What to know before Texas and Oklahoma play in the 120th Red River Rivalry

The Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners will play in the 120th edition of the Red River Showdown on Saturday, Oct. 12.

The Texas Longhorns come into the matchup undefeated and ranked as the AP Poll’s No. 1 ranked team after winning each of their games by double digits to start the season. The Oklahoma Sooners are 4-1 and enter ranked No. 18 with their sole loss being to a then No. 6 ranked Tennessee team.

Here’s what fans need to know before one of college football’s biggest annual games.

SEC Clash

For the first time since 1996, this historic rivalry game will not be played in the Big 12. Texas and Oklahoma left the conference after the 2023 season and moved to the SEC.

Oklahoma dominated the rivalry in the Big 12, posting an 18-11 record while both teams were in the conference and since 2000 has won 17 out of its 25 matchups.

Texas is one of three teams in the conference with no losses in SEC play, joining LSU and Texas A&M but the Tigers and the Longhorns have only played one in-conference game as opposed to the Aggies’ three.

The Sooners’ lone loss was to Tennessee, an SEC opponent, making Saturday’s game crucial if they want to win the conference.

Who are the key players?

True freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. will make the second start of his career after replacing Jackson Arnold. Hawkins Jr. won his first start 27-21 over Auburn throwing for 161 yards adding 69 yards on the ground with a rushing touchdown. Hawkins Jr. can be explosive in the QB run game evidenced by his 48-yard touchdown against the Tigers.

Hawkins Jr. is a Dallas native who played high school football for Allen and Emerson High School before committing to Oklahoma.

The Longhorns will have to have a disciplined pass rush and keep him in the pocket to avoid him impacting the game with his legs.

Defensive lineman R Mason Thomas could play a major role if the Sooners want to pull off the upset. The Fort Lauderdale native leads the team in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (6.5) and has earned all of his sacks over the past three weeks with five coming in the fourth quarter.

Isaiah Bond, a transfer from Alabama, leads the Longhorns in catches (20), yards (364) and touchdowns (3) and will attack a Sooner defense that comes into the game ranked 76th in passing yards allowed . The Longhorns come into the game with the nation’s 10th-best passing offense and will look to exploit the mismatch.

Jaydon Blue and Jerrick Gibson lead a Texas rushing attack that averages 191.2 rushing yards per game and will face a stiff test versus a Sooner defense that is only allowing 105.6 rushing yards per game and is ranked 27th in the country.

Who will start at quarterback for the Longhorns?

Quinn Ewers is back in the starting role for the Longhorns after being out of action with an abdominal strain since the team’s 56-7 win over UTSA on Sept. 14. Before his injury, Ewers had thrown for 691 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions while leading Texas to wins over Colorado State and Michigan.

Arch Manning came on to replace Ewers, leading the team to victories over Louisiana–Monroe and Mississippi State while throwing for 901 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions, but Longhorn head coach Steve Sarkissian made it clear that Ewers was always the team’s starting quarterback.

How much to attend the game?

Tickets for the game are sold out on Texas and Oklahoma’s websites but can still be bought from resellers like SeatGeek which has tickets starting at $310.

Parking costs $30 at the Texas State Fair.

What time is the game?

Texas and Oklahoma will square off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl and the game will air on ABC and can be streamed on ESPN’s website or app.

What’s the all-time record?

Texas leads the all-time matchup 63-51-5, but the Sooners emerged victorious in the 2023 edition after a furious rally at the end of the fourth quarter led by current Oregon Ducks’ quarterback Dillion Gabriel.