Longhorns Wire staff predictions for Texas vs. Oklahoma

The best rivalry game in college football is finally here.

Texas and Oklahoma will face off against each other on Oct. 9 at 11 a.m. CDT at the Cotton Bowl.

Oklahoma enters the matchup as the No. 6 team in the country, while Texas skyrocketed into the rankings this past week at No. 21.

While the Sooners have had their fair share of struggles, the Longhorns have found some consistency and deploy one of the most dangerous offenses in the country.

How confident is the Longhorns Wire staff that Texas can escape with a win in Week 6? Not very.

Staff predicts the game

Cami Griffin

Is accurately predicting the Red River Shootout even possible?

I’m not quite sure that we truly know who this Oklahoma team is yet. Through the first five weeks of the season, they certainly haven’t resembled the type of offensive powerhouse that we’ve grown accustomed to. Are they being relatively conservative? Are they just executing poorly?

Regardless, I am confident in Steve Sarkisian’s ability to dial up mismatches for Texas’ offense in order to move the ball down the field efficiently. Oklahoma’s primary goal will be to limit Bijan Robinson on the ground and force Casey Thompson to beat them through the air. I don’t think they’ll be successful with that.

While Robinson won’t explode for another 200+ yards rushing in this one, I certainly think it’s realistic for him to have a 100-yard game. He is that rare of a talent, and coupling him with one of the top offensive guru’s in the game is a lethal combination.

I expect both offenses to have their fair share of success in this one, and it may come down to which defense can force a game-changing turnover.

Texas 38, Oklahoma 35

Griffin McVeigh

It’s Red River. Everything I say gets thrown out the window the second both teams hit the field. All I know is the score will be close.

Texas’ defensive line will be the difference. If they can get home and make Spencer Rattler uncomfortable, a few turnovers will go in favor of the good guys. Give him time to make throws and it will once again be last one to score wins.

Here’s to praying my overall record is 4-2 this time next week.

Oklahoma 42, Texas 40

Kevin Borba

I flipped a coin a couple times and it landed on the middle twice, trying to accurately predict this game just is not something I am looking forward to. One thing is for certain, there will be football played between Texas and Oklahoma on Saturday.

The Longhorns will need a big performance from Casey Thompson, possibly the best of his college career, in order to win this game. The Oklahoma defense is likely going to do everything they can to force Thompson, rather than running back Bijan Robinson, to beat them.

Texas’ defense cannot get beat vertically like they did against Texas Tech. If the defense can make Rattler uncomfortable, the crimson side of the stadium will surely be calling for Caleb Williams. Oklahoma has done very poorly against lesser competition, so theoretically, if this were not the most unpredictable game ever, the Longhorns would finally beat them.

This game has been decided by single digits all but one time since 2014, but I am calling for a double digit win for Texas. I do not think this will be a blowout, but more-so a game that the Longhorns build and hold a lead.

Texas 42, Oklahoma 30