Texas Longhorns football game preview: Oklahoma, Horns battle for Big 12 dominance

The one Big 12 game that won't be disrupted by realignment next season, the Sooners and Longhorns hook up on Saturday for the most meaningful game between the blood rivals since at least 2011, the last time both teams entered the game with perfect records.

More: Golden: Why I asked Steve Sarkisian if Texas is the best football team in the country

No. 3 Texas (5-0, 2-0) vs. No. 12 Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0)

11 a.m., Cotton Bowl in Dallas

TV/radio: ABC, 1300, 98.1, 105.3 (Spanish)

Line: Texas is favored by 6

Weather: Finally, football weather with sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s at kickoff and 70 by the final whistle.

Texas history: Oklahoma

All-time: Texas leads 63-50-5

Last meeting: Texas 49, Oklahoma 0 (2022)

Most memorable meeting: Texas 26, Oklahoma 20 (1968). Texas won in a stirring comeback behind quarterback James Street, in just his second game as the Longhorns’ starter. The second straight win for a Texas team that had tied and lost in the first two weeks of the season kicked off the most dominant stretch in school history that included a 30-game win streak and back-to-back national titles in 1969 and 1970.

More: Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian: JT Sanders will play; Ryan Watts a 'game-time' call

Know the foe: Oklahoma

Last week: The Sooners racked up 523 yards of offense while dispatching Iowa State 50-20. The defense continued to impress, too; Oklahoma has held all five of its opponents to 20 points or less, which it hadn’t done since its national championship season in 2000.

Players to watch: QB Dillon Gabriel leads the Big 12 in passing yards (1,593), passing TDs (15) and completion percentage (.752) for an offense that gets almost 70% of its offense through the air. … Gabriel likes to spread the ball around with six receivers having double-digit receptions, but WR Andrel Anthony, a Michigan transfer in the offseason, has emerged as his go-to target with a team-high 387 yards on 22 receptions. … LB Danny Stutsman has keyed the Sooners’ defensive turnaround while leading the Big 12 with 9.8 tackles per game to go along with nine tackles for a loss, two sacks and interception return for a touchdown and a fumble recovery.

Central Texas connections: Tyler Guyton, a Manor graduate, plays a big role for the Oklahoma offense — quite literally. The 6-foot-7, 325-pound redshirt junior has been the starting right tackle almost since transferring from TCU prior to the 2022 season. … Hayden Bray, a redshirt sophomore walk-on from Westlake, provides depth on the defensive line and as a blocking tight end.

When Texas has the ball

The team that runs for more yardage is 14-2 in the Red River Rivalry over the past 16 games, which could bode well for Texas. Third-year sophomore Jonathon Brooks is averaging 163 yards rushing a game over the past three weeks, but the Sooners give up just 106.1 yards rushing a game compared to 187.5 yards a game last season. … Can a ball-hawking Sooners secondary continue its pilfering ways against Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who has thrown just one interception in 147 pass attempts? Oklahoma leads the nation with 10 picks, including two returned for TDs. … Based on his first two games in the Red River Rivalry, Sarkisian has the Oklahoma defense’s number. With Sarkisian serving as the primary play-caller, Texas has topped 500 yards of total offense in each of the past two seasons.

When Oklahoma has the ball

Behind Gabriel, the Sooners like their fast starts. Oklahoma has scored 94 points in the first quarter this season, which translates to a nation-best 18.3 points a game in the opening period. That could spell trouble for a Texas team that has scored just 30 total points in the first quarter. … Oklahoma ranks ninth in the Big 12 in rushing with 157.6 yards a game and has yet to find a reliable workhorse, since leading rusher Marcus Major has just 199 yards on 51 carries. The Sooners could have a hard time finding traction on the ground against tackles T’Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy II and the rest of a Texas run defense that allows just 94.6 yards a game and 3.1 yards a carry. … The Sooners are uber-effective in the red zone with 19 TDs and five FGs in 27 trips. Texas responds with a stingy defense that has allowed just one TD in 10 red-zone appearances by opponents, which ties Michigan for the fewest red-zone TDs allowed this season.

The key matchup

Oklahoma’s offensive tackles vs. Texas’ edge rushers: Since a fast start to the season, the Texas edges have slowed down over the past two weeks with just one sack and three quarterback pressures. Can Barryn Sorrell, Ethan Burke, Justice Finkley, Anthony Hill Jr. and the other edge rushers for the Longhorns beat Oklahoma tackles Walter Rouse and Guyton in one-on-one matchups? That could determine whether the top-ranked pass defense in the Big 12 can stifle a Sooners’ passing game that leads the conference with 352.4 yards a game.

How we're calling the game

Kirk Bohls: Texas, 38-27. The Longhorns have too many playmakers and will flex their muscles against possibly their biggest test to get to Arlington.

Danny Davis: Texas. Oklahoma fans won't be getting in line for their postgame corny dogs in the third quarter like they did last year, but Texas will still be too much for the Sooners in their toughest test this season.

Cedric Golden: Texas, 31-24. Oklahoma is much improved from last season and has a chance, but Texas has come too far to let its biggest rival spoil the season.

Thomas Jones: Texas, 42-20. The Sooners are much-improved, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but Texas' big edge on both lines of scrimmage will make the difference in the second half.

— Thomas Jones

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Preview: Lots on line as Texas football renews rivalry with Oklahoma