After a much needed off week last week, the Texas Longhorns get back to work this week preparing for the 122nd edition of the “Red River Rivalry” against archrival Oklahoma.
This season, Texas heads to the Cotton Bowl for their annual showdown looking to beat Oklahoma for the third consecutive season for the first time since 1999. While there’s a lot of excitement and craziness that comes with this game every year, when you take away the pageantry and circumstance this game is very simple for Texas this year.
The Longhorns goal is to win another SEC game against another tough opponent, while showing the country why they are ranked number one in the country. Here are three things Texas must do to beat Oklahoma and remain undefeated in 2026.
Since 2018, when Sam Ehlinger led an average Texas squad to victory over an OU squad led by Heisman trophy winner Kyler Murray 48-45, the winner of this game has been the team who has produced the most overall rushing yards.
1. Produce A Productive Running Game
In a game full of stats and trends, this is one trend the Longhorns must not overlook if they plan on beating the Sooners on Saturday. Fortunately for Texas, their running game will get a much-needed burst as the Longhorns are expecting to have Hollywood Smothers (ankle) back in the lineup after he was a late scratch from the Tennessee game two weeks ago.
Smothers and fellow star running back Raleek Brown were brought to Texas via the transfer portal to produce in games like this. The Longhorns must hit repeat on the blueprint to success they discovered in their huge Ohio State win where Smothers and Brown combined to outrush the entire Buckeye’s squad 128-94.
Despite their early season success, neither Smothers nor Brown has produced a100-yard rushing game while wearing burnt orange and white. If one of them is productive enough to go over the century mark on Saturday, the Longhorns odds of keeping the “Golden Hat” skyrocket up.
“It’s interesting when look and even since I’ve been here, the team than runs the ball, the team that converts third down the most, the team that wins the turnover battle and the team that pressures the quarterback generally comes out on top,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said.
2. Get Cam Coleman Going
When Texas grabbed Cam Coleman out of the portal this summer it was expected he would be producing at or near the same level Ohio State Heisman candidate Jeremiah Smith has been at this season. So far, it seems like Coleman was over hyped as the 6’3, 204-pounder, who was supposed to be WR1 has only delivered
12 catches for 208 yards and four touchdowns over four games.
In fact, Coleman biggest moment so far in Austin was dropping a 50-yard bomb which turn into a momentum setting interception during the Ohio State game.
In wins over Ohio State and Tennessee, Coleman has combined for five non impactful receptions for 79 yards – while he has caught all four of his touchdowns against Texas State and UTSA. For the Longhorns to take their inconsistent offense to the next level and beat Oklahoma handedly, they’ll need Coleman who they have invested millions in to produce like the receiver many rated the best in the transfer portal.
According to SEC StatCast, the site which defines an explosive play as a pass of at least 20 yards or a run of at less, Texas has an 11% explosive-play rate, which ranks 111th nationally. Coleman’s who was banged up in the win over Tennessee, can win one on one matchups and needs to produce a couple of explosive plays to hopefully unlock Texas’ pedestrian offense.
3. Arch Manning must be Arch Manning
What a difference a year makes, this time last year many questioned if Arch Manning was good enough to win on the big stage, while this year the question is if he can produce a super star performance against Oklahoma.
A Texas victory will
Despite struggling at times this season, Manning is due to have a big statistical day against Oklahoma.
In last year’s win, Manning was a very efficient 21 of 27 for 166 yards and one touchdown with 34 rushing yards mixed in.
As cliché as it might sound if Manning is able to do his thing while being efficient and adding in a couple of explosive plays, the Longhorns should cruise to another double-digit victory over Oklahoma.
Another win by Texas will improve Manning’s record to 4-0 in games that he’s played against Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
