paul Hornung Award National Player of the Week after catching five passes for a career-high 130 yards, rushing three times for 13 yards and returning two kickoffs for 37 yards (long of 31).

• Redshirt senior left tackle Walter Rouse was named the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week, largely for simultaneously blocking two Texas defenders on OU's game-winning pass play.

• Sophomore linebacker Jaren Kanak registered a career-high 13 tackles, one of them a sack for five yards. Junior safety Billy Bowman Jr. tied a career high with 11 tackles, including a stop inside the OU 1-yard line on a fourth-quarter pass play on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. He also broke up a pass that resulted in an interception at the OU 3-yard line in the first quarter.

• The Sooners finished with 10 tackles for loss (42 yards) while Texas had five (nine yards).

• OU registered a season-high five sacks and allowed just one. Junior defensive end Ethan Downs logged two of the Sooners' sacks for 16 yards.

MIKE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

• Michael Hawkins Jr. entered the Tennessee game late in the first half and has been Oklahoma's primary quarterback since. In the victory at Auburn, he became just the seventh OU quarterback to start at least one game as a true freshman (see full list in chart on page 2), and first Sooner true freshman QB to win on the road in his first career start.

• In OU's two SEC games, Hawkins Jr. is 21 for 33 through the air (64%) for 293 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He has also rushed 26 times for 91 yards and a TD. He completed 11 of 18 pass attempts for 132 yards and a touchdown against Tennessee, and rushed 12 times for 22 yards with no turnovers. At Auburn, he was 10 of 15 passing for 161 yards and rushed 14 times for 69 yards, including a 48-yard TD.

• Hawkins Jr. was rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN, On3 and Rivals and as the No. 3 dual-threat QB recruit in the country by Rivals and No. 7 by ESPN. His father, Michael, played cornerback for Oklahoma under Bob Stoops in 2002 before spending multiple years in the NFL.

SEC SOONERS

• Oklahoma and Texas officially joined the Southeastern Conference on July 1 after 28 years in the Big 12 Conference. OU won half of the Big 12's football championships (14 of 28) since the league began in 1996 (six of the last nine) and posted a 187-61 (.754) record against conference competition (includes an 11-1 record in Big 12 Championship games).

• OU is no stranger to many of its new SEC brethren as Oklahoma has a 162-113-13 (.585) record against the league's current member schools, including fellow new entrant Texas. Not including the Longhorns, OU owns a 111-50-8 (.680) all-time record against current SEC programs.

• OU has never faced two SEC programs: South Carolina and Mississippi State. The Sooners host the Gamecocks next week but do not face the Bulldogs. Entering this season, OU had never played a campus game against seven current SEC programs (Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and South Carolina).

• The SEC is the the Sooners' seventh football conference. They were also a member of the Southwest Conference (two championships), Missouri Valley (one championship), Big Six (five championships), Big Seven (12 championships), Big Eight (16 championships) and Big 12 (14 championships).

• Oklahoma's 14 Big 12 titles were 10 more than the program with the next most (Texas won four). From 2010 through 2023, OU won eight Big 12 titles and was followed by Baylor (three), Kansas State (two) and Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas (one each).

AUBURN, AL - September 28, 2024 - Oklahoma Football Head Coach Brent Venables during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, AL. Photo By Morgan Givens

OU-TEXAS CROSSOVERS

• Oklahoma reserve quarterback Casey Thompson, who is in his seventh year collegiately, began his career at Texas and was with the Longhorns from 2018-21. He started 10 games for UT in 2021, including the matchup against OU, which the Sooners won 55-48. Thompson completed 20 of 34 passes in that game for 388 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions (sacked four times). UT led 28-7 and 41-23.

• Third-year Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator (pass defense/cornerbacks and nickelbacks) Jay Valai was a Texas assistant coach (cornerbacks) during the 2020 season. The Sooners beat the Longhorns 53-45 that year in four overtimes.

• Texas running backs coach Tashard Choice spent his first two collegiate seasons (2003 and '04) at Oklahoma. After redshirting in 2003, the running back played in eight games in 2004 and rushed 22 times for 100 yards (4.5 yards per carry). Choice transferred to Georgia Tech, where he led the ACC in rushing in 2006 (1,473 yards; 12 TDs) and 2007 (1,379 yards; 10 TDs). He totaled six NFL seasons with four teams.

• Darrell Royal, Texas' all-time leader in coaching wins with his 167-45-5 record from 1957-76, starred as a player at Oklahoma in the late 1940s. From Hollis, Okla., Royal was a freshman in 1946 under head coach Jim Tatum and played his final three years under Bud Wilkinson, earning first-team All-America honors as a senior in 1949 as a quarterback. He also played defensive back (his 18 career interceptions set a program record that still stands) and was a punter in 1948. His 96-yard punt return against Kansas State in 1948 remains the longest in OU history. Royal led the Longhorns to a winning record in all 20 of his seasons in Austin and directed them to national titles in 1963, '69 and '70.

R MASE IN YOUR FACE

• Junior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas is tied for fifth nationally and first in the SEC with his 5.5 sacks, and all of them have come in the last three games (3.0 vs. Tulane, 0.5 vs. Tennessee, 2.0 at Auburn).

• Thomas has racked up 5.0 of his 5.5 sacks in the fourth quarter and with OU protecting leads. Against Tulane, his 3.0 sacks came in the span of two drives. In one series, Thomas recorded a sack on first down, a pass breakup on third down and another sack on fourth down. On one of his sacks he was credited with a forced fumble and recovery, and added a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry on the day. He was named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week.

• With OU leading 24-21 at Auburn and under four minutes to go, Thomas recorded a 6-yard sack on third down and a 13-yard sack the next play to give the ball to the Sooners on the Tigers' 25-yard line.

• Thomas is the first Sooner since defensive end Charles Tapper in 2015 to register at least 5.5 sacks over a three-game span (Tapper had 6.0).

• Thomas' lone four career starts have come this season (he did not start against Tennessee). In his 19 games over the 2022 and '23 campaigns, he logged 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

• Oklahoma's defense made big strides in year two under Brent Venables in 2023, and many analysts predicted the improvement to continue this season. That includes Phil Steele, who this summer ranked OU's linebacker and defensive back units each as second best nationally and No. 1 in the SEC. So far, the Sooners have not disappointed.

• OU ranks 19th in the country by permitting just 16.0 points per game. It gave up three points to Temple, 12 to Houston, 19 to Tulane, 25 to Tennessee and 21 to Auburn. Tennessee averaged 63.7 points entering the game in Norman and Auburn averaged 36.5 ahead of the matchup with the Sooners.

• The Sooners rank 27th nationally in rushing defense, permitting only 105.6 yards per game on the ground. They rank fifth in the country and third in the SEC by allowing just 2.6 yards per rush, and have surrendered just one rushing touchdown (by Tennessee).

• OU also ranks first nationally in fumble recoveries (eight), fifth in sacks (3.5 per game), ninth in tackles for loss (8.0 per game) and 42nd in total defense (324.2 ypg).

• Preseason All-America linebacker and Butkus Award-hopeful Danny Stutsman ranks seventh in the SEC with his 8.0 tackles per game and fourth in the league with his 4.4 solo tackles per outing. The senior has led OU in tackles each of the last two seasons (125 in 2022 and 104 in 2023) and has 307 career stops.

• Sophomore linebacker Sammy Omosigho made his first career start last game at Auburn, taking the place of injured Kendel Dolby at OU's "Cheetah" position. Omosigho ranks fifth on the team with his 19 tackles, which are already 12 more than he had in his 10 games last season. He is tied with safety Robert Spears-Jennings and defensive lineman Gracen Halton for second on the squad with 3.5 tackles for loss and has two QB hurries.

• Oklahoma is tied for second nationally by allowing just one rush of at least 20 yards this season (22-yarder by Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter). Army is the only team that has not allowed a 20-yard rush.

• OU has allowed only eight touchdowns on its opponents' 65 possessions (one every 8.1 possessions). The defense has forced 29 punts and has recorded 12 takeaways, a safety and two turnovers on downs.

NOTING THE OFFENSE

• Freshman QB Michael Hawkins Jr. is 23 for 37 through the air this season for a 62% completion rate with one touchdown and no interceptions. His lone career start came last game in the 27-21 win at Auburn. Hawkins Jr. also has 101 yards and a TD on 28 rushes (no fumbles).

• Sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold, who started Oklahoma's first four games this season, has completed 61 of 102 pass attempts (60%) for 538 yards and seven touchdowns versus three interceptions. He ranks second on the team with 138 rushing yards and has a team-high-tying two rushing TDs.

• Redshirt junior wide receiver Deion Burks ranks third in the SEC and 17th nationally with his 6.5 catches per game. He also has three receiving touchdowns, which all came in the first half against Temple. In that game, Burks became the first Sooner to register three receiving TDs in his OU debut. The Purdue transfer entered the season with seven career receiving TDs (all in 2023).

• Junior running back Jovantae Barnes leads the team with his 199 rushing yards (averaging 3.5 yards per carry) and has two rushing TDs. Freshman Taylor Tatum, the consensus No. 1 running back nationally in the 2024 class, is averaging 6.4 yards on his 18 rushes (116 total yards) and has run for a pair of TDs and caught another. He missed the Auburn game due to injury.

• Redshirt sophomore running back Gavin Sawchuk started each of the first three games but has been held to 33 yards on 18 carries. Sawchuk ran for over 100 yards in each of the last five games in 2023.

• Oklahoma tight ends have scored two touchdowns this season (one by Bauer Sharp vs. Temple and one by Jake Roberts vs. Houston), already matching the total number of TDs scored by OU tight ends last season (one each by Austin Stogner and Blake Smith).

• Similarly, OU's tight ends combined for 20 catches for 252 yards in 13 games last season. This year they have already totaled 24 catches for 226 yards.

• Redshirt sophomore receiver Nic Anderson sustained an injury in August camp and has missed all but one game this season (he started vs. Tennessee but left the game in the first half and did not return). Anderson earned 2023 freshman All-America honors from The Athletic after catching 38 passes for 798 yards and a team-high-tying 10 TDs. He averaged 21.0 yards per catch to rank fifth nationally.

• Senior receiver Jalil Farooq was lost to injury in the first half of the season opener against Temple and is out indefinitely. Farooq entered the year with 86 career catches for 1,229 yards and seven TDs, and 32 rushes for 235 yards. OU is also without the services of junior receiver Jayden Gibson, who was lost for the year following an August injury. Gibson caught 14 passes for 375 yards (26.8 per reception) and five TDs last season (scored in each of the last three regular season games).

• The Sooners are tied for 20th nationally by converting 95% (16 of 17) of their red-zone trips into points (13 TDs and 5 FGs).

• OU's offensive linemen who have played this season have combined for just 30 career starts as Sooners. Eight of the nine who have started at least one game this season had never started at OU prior to this year (Jacob Sexton started one game in 2022 and four last season).

A GLANCE AT SPECIAL TEAMS

• After winning the primary placekicking job, Florida State transfer Tyler Keltner went 3 for 3 on field goals and 6 for 6 on extra-point attempts against Temple in the opener to earn SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. He is 6 for 7 and 12 for 13, respectively, on the year (missed the Auburn game after having his appendix removed). Keltner spent his first four seasons at East Tennessee State, where he was 56 for 74 on field goals (76%) and 131 of 131 on PATs, and three times earned All-Southern Conference honors.

• Redshirt senior Zach Schmit served as OU's placekicker the last two seasons and has made 30 of his 42 (71%) career field goal attempts (is 2 for 2 this year) and all 125 of his PAT tries. His streak of 125 made extra-points is the fourth-longest in program history. Schmit handled kickoffs the first five games this season.

• Keltner and Schmit have combined to go 8 of 9 on field goal attempts, as OU ranks third in the SEC with its 89% conversion rate.

• Super senior Luke Elzinga is off to a great five-game start, ranking 14th nationally and third in the SEC with a 45.8-yard average on his 29 punts (long of 63; 13 inside the 20; nine fair catches). His performance has helped OU to a No. 11 national ranking with its 44.0-yard net punting average. Elzinga has already been named to the Ray Guy Award's "Ray's 8" three times this season (following the Houston, Tennessee and Auburn contests).

• Sophomore Peyton Bowen ranks 37th nationally by averaging 9.1 yards on his 10 punt returns.

• OU ranks 11th nationally in punt coverage, as opponents are averaging 1.0 yard per return (nine returns).

"TAKEAWAYS, NO GIVEAWAYS"

• The Oklahoma coaching staff preaches "takeaways, no giveaways" with its players and the Sooners have turned that message into reality so far in 2024, as OU is tied for third nationally with a +1.6 turnover margin per game (13 takeaways, five giveaways). The Sooners had six takeaways and no giveaways against Temple in the season opener and had two takeaways and just one giveaway vs. both Houston and Tulane. In the loss to Tennessee, OU had two takeaways and three giveaways, before registering an interception and no giveaways in the win at Auburn.

• OU has recovered eight fumble fumbles so far this season, which is two more than it had all of 2023. The eight recoveries lead the nation (no other team has more than six).

• Eight different Sooners have each registered one fumble recovery and five different players have each logged one interception. Billy Bowman Jr. and Robert Spears-Jennings have one of each.

• OU is outscoring opponents 56-16 off turnovers through five games.

• Last season, OU ranked second nationally with 26 takeaways (20 interceptions) and with 111 points off takeaways (ranked first with 8.5 points per game).

• Points off turnovers were a telling stat in 2023. In OU's 10 wins last season it outscored opponents 98-17 off turnovers. In its three losses it was outscored 44-13.

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 (703) than any other program (next most is 672 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma has finished in the top 5 of the AP poll a nation-leading 33 times (Ohio State is second with 30).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (44), 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 11-win seasons than Oklahoma's 27 (Alabama also has 27). And since the start of the 2000 season, OU and Ohio State have produced a nation-leading 18 seasons of at least 10 wins.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads the country with its 12,921 points scored, which is 467 more than second-place Boise State (12,454) and 856 more than third-place Oregon (12,065).

• OU's 80 consensus All-Americans since 1950 lead the nation (Alabama ranks second with 77 and Ohio State third with 73). Since 2000, OU has produced 30 consensus All-Americans, second only to Alabama.

NORMAN, OK - September 14, 2024 - Oklahoma Defensive lineman R Mason Thomas (#32) and Oklahoma Linebacker Samuel Omosigho (#24) during the game between the Tulane Green Wave and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

EXTRA POINTS

• Saturday's game will mark OU's first regular season contest against an AP No. 1 team since beating Nebraska 31-14 in Norman in 2000. The Sooners went 13-0 that season and won their seventh national title.

• This marks Texas' 48th all-time week as the AP's No. 1-ranked team, good for the 10th most nationally. Oklahoma has been ranked No. 1 in 101 polls, trailing only Alabama (141) and Ohio State (105).

• Thirty of OU's 127 players hail from the state of Texas, second to the 34 that are from Oklahoma.

• Twenty-two Sooners (15 offensive and seven defensive) have made their first OU starts this season: offensive linemen Joshua Bates, Geirean Hatchett, Branson Hickman, Logan Howland, Febechi Nwaiwu, Heath Ozaeta, Michael Tarquin and Jake Taylor, wide receivers Deion Burks, Zion Ragins and Brenen Thompson, tight ends Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts, running back Taylor Tatum, quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., linebackers Kobie McKinzie and Sammy Omosigho, defensive back Dez Malone and defensive linemen Gracen Halton, Jayden Jackson, R Mason Thomas and Damonic Williams.

• Texas marks OU's second AP top-6 opponent in six games this season (No. 6 Tennessee visited Norman on Sept. 21). The Sooners will play four more teams ranked in this week's AP poll: vs. No. 7 Alabama, at No. 9 Ole Miss, at No. 21 Missouri and at No. 13 LSU.

• In their 14 wins since the start of the 2023 season, the Sooners have outscored opponents 154-23 off turnovers. In their four losses during the same span, they have been outscored 54-13 off turnovers.

• Oklahoma is 11-3 all-time as the No. 18-ranked team in the AP poll (7-1 at home and 4-2 on the road). The Sooners were last ranked 18th last season, and defeated SMU 28-11 at home. This will be OU's first neutral-site contest as the AP's 18th-ranked team. The highest ranked opponent the Sooners have faced while ranked No. 18 in the AP poll was No. 6 Oklahoma State in 2013 (a 33-24 OU road win).

• The season-opening game vs. Temple was OU's first contest since 1987 to finish +6 in turnover margin. The Sooners converted all six takeaways into points (34 total).

• Of the 74 players on OU's week 5 depth chart, 24 (or 32%) were freshmen. That includes 17 true freshmen and seven redshirts. Thirty-two true (22) or redshirt (10) freshmen have played in at least one game this season.

• OU has won its last 88 games when holding opponents to 22 or fewer points. Its last loss under the circumstance came at Nebraska in 2009 (10-3).

• Since the start of the 2012 season, OU is 90-7 when scoring at least 35 points and 79-4 when scoring at least 40.