Game Primer: OU vs. Texas

Saturday, October 10

Dallas

2:30 p.m. CT

University of Oklahoma

Texas

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Photo by: Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

October 08, 2026 | Football

Game Center Game Notes

Oklahoma

#1 Texas

Saturday, Oct. 10 / 2:30 p.m. CT / Cotton Bowl

ABC / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

KEY STORYLINES

• Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1 SEC) takes on No. 1/1 Texas (4-0, 1-0) for the 98th straight year in Dallas when the teams meet Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT in the Allstate Red River Rivalry. The game will be played at Cotton Bowl Stadium and televised by ABC with Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy and Katie George announcing. OU is the designated home team.

• With Oklahoma facing No. 2 Georgia in its most recent game, this marks the fourth occasion for the Sooners to play the AP's No. 1 and 2 teams in back-to-back outings. In 1963 (Bud Wilkinson's final season as head coach), OU won 17-12 at No. 1 USC and lost 28-7 vs. No. 2 Texas. In 1987 under Barry Switzer, the Sooners won 17-7 at No. 1 Nebraska before falling to No. 2 Miami 20-14 in the Orange Bowl. And in 2000 under Bob Stoops, OU won 41-31 at No. 2 Kansas State before beating No. 1 Nebraska 31-14. This also marks just the fourth time since the start of the 2000 season for an FBS team to face AP No. 1 and No. 2 teams in consecutive regular season games (OU in 2000, Tennessee in 2011 and Penn State in 2025).

• Going back to the 2013 season, in OU-Texas games in which one team was ranked in the AP poll and the other wasn't, the unranked team owns a 4-3 record (unranked Texas won last season, 2015 and 2013; and unranked OU won in 2020).

• This marks just the seventh time since 1971 that OU is unranked in the AP poll when it faces Texas. The Sooners are 3-4 in those meetings (won 53-45 in four overtimes in 2020, 30-27 in 1996 and 28-22 in 1982; lost in 2024, 2022, 2005 and 1999).

• Since 2000, the Sooners are 4-4 in the series when Texas is ranked in the AP top 5.

• OU is 0-4-1 against Texas when the Longhorns are ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The tie (15-15) came in 1984, with the Sooners ranked No. 3. The most recent such meeting saw UT beat No. 18 OU 34-3 in 2024. The Sooners were unranked in the first three meetings (20-13 in 1946, 28-7 in 1964 and 19-0 in 1965).

• Oklahoma's defense leads the nation by allowing just one passing touchdown, and ranks in the top five nationally in five additional categories: No. 2 in red-zone-conversion percentage (60.0) and first downs allowed (12.0 per game), No. 3 in third-down-conversion percentage (23.1), No. 4 in passing defense (122.5 ypg) and No. 5 in total defense (238.0 ypg). OU also ranks No. 7 in defensive pass completion percentage (51.9) and No. 10 in sacks (3.3 per game).

• The Sooners boast a veteran, home-grown defense. In fact, each defensive starter in all four games began their college football careers at OU.

• Saturday's game will feature a quarterback matchup between OU's John Mateer (fifth year) and Texas's Arch Manning (fourth year). Mateer has completed 66.1% of his passes for 883 yards and eight TDs (151.0 efficiency rating), while Manning has completed 63.5% of his throws for 862 yards and seven TDs (141.3 rating).

• In its 13 games last season, OU registered 11 touchdown passes of at least 20 yards. Through four games this season, Mateer has already registered six such plays (53, 48, 40, 34, 29 and 22 yards). He also has passing TDs of 17 and 14 yards.

• Oklahoma's tight ends combined for one receiving touchdown last season (by the now-departed Kaden Helms), but first-year Sooner tight ends Rocky Beers (40-yarder vs. UTEP; 17-yarder at Georgia) and Hayden Hansen (29-yarder vs. New Mexico) have combined for three this season. Under the direction of first-year tight ends coach Jason Witten, Beers, a sixth-year player who most recently played at Colorado State, ranks second on the team with 18 catches and 255 yards, while Hansen, who played the last four years at Florida, has four grabs for 64 yards.

• Beers ranks sixth nationally among tight ends (second in the SEC) with his 63.8 receiving yards per game. u In their 28 wins since the start of the 2023 season, the Sooners have outscored opponents 226-52 off turnovers (7-3 this year). In their 14 losses during the same span, they have been outscored 132-33 off turnovers (24-6 this season).

NORMAN, OK - September 19, 2026 - Oklahoma Defensive Back Peyton Bowen (#22) during the game between the New Mexico Lobos and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Daem Campbell/University of Oklahoma

OPENING KICK

• The 2026 season marks the 132nd in OU football history. The Sooners lead the nation with their 50 all-time conference championships and 33 AP top-five finishes. They rank second with their seven Heisman Trophy winners (tied), five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (tied) and 27 11-plus-win seasons, third with seven AP national championships, their 101 weeks as the AP's No. 1 team and 431 total weeks in the AP Top 5, fifth with 59 bowl appearances and sixth with 426 NFL Draft picks.

• Saturday's game will represent the 122nd meeting between Oklahoma and Texas, with the first matchup occurring Oct. 10, 1900, in Austin. Since 1929, the Sooners and Longhorns have played annually at Fair Park in Dallas. The game has been played inside the Cotton Bowl every year since 1937.

• Oklahoma has won five of its last eight meetings against Texas, 11 of the last 17 and 17 of the last 27.

• The designated visiting team has won four of the last five Red River Rivalry matchups (not last year) and seven of the last nine. Before that stretch, the home team won five straight matchups (2012-16) and seven of eight.

• Oklahoma and Texas rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in all-time winning percentage. OU is 962-353-53 (.723) while UT is 975-398-33 (.705). The Sooners have played 1,368 games and the Longhorns have played 1,406. UT has played two more seasons than OU.

• The SEC leads the country with its nine teams ranked in this week's AP Top 25, and five of those squads are in the top 10. The Big Ten ranks second with six top-25 teams (two in top 10) and is followed by the Big 12 with five, ACC with three and Pac-12 one. The other team is Notre Dame (independent).

• Oklahoma is coming off a 10-3 season in which it went 6-2 in the SEC and earned the No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff (lost 34-24 to No. 9 seed Alabama in Norman). Texas also went 10-3 overall and 6-2 in SEC play. It beat Michigan 41-27 in the Citrus Bowl.

RECAPPING THE GEORGIA GAME

• In Oklahoma's first-ever visit to Georgia and only its second game played in the state, the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs posted a 41-13 win on Sept. 26. The Sooners were outgained by just 10 yards (306-296).

• The loss was Oklahoma's first in an SEC road opener since joining the league prior to the 2024 season and snapped OU's three-game winning streak in road games at AP top-five opponents.

• The Sooners limited a Georgia offense that entered the weekend ranked fourth nationally in total offense (539.0 offensive yards per game) to 308 total yards, and held Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, who entered the weekend leading the nation with a 259.3 passing efficiency rating, to 14-of-25 passing for 171 yards (one touchdown and one interception) and a 118.7 passer rating.

• John Mateer completed 25 of 34 passes for 231 yards. His 74% completion rate was his second highest since his OU debut and the second straight game in which he posted a mark of 74% or higher. His touchdown passes went for 17 yards to tight end Rocky Beers and 14 yards to wide receiver Manny Choice. For sophomore Choice, it was his first career reception.

• Beers and wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III each made a game-high eight receptions. Beers finished with a team-high 84 yards and Sategna had 81.

• Sophomore defensive back Omarion Robinson, making his second career start, notched his first career interception on Georgia's first possession of the second half, setting up the Sooners on the UGA 35-yard line. Beers scored five plays later. Robinson and linebacker Kip Lewis each logged five tackles and Lewis added a half-sack and a pass breakup. Defensive back Courtland Guillory recorded his first career forced fumble, which was recovered by defensive lineman Bishop Thomas.

• Junior wide receiver Mackenzie Alleyne made his first career start.

DALLAS, TX - October 11, 2025 - Oklahoma Defensive Back Courtland Guillory (#4) during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners at The Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

LAST YEAR VS. TEXAS

• After leading 6-3 at halftime, No. 6/6 Oklahoma was outscored 20-0 in a 23-6 loss to No. RV/19 Texas on Oct. 11, 2025, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

• The Sooners allowed a then-season-high 302 yards and were held to a season-low 258 yards. They were outgained 188-88 in the second half.

• Texas outscored OU 10-0 in each of the final two quarters. In the third period, UT ran 26 plays to the Sooners' four, and converted its first seven third down plays.

• OU registered 12 tackles for loss but managed just one sack (by senior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas). Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Taylor Wein paced the Sooners with a career-high 3.0 TFLs while redshirt senior linebacker Kendal Daniels and redshirt junior linebacker Kobie McKinzie had 2.0 each.

• Just 17 days after undergoing surgery on his right (throwing) hand, redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer took every OU snap and completed 20 of 38 pass attempts for 202 yards. He threw three interceptions and was sacked five times. Mateer's nationleading 10-game streak of rushing and throwing for at least one touchdown each was halted.

• Redshirt senior Deion Burks (five receptions) and redshirt junior Isaiah Sategna III (four) led the Sooners with 64 and 61 receiving yards, respectively. Freshman Tory Blaylock paced OU with 33 yards on 11 rushes.

• Redshirt junior kicker Tate Sandell made both of his field goal attempts (42 and 41 yards).

• OU entered the game leading the nation by holding opponents to a 17.4% third-down conversion rate, but Texas converted 10 of 17 third-down tries (59%).

• After OU held its previous three foes to a total of 110 rushing yards (0.9 per carry), UT rushed for 136 (3.9).

YEAR THREE IN THE SEC

• Oklahoma and Texas officially joined the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024, after 28 years in the Big 12 Conference. OU won half (14) of the Big 12's football championships in its 28 years in the league and posted a 187-61 (.754) record against conference competition (includes an 11-1 record in Big 12 championship games).

• Oklahoma's 14 Big 12 titles were 10 more than the program with the next most (Texas won four). From 2010 through 2023, OU won eight Big 12 titles and was followed by Baylor (three), Kansas State (two) and Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas (one each).

ANOTHER SCHEDULE GAUNTLET

• OU has already faced two top-25 opponents this season in Michigan (No. 24 in coaches poll at the time) and No. 2 Georgia (both on the road), and six of its remaining eight foes are ranked in one or both of this week's polls: vs. No. 1/1 Texas (in Dallas), vs. No. RV/25 Kentucky, at No. 17/20 Mississippi State, at No. 16/15 Florida, vs. No. 9/11 Ole Miss and at No. 14/16 Missouri.

• This is the third straight season Oklahoma's schedule is among the nation's most challenging. Entering the year, the Sooners' strength of schedule was ranked as the country's second toughest in ESPN's FPI. OU's 2025 schedule was rated as the most difficult in the nation entering that campaign.

AYE AYE

• For the second straight year, the Sooners have season-long team captains (OU named weekly captains each of Brent Venables' first three years). This season's nine captains are senior defensive back Peyton Bowen, sophomore offensive lineman Michael Fasusi, sixth-year linebacker Owen Heinecke, fifth-year linebacker Kip Lewis, fifth-year offensive lineman Jake Maikkula, fifth-year quarterback John Mateer, junior offensive lineman Eddy Pierre-Louis, junior defensive lineman David Stone and senior defensive lineman Taylor Wein. Lewis and Mateer were captains last season.

NORMAN, OK - September 19, 2026 - Oklahoma Wide Receiver Isaiah Sategna III (#1) during the game between the New Mexico Lobos and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Daem Campbell/University of Oklahoma

NOTING THE OFFENSE

• After converting nearly all of its red-zone opportunities into points last season (34 of 35; 25 touchdowns), Oklahoma has scored on eight of its nine trips into the red zone (89%) through the first four games of this season. The Sooners have scored four red-zone touchdowns and made four field goals.

• Oklahoma returned 19 letterwinners on offense, including eight players who started at least six games last season, and welcomed 13 newcomers on that side of the ball for the 2026 season. The most returning experience is on the offensive line. Five 2026 Sooners started at least six games last season and have combined for 75 career starts: fifth-year senior Jake Maikkula (29 career starts, 13 at OU), senior Heath Ozaeta (17 career starts), junior Eddy Pierre-Louis (nine career starts, including eight of the last nine games) and sophomores Michael Fasusi (11 starts at left tackle) and Ryan Fodje (started each of the final six contests at right tackle or right guard last season and has started the last three games at left tackle).

• Three offensive line transfers have combined for 45 career starts: fifth-year senior E'Marion Harris (Arkansas) has made 28 career starts (four this season at OU), senior Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky) has 10 and junior Fred Hinton (Eastern Kentucky) has seven. The Sooners also signed two freshman offensive linemen in top-35 inside offensive line prospects Noah Best and Deacon Schmitt. Best has started each of the first four games this season (center vs. UTEP and right guard against Michigan, New Mexico and Georgia).

• Fifth-year wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III leads the Sooners with 20 receptions for 267 yards and two touchdowns (34 yards vs. UTEP and 53 yards vs. New Mexico). He has four touchdown receptions of at least 50 yards at OU, including ones of 58, 76 and 87 yards last season. He also five career 100-yard receiving games, all as a Sooner.

• Fifth-year quarterback John Mateer, in his second season as OU's starter, has totaled 4,275 offensive yards and 28 touchdowns since the start of last season (3,768 yards and 28 touchdowns passing and 507 yards and eight TDs rushing). Six of his eight touchdown passes this season have been from more than 20 yards. Junior Whitt Newbauer saw action in three games in his first season at OU last year after starting seven games at Mercer in 2024, and played in the 2026 season opener vs. UTEP, completing his only pass attempt for six yards and scoring on a three-yard touchdown rush. Jett Niu (played in one game as a freshman last year) also returned, while freshman Bowe Bentley was a consensus four-star and top-eight QB prospect nationally.

• Junior transfer running back Lloyd Avant (Colorado State) leads OU in rushing through four games with his 164 yards on 42 carries (one touchdown) and has 840 career rushing yards and seven TDs. Junior Xavier Robinson (421 rushing yards and four touchdowns last season; 50 yards on 13 carries this season) and sophomore Tory Blaylock (team-high 480 rushing yards and four TDs as a freshman; 15 yards on eight carries this year) are OU's top returning running backs. The Sooners brought in a pair of transfers in Avant and Ben McCreary (Incarnate Word), while freshmen Jonathan Hatton Jr. (No. 5 running back prospect in the country) and DeZephen Walker were both four-star recruits in the class. Hatton has rushed 14 times for 43 yards.

• Oklahoma added plenty of size to the tight end room in the transfer portal, bringing in 6-5, 240-pound sixth-year senior Rocky Beers (Colorado State), 6-8, 270-pound fifth-year senior Hayden Hansen (Florida) and 6-4, 250-pound sophomore Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) to go with returning fifth-year senior John Locke Jr., senior Kade McIntyre and sophomore Trynae Washington. Beers leads the group with 18 receptions and 255 yards (two TDs) this season, while Hansen has four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown.

• Sategna is OU's only returning wide receiver who made at least 10 catches last season. Fifth-year transfer Trell Harris (Virginia) has made six receptions for 104 yards and a TD, but has missed the last two games due to injury. Junior Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State), who made his first catch at OU on a 22-yard touchdown play at Michigan, has four receptions for 40 yards and made his first career start at Georgia, while Parker Livingstone (Texas) has four catches for 34 yards so far this season. Harris caught 59 passes for 847 yards and five touchdowns last season, while Livingstone registered 516 yards and two scores in 2025. Those four receivers combine with returning senior Jer'Michael Carter, juniors Ivan Carreon and Jacob Jordan, sophomores Manny Choice and Elijah Thomas (four receptions for 38 yards this season) and freshmen Daniel Odom, Xavier Okwufulueze, Jayden Petit and Jahsiear Rogers provide depth.

NOTING THE DEFENSE

• Through four games, Oklahoma's three opponents have scored on just 11 of their 47 offensive possessions (23%). That includes only six touchdowns (only four on drives of more than 50 yards).

• OU boasted one of the country's best defensive units last season and is off to a strong 2026 start. The Sooners lead the nation by allowing just one passing touchdown and rank second nationally in red-zone defense (60.0%; leads SEC) and first downs allowed (12.0 per game; second in SEC), third in third-downconversion defense (23.1%; leads SEC), fourth in passing defense (122.5 ypg; leads SEC), fifth in total defense (238.0 ypg; second in SEC), 10th in sacks (3.3 per game; fourth in SEC), 22nd in tackles for loss (7.0 per game; sixth in SEC) and 24th in scoring defense (16.0 ppg; fifth in SEC).

• The Sooners have been especially strong on third downs since head coach Brent Venables took over defensive play calling duties prior to the 2025 season, ranking second nationally by limiting opponents to a 27% percent conversion rate (only Texas A&M at 24% has allowed a lower conversion rate during that span). Since Venables arrived ahead of the 2022 campaign, Oklahoma has permitted teams to convert just 34% of third downs, which ranks 12th nationally over the last four-plus seasons.

• Defensive success begins up front, and the line once again is one of the team's strongest units. The returning group of primary contributors in seniors Taylor Wein and Adepoju Adebawore and juniors Jayden Jackson, Danny Okoye and David Stone have totaled 57.5 career tackles for loss and 26.0 career sacks. Returning junior Wyatt Gilmore and sophomore Trent Wilson have joined the rotation this season, along with fifth-year senior Bishop Thomas (transfer from Georgia State), junior Kenny Ozowalu (UTSA) and freshman Jake Kreul. Gilmore has made eight tackles (1.5 TFLs) and Thomas has made six tackles (0.5 sack, 1.0 TFL).

• The Sooners' linebacker corps returned fifth-year senior Kip Lewis, who has made 33 career starts and totaled 217 career tackles (19.5 for loss). Sixth-year senior Owen Heinecke was extremely productive in his breakout 2025 season and has now started each of the last nine contests. He ranked second on the team with 74 tackles (12.0 for loss) last year and leads the squad with 27 tackles this season. OU also returned junior James Nesta, who has made 16 tackles in four games this season, including five in his first career start vs. New Mexico, and brought in highly regard transfer Cole Sullivan, who registered 44 tackles in 11 games and three starts at Michigan last year.

• The defensive backfield is stout again with six returners who have now combined for 69 career starts. Senior Peyton Bowen (24 starts), logged career highs of 47 tackles, two interceptions and seven PBUs last season and has totaled 17 stops (2.5 for loss) and four PBUs this season. Junior Eli Bowen has made 21 career starts at cornerback (four this season), including nine last season when he recorded 24 tackles, two interceptions (including an 87-yarder for a TD in a win at No. 4 Alabama) and four pass breakups. Sophomore Courtland Guillory has made 15 career starts (four this season) at cornerback. Junior Reggie Powers III has started each of the first four games this season at the "Cheetah" position and ranks second on the team with 17 tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss (two sacks). Including junior Michael Boganowski, who has 45 tackles in 28 career games (three career starts; two this season) and senior Jacobe Johnson, who has three career interceptions in 41 games (two starts), six defensive backs have seen action in a total of 182 career games.

A LOOK AT SPECIAL TEAMS

• Oklahoma's special teams have drastically improved since the arrival of coordinator Doug Deakin. After finishing No. 127 in ESPN's special teams efficiency ratings in 2023 (the year before Deakin's arrival), the Sooners jumped to No. 41 in 2024 and to No. 10 in 2025.

• Oklahoma returned all four major players in the kicking game from last season, including reigning Lou Groza Award winner Tate Sandell and first-team All-SEC punter Grayson Miller. Three-year standout long snapper Ben Anderson and holder Jacob Ulrich are also back this season. Ulrich started last season as OU's punter before giving way to Miller due to an injury. Anderson is OU's long snapper for the fourth straight year.

• Sandell, who transferred to OU from UTSA last year, is 3 for 5 on field goal attempts this season and 27 for 32 in his year-plus at OU, and has made 81 of his 82 career PAT attempts (44 for 44 at OU). Miller is averaging 45.0 yards on 10 punts this season, including three of longer than 50 yards (long of 62). He set an OU record for punts longer than 50 yards last season (24). Ulrich served as OU's punter at Georgia and averaged 48.8 yards on six punts with three of 50-plus yards and a long of 56.

• Isaiah Sategna III ranks fifth nationally this season by averaging 18.6 yards on his seven punt returns, and took his first punt return of the year 88 yards for a touchdown. He averaged 13.3 yards on 24 returns last year.

• The Sooners also returned kicker Liam Evans, a junior from Moore, Okla., who made a 34-yard field goal vs. UTEP in week 1, and sophomore Preston Tarpley.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S BEST

• During the modern era of college football (since the end of World War II), the Sooners are the nation's No. 1 team with more wins (718) than any other program (next most is 694 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma has finished in the top 5 of the AP poll a nation-leading 33 times (Ohio State is second with 32).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (44), Ohio State (39) and USC (37). The Sooners' 14 league titles since 2000 are the most among Power Five programs (Ohio State ranks second with 11).

• Since the start of the 2000 season, OU ranks second with 19 seasons of at least 10 wins.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads the country with its 13,519 points scored. Boise State (13,279) is second and Oregon (13,122) third.

EXTRA POINTS

• Oklahoma is 7-16-2 all-time against the AP's No. 1-ranked team, with the last such meeting in 2024 against Texas (34-3 Texas win over No. 18 Oklahoma). OU's last win over the top-ranked team in the AP poll was in 2007 (No. 9 Oklahoma beat No. 1 Missouri 38-17). Only seven of Oklahoma's 25 all-time meetings with the AP's No. 1-ranked team have come while the Sooners were unranked, while 17 have come while OU is also ranked in the top 10. OU is 0-4-1 against Texas when the Longhorns are ranked No. 1.

• OU leads all SEC programs with its 925 all-time AP poll appearances. Alabama ranks second (913), Texas third (812), Georgia fourth (701) and LSU fifth (692). u First-year Sooners receiver Parker Livingstone spent his first two years at Texas. As a redshirt freshman last season, he caught 29 passes for 516 yards (17.8 average) and six TDs. In his four games this season, Livingstone ranks third on the team with six receptions (for 51 yards).

• Darrell Royal, Texas' all-time leader in coaching wins with his 167-45-5 record from 1957-76, starred as a player at Oklahoma in the late 1940s. From Hollis, Okla., Royal was a freshman in 1946 under head coach Jim Tatum and played his final three years under Bud Wilkinson, earning first-team All-America honors as a senior in 1949 as a quarterback. He also played defensive back (his 18 career interceptions set a program record that still stands) and was a punter in 1948. His 96-yard punt return against Kansas State in 1948 remains the longest in OU history. Royal led the Longhorns to a winning record in all 20 of his seasons in Austin and directed them to national titles in 1963, '69 and '70.