Game Primer: OU vs. Texas

Saturday, October 11

Dallas

2:30 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Texas

October 10, 2025 | Football

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#6 Oklahoma

Texas

Saturday, Oct. 11 / 2:30 p.m. CT / Cotton Bowl

ABC / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• In a matchup of the SEC's newest members, No. 6/6 Oklahoma (5-0, 1-0) takes on No. RV/19 Texas (3-2, 0-1) for the 97th 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 and Holly Rowe announcing. OU is the designated visiting team.

• Saturday's game will mark the 121st 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 seven meetings against Texas, 11 of the last 16 and 17 of the last 26.

• OU is 7-3 all-time vs. the Longhorns when it is ranked in the AP top 10 and Texas is unranked (wins in 1955 [ranked No. 3], 1956 [No. 1], 1957 [No. 1], 1986 [No. 6], 1987 [No. 1], 1988 [No. 10] and 1993 [No. 10]; losses in 1990 [No. 4], 1991 [No. 6] and 2015 [No. 10]).

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

• Oklahoma and Texas rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in all-time winning percentage. OU is 955-348-53 (.724) while UT is 964-397-33 (.703). The Sooners have played 1,356 games and the Longhorns have played 1,394. UT has played two more seasons than OU.

• Oklahoma's No. 6 AP ranking this week is its highest when facing Texas since 2021, when the No. 6 Sooners posted a 55-48 victory over the No. 21 Longhorns. Running back Kennedy Brooks scored on a 33-yard rush with three seconds left. Last week's No. 5 ranking was tied for its highest under fourth-year head coach Brent Venables (it was also ranked No. 5 in the Oct. 8, 2023, poll after beating No. 3 Texas 34-30).

• The 2025 season marks the 131st in OU football history. The Sooners lead the nation with their 50 all-time conference titles, 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 432 total weeks in the AP Top 5, fourth with their 419 NFL Draft picks and fifth with their 58 bowl appearances.

• Saturday's contest will mark the 1,357th in OU history. The Sooners rank fifth nationally with their .724 all-time winning percentage (955-348-53 record), trailing Ohio State (.736), Alabama (.733), Michigan (.733) and Notre Dame (.731). Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 711 wins (29 more than Alabama, the program with the next most) and owns a .763 winning percentage.

• Seven of OU's 2025 opponents, including six of eight SEC foes, are ranked in this week's AP or coaches polls: No. 4/4 Ole Miss, No. 8/8 Alabama, No. 11/11 LSU, No. 12/12 Tennessee, No. 14/14 Missouri, No. 15/15 Michigan and No. RV/19 Texas. Auburn was ranked No. 22/25 when the Sooners beat the Tigers two games ago, and South Carolina was ranked as high as No. 10 in both polls. The most AP-ranked teams OU has faced in a regular season is six (2016).

R Mason Thomas celebrating a sack against Auburn

KEY STORYLINES

• Oklahoma is 17-9-2 (.643) all-time against Texas when the Sooners are ranked in the AP top 10. Since 2000, that record is 11-3 (.786).

• While Oklahoma's offense has been strong through five games (OU is averaging 33.8 points and 415.2 yards per game), the Sooners' defense has been other-worldly. OU leads the nation in total defense (193.0 ypg) and ranks second in passing defense (118.4 ypg) and fifth in rushing defense (74.6 ypg). It also paces the country in opponent yards per play (3.5), opponent third-down conversion percentage (17.4; next best is 20.3), sacks per game (4.2) and tackles for loss per game (10.0), and ranks second in scoring defense (7.2 ppg), opponent first downs per game (10.4) and passing defense efficiency rating (93.5).

• The Sooners have forced four more punts (40) through five games than they have allowed total points (36). OU leads the country with its 8.0 opponent punts per contest.

• Forty-eight percent of OU's opponents' offensive plays this season (133 of 276) have gone for zero or negative yards. An additional 18 plays have resulted in a one-yard gain, meaning 55% of opponent plays have yielded one or fewer yards.

• Oklahoma has given up just three points in the first quarter this season and has allowed just one touchdown in each of the second, third and fourth quarters. The three total TDs allowed are tied for the second fewest nationally.

• OU is one of just nine teams nationally that has produced points on all of its red-zone trips this season (the Sooners are 20 for 20, with 15 touchdowns and five field goals).

• Sophomore defensive lineman David Stone has blossomed this season, ranking third on the squad in tackles (19) and second in tackles for loss (4.0). The former consensus five-star recruit (he was ranked as the nation's top defensive tackle by ESPN and Rivals) is coming off back-to-back career highs in tackles (five vs. Auburn and six vs. Kent State). His start last game vs. Kent State was the first of his career. As a freshman last year, Stone played in all 13 games but logged just six tackles (2.0 for loss).

• After totaling six catches for 60 yards over OU's first two games this season, redshirt junior wide receiver and Austin, Texas, product Isaiah Sategna III has amassed 20 receptions for 299 yards and three TDs over the last three contests (97 yards at Temple, career-high 127 and a TD vs. Auburn, 75 and a career-high two TDs vs. Kent State). Sategna doubles as the Sooners' punt returner, averaging 11.7 yards on his 15 returns.

• Redshirt junior punter Grayson Miller ranks second nationally with his 49.8-yard average. The transfer from NCAA Division II Central Oklahoma, who did not play in the season opener, has booted eight of his 16 punts over 50 yards (long of 66), with seven downed inside the 20 and only two touchbacks. Miller, who began the season as OU's backup, is a big reason why the Sooners rank fourth in the country in net punting average (45.7 yards).

YEAR TWO IN THE SEC FOR OU AND TEXAS

• Oklahoma and Texas officially joined the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024, after 28 years in the Big 12 Conference. OU won half (14) of the Big 12's football titles in its 28 years in the league and posted a 187-61 (.754) record against conference competition (includes an 11-1 record in Big 12 championship games).

• 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).

• This week's AP poll features a nation-leading nine SEC teams (including eight of the top 14): No. 4 Ole Miss, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 8 Alabama, No. 10 Georgia, No. 11 LSU, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 14 Missouri and No. 20 Vanderbilt. Texas is also ranked No. 19 in the coaches poll. The Big Ten ranks second with five AP top-25 teams while the Big 12 and the ACC have four ranked teams each.

MATEER'S SUPER START

• Redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer, who transferred from Washington State in January, has completed 95 of 141 pass attempts (67%) for 1,215 yards (303.8 average) and six touchdowns through four games. He is also OU's leading rusher with 190 yards and has a team-high five TDs on the ground.

• Mateer ranks in the top 25 nationally in total offense (second; 351.3 ypg), passing yards per game (fifth; 303.8), completions per game (11th; 23.8), points responsible for per game (17th; 16.5) and rushing TDs per game (17th; 1.3).

• Mateer's 1,215 passing yards are the fourth most by an OU quarterback through the first four games of a career (Baker Mayfield had 1,382 yards in the first four outings of 2015, Josh Heupel had 1,370 in the first four contests of 1999 and Jalen Hurts had 1,295 in the first four games of 2019).

NORMAN, OK - September 20, 2025 - Oklahoma Wide Receiver Isaiah Sategna (#5) during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

MORE ON THE OFFENSE

• Redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer has registered at least one rushing TD and at least one passing TD in each of his last 10 games, good for the longest active streak nationally and tied with Louisville's Lamar Jackson for the third-longest streak since the start of the 2000 season.

• True freshman running back Tory Blaylock leads the team with 257 rushing yards on the season and registered a 100-yard performance (two touchdowns) at Temple three games ago. It was Blaylock's first career 100-yard rushing outing, as he became the first OU running back to register two touchdowns this season. The last two OU freshman (true or redshirt) running backs to register a 100-yard rushing effort in at least one of their first three games were DeMarco Murray in 2007 (100 in third game) and Adrian Peterson in 2004 (100 in first contest).

• Redshirt junior receiver Isaiah Sategna III leads the team in receptions (26) and receiving yards (359). The first-year Sooner (transferred from Arkansas) has racked up 20 catches for 299 yards and three TDs over the last three games (97 yards at Temple, a career-high 127 yards and a TD vs. Auburn and 75 yards and a career-high two TDs vs. Kent State).

• Senior tight end Jaren Kanak played linebacker his first three years (started nine games in 2023 and one last season) before converting to tight end in the spring. The former high school receiver and quarterback has caught 20 passes for 328 yards over OU's first five games. The 328 yards ranks second nationally among tight ends and represent 72% of the receiving yards amassed by OU's tight ends all of last season (455).

• Redshirt senior receiver Deion Burks, who spent three years at Purdue and is in his second at Oklahoma, caught seven passes and one TD in each of the first two games in 2025 and has 25 receptions for 275 yards on the year (has scored two TDs). His 88 yards vs. Illinois State and 101 vs. Michigan represent his two highest totals at OU.

• Redshirt senior receiver Keontez Lewis has 17 receptions for 210 yards on the season and caught two TD passes against Illinois State. His nine catches vs. the Redbirds were a career high (he finished with 119 receiving yards).

• The Sooners threw for at least 270 yards twice in 2024 (284 vs. Maine and 275 vs. Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl), but have done it four times in five games this season (392 vs. Illinois State, 270 vs. Michigan, 287 at Temple and 271 vs. Auburn).

• In the win over No. 15 Michigan, Michael Fasusi became the first OU freshman to start at left tackle in his first career game. He played 66 snaps and allowed just one QB pressure. He missed the opener vs. Illinois State and the game at Temple before returning in a reserve role against Auburn and starting vs. Kent State.

• Redshirt senior offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu is the only OU offensive lineman to start all five games this season. He has started all five contests at right guard (also started all 13 games there last year).

MORE ON THE DEFENSE

• In a variety of defensive categories, Oklahoma is off to its best five-game start in several decades. OU has held its first five opponents to 965 total yards, 36 points, three touchdowns, one passing touchdown, 592 passing yards and 52 first downs. It has been since 1956 that the Sooners have allowed their first five opponents to fewer yards (928), since 1985 they have permitted 52 or fewer first downs (48) and since 1987 they have allowed as few as 36 points (26), three touchdowns (two), one passing TD (one) and 592 passing yards (515).

• Of Oklahoma's opponents' 57 possessions this season, 27 of them (47%) have resulted in a 3-and-out with no points.

• OU has held each of its last three opponents to less than 70 rushing yards (26 by Temple, 67 by Auburn and 17 by Kent State). During the stretch, the Sooners have allowed 110 yards on 95 rushes (1.2 yards per carry). Temple and Kent State each had fewer yards than rushes.

• The strength of the Sooners' defense very well could be its line, with three players returning who started a combined 33 games last season (senior Damonic Williams 12, senior R Mason Thomas 11 and freshman Jayden Jackson 10) and another who started three and saw extensive field time (senior Gracen Halton). That quartet totaled 118 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 17 sacks and 16 QB hurries last season. That doesn't count sophomore David Stone, a former five-star high school recruit who ranks third on the team with 19 tackles this season (4.0 TFLs). Phil Steele ranked OU's defensive line as the best in the country this summer, and ESPN/SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic said in May the Sooners have the league's best defensive line, "... and it ain't even close."

• Four junior linebackers rank in the top five on the team in tackles. Kip Lewis leads the team with 25 tackles, Sammy Omosigho ranks second with 21 despite not starting a game this season, Owen Heinecke ranks fourth with 18 and Kobie McKinzie ranks fifth with 15. The quartet has combined for 6.5 tackles for loss (3.5 by Heinecke, 2.5 by Omosigho and 2.0 each by Lewis and Omosigho).

• Against Illinois State, Courtland Guillory became only the second OU true freshman to start at cornerback in a season opener (the other was P.J. Mbanasor in 2015). Guillory has 10 tackles, a pass breakup and a QB hurry through five games (has started all five).

A LOOK AT SPECIAL TEAMS

• Oklahoma ranks first in the SEC and fourth nationally in net punting average (45.7). Redshirt sophomore Jacob Ulrich (first-team All-Conference USA last season at Kennesaw State) averaged 47.5 yards on two punts against Illinois State before giving way to redshirt junior Grayson Miller the last four games. Miller leads the country with his 49.8 yards per punt and eight of his 16 boots have gone longer than 50 yards. He was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 54.4 yards on five punts, good for the third-best average in school history (minimum five punts).

• The Sooners rank 10th nationally and second in the SEC by allowing just 12.4 yards per kickoff return.

• Redshirt junior Tate Sandell has handled placekicking and kickoff duties the first five games. The first-year Sooner is 9 for 10 on field goal tries (including a 52- and a 55-yarder) after making 19 of 23 last year at UTSA. He has also made all 18 of his PAT tries this season and is the reigning SEC Special Teams Player of the Week.

• Redshirt junior Ben Anderson is OU's long snapper for the third straight year. He earned third-team All-SEC honors last season and is a 2025 third-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele.

• Oklahoma's special teams units were drastically improved in 2024 under first-year coordinator Doug Deakin. After finishing No. 107 in the FEI (Fremeau Efficiency Index) special teams ratings in 2023 the year before Deakin's arrival, the Sooners jumped to No. 34 last season.

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 (711) than any other program (next most is 682 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma has finished in the top 5 of the AP poll a nation-leading 33 times (Ohio State is second with 31).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (45), 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).

• Since the start of the 2000 season, OU ranks second with 18 seasons of at least 10 wins and ranks second with 266 victories.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads the country with its 13,259 points scored. Boise State (12,850) is second and Oregon (12,611) third.

• Oklahoma's 81 consensus All-Americans since 1950 lead the nation (Alabama and Ohio State rank second with 77 each). Since 2000, OU has produced 31 consensus All-Americans, tied with Ohio State behind only Alabama.

EXTRA POINTS

• The Sooners are 44-6 all-time as the No. 6-ranked team in the AP poll (5-1 at neutral sites and 4-1 vs. Texas). Oklahoma was last ranked as the AP's No. 6 team in 2023 for two straight weeks (31-29 home win over UCF and 38-33 road loss at Kansas). OU's last meeting with Texas as the AP's No. 6 squad was in 2021 (55-48 comeback win over No. 21 UT). The Sooners also won vs. Texas in 2019 (34-27 vs. No. 11 UT), 1986 (47-12 vs. unranked UT) and 1973 (52-13 vs. No. 13 UT). OU's only loss to Texas as the AP's No. 6 team was in 1991 (10-7).

• OU head coach Brent Venables has faced Texas 16 times as a member of the Sooners' coaching staff and is 9-7. 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 1-2 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).

• Oklahoma leads all SEC programs with its 912 all-time appearances in the AP poll (followed by Alabama with 897 and Texas with 796).

• The Sooners are one of four teams nationally with at least two wins against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of competition (beat No. 15 Michigan and No. 22 Auburn). The other teams are Miami (Fla.), Alabama and South Florida.

• Of the 75 OU players on this week's depth chart, 18 (or 24%) are freshmen. That includes 11 true freshmen (five offense, five defense, one special teams) and seven redshirt freshmen (two offense, four defense, one special teams).

• The Sooners have won their last 86 games when holding opponents to under 21 points. Their last loss under the circumstance came at Nebraska in 2009 (10-3).

• In their 21 wins since the start of the 2023 season, the Sooners have outscored opponents 182-35 off turnovers. In their 10 losses during the same span, they have been outscored 105-27 off turnovers.