OU 3-2-1 kickoff: Can Sooners slow down Longhorns WR Xavier Worthy in Red River Rivalry?

OU-Texas is always a big deal.

Even in seasons like last year, when neither team was ranked.

But when the teams meet Saturday at the Cotton Bowl (11 a.m., ABC), there will be an even greater edge to it.

Both the 12th-ranked Sooners (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) and fourth-ranked Longhorns (5-0, 2-0) are undefeated.

The winner will have a clear path to the College Football Playoff. Even the loser will be far from eliminated, though with no ranked teams remaining on either teams’ schedules, there will be few opportunities moving forward — until the Big 12 Championship Game — to make an impact with the committee.

Here are three players to watch, two big questions and one wild prediction for the Red River Rivalry game:

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3 players to watch for OU vs. Texas

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel: This one is easy. Gabriel didn’t play last season in this game and the Sooners’ chances went up in smoke. Gabriel is playing the best football of his career, completing more than 75% of his passes, but he’ll be tested by a Longhorns’ defense allowing less than 200 passing yards per game.

Safety Peyton Bowen: The freshman has been the Sooners’ highest-rated safety according to Pro Football Focus, grading out at a 76.4. But Bowen will be tested in a different kind of way by the Longhorns, with a deep group of receivers plus tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and a strong running game. Bowen will need to be sharp both in pass coverage and against the run to give the Sooners the best chance to win.

Running back Marcus Major: Major appears to have emerged as the Sooners’ go-to running back, but OU is still looking for consistency in its ground game. Major has had his moments so far but hasn’t run for more than 66 yards in any game. OU has only had one 100-yard rushing performance so far this season — Tawee Walker’s 117 yards vs. SMU.

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2 big questions for OU vs. Texas

Can the Sooners slow down Xavier Worthy?: Worthy has yet to have a monster game this season for the Longhorns, but the receiver has still been plenty productive. And Worthy has been a tough matchup for the Sooners over the last two meetings, combining for 12 catches for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Much of that production happened in the 2021 game, won by the Sooners. Making Worthy work for every bit of production he has figures to go a long way into whether or not OU can pull this one out.

Who will be the Sooners’ top receiver?: Drake Stoops leads the Sooners in catches, Andrel Anthony leads them in receiving yards and Nic Anderson has the most touchdowns among the group. It’s a one-game, two-catch sample size but yet another receiver — Brenen Thompson — leads them in yards per catch. And none of those leaders in any of those categories is Jalil Farooq, who was widely expected to be OU’s top receiving option this season. That diversity of production has been a good thing, but OU-Texas is a game that generally takes star power to win. Will one separate themselves Saturday?

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1 wild prediction for OU vs. Texas

OU blocks another punt vs. the Longhorns: Peyton Bowen has already blocked two punts through the first five games. Bowen has been great, but give a large part of the credit to Jay Nunez’s ability to spot a weakness in punt coverage during the scouting process. It might not be Bowen this time, but someone breaks through and helps OU make a special teams play that could turn the tide of the game.

—Ryan Aber, Staff writer

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU vs Texas football: Can Sooners slow down Longhorns WR Xavier Worthy