A hobbled Sooners offense meets a Longhorns defense performing at a high level.
The biggest rivalry in sports kicks off this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ABC for its first season in the SEC. Ranked No. 1 in the nation, the surging Texas Longhorns will face a scrappy No. 18-ranked Oklahoma Sooners team that despite a plethora of injuries has managed to continue to win games this season.
However, no matter the disparity in talent or health, this game will always present a challenge.
“How could you not get excited for this game,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said. “This is everything that you coach and play for at this level.”
With the loss of most of their receiving corps, their offensive line, and many members of the defense, Oklahoma was forced to suit 28 freshmen and sophomores against Auburn. Thanks to their bye week, some players will be set to return, but they will still be missing some of their key players in Dallas this Saturday with four wide receivers listed as out on Wednesday’s injury report and Deion Burks reportedly out as well, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Thursday.
Offense
The Oklahoma offense under co-offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, who replaced current Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby, has certainly been interesting this season — they benched former five-star quarterback prospect Jackson Arnold in favor of true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., the majority of their receiving corps has been out due to injury, and their offensive line has seen five different rotations due to injury this year.
The injuries and quarterback change makes the Oklahoma offense hard to evaluate, but based on their Week Five win over Auburn, Texas can expect a heavy dose of the run game from both their quarterback and running back, potentially from heavier personnel packages because so few scholarship wide receivers are available.
Quarterback
Despite the promise from Arnold out of Denton Guyer, Oklahoma has given the reins over to Hawkins, who is only the seventh quarterback in program history to receive a start as a true freshman.
Venables said that Hawkins earned the starting role after Arnold made too many mistakes with the ball, mainly after Arnold turned the ball over three times against Tennessee in Week Three, fumbling twice and throwing an interception in the first half.
Hawkins was a four-star prospect out of the Dallas area and the No. 20 quarterback prospect in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Hawkins’ athleticism is the biggest threat that this Texas defense will have to look out for on Saturday because the 6’2, 195-pounder has an ability to create off-script plays in both the running game and passing game.
Hawkins was the leading rusher for the Sooners in the win over the Tigers with 14 carries for 69 yards and a long 48-yard touchdown on the ground on their first drive to convert on third down.
The challenge for Texas is that Hawkins is so dangerous scrambling against man coverage when defenders have their back turned to him, putting a heightened emphasis on the defensive front to maintain rush-lane integrity in those situations. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is also cognizant of the need to show Hawkins different looks, which could necessitate using a spy on him when playing man, likely sophomore middle linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.
Dangerous on designed runs and scrambles, Hawkins completed 10-of-15 passes for 161 yards against Auburn, finding four receivers all over the field. He does not rely on dump offs and short passes as one would expect from a young quarterback, going 7-of-8 on passes over 10 yards. Hawkins is efficient with the ball as well, only coughing it up once so far this season.
Running back
Javonte Barnes was the lone back for Oklahoma against Auburn with 18 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown even though none of the other running backs were listed as injured for the game.
On the year, Barnes has totaled 57 attempts for 199 yards and two touchdowns. Standing at 6’0, 207 pounds, Barnes acts as the power back with 163 of his total 199 yards coming after contact as Oklahoma mixes zone and gap schemes for him.
Wide receiver
The Sooners are decimated at receiver with the top five receivers on the depth chart not suiting up last week against Auburn — Andrel Anthony, Deion Burks, Jayden Gibson, and their two studs Nic Anderson and Jalil Farooq.
Jacobe Johnson was moved to wide receiver from defensive back to help revitalize the group, but their passing attack continues to struggle as they make their way down the depth chart for pass catchers.
With just 15 pass attempts and no passing touchdowns against Auburn, Oklahoma ran the ball 32 times, an indication of how little balance the offense currently possesses.
JJ Hester has stepped up as the deep threat for the Sooners and their true freshman quarterback after bringing in the largest play of the season last week against Auburn, a 60-yard bomb that helped Hawkins open up the passing game. Hester is 6’5 and can fly downfield. He is only a freshman, so will be prone to mistakes against more elite defensive backs, but will likely become the new favorite target for Hawkins, mainly due to the process of elimination.
Tight end
Bauer Sharp handles most of the duties as the pass catching tight end for the Sooners. He became a favorite target for true freshman Hawkins last week with four receptions for 43 yards and a long of 35 yards. It is common to see tight ends flourish with young quarterbacks by serving as their security blanket and this will likely be the case again this week, as Hawkins will likely have very little time in the pocket.
At 6’4, 247 pounds, Sharp has brought in 15 receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown this year, thanks in part to a large frame and sure hands with only one drop all season. He lines up in a healthy dose of slot and inline with the offensive line with 50.3 percent of his snaps in the slot.
Offensive line
The offensive line has also been staggered by injuries with only three members of the offensive line appearing in all five games this season, leading to five different rotations along the line — junior left guard Jacob Sexton (6’6 322 pounds), junior right guard Febechi Nwaiwu (6’4, 339 pounds), and fifth-year senior USC transfer right tackle Michael Tarquin (6’6, 313 pounds).
Through this ever-changing rotation from the front five, Sexton has also gotten snaps at left tackle while Tarquin has moved to right tackle.
Branson Hickman received the nod at center last week against Auburn after missing two games. Joshua Bates has not seen the field since he was injured against Tulane in Week Three, and the Week One starter, junior Geirean Hatchett, has not seen the field since suffering an injury in the season opener against Temple.
Defense
The Oklahoma defense is what has kept their season alive. Defensive coordinator Zac Alley begins his first season this year with the Sooners, and with the help from experienced players such as Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman, has put together a good defense this season.
The Sooners are a turnover machine, forcing 12 already on the year. The five interceptions are impressive, but more outstanding is their ability to hit in the open field and put the ball on the carpet by forcing eight fumbles, all recovered by the defense. So ball security will be a particular emphasis for Texas, especially junior running back Jaydon Blue, who was benched after fumbling twice against Mississippi State.
Alley’s defense is also extremely effective in the red zone, utilizing their strong safeties and defensive backs in run support, but Oklahoma has struggled in deep coverage against Tennessee and Auburn, allowing three receivers to have receptions of 40-plus yards against Auburn, and two against Tennessee, including a 66-yard touchdown.
This could be an aspect where the talented receiving corps of the Longhorns can shine this week, as Sarkisian loves to take the lid off over the top against poor pass coverage. The issue will be giving Ewers enough time against the Sooners’ front seven.
Defensive line
The Sooners line up in a four-man front, led by R Mason Thomas off the edge. Thomas has been dominant this season, totaling six sacks already. At 6’2, 240 pounds, the junior is lightning fast off the edge, dominating tackles with a pass rush score of 85.8, according to Pro Football Focus. He’ll line up on the blind side against Kelvin Banks, who despite his talent, will have his hands full on Saturday.
The unit as a whole has been dominant in getting to the backfield with 18 total sacks on the season, including three from defensive tackle Gracen Halton. At 6’2, 291 pounds, Halton has a huge frame in the middle of the line while maintaining enough speed to be an effective pass rusher. He trails only Thomas in quarterback pressures this season with 10.
Linebackers
The heart and soul of this team is senior linebacker Danny Stutsman, who has already recorded 40 tackles (22 solo) from the middle of the field and is easy to spot with that big round neck plate on his back. He’s in the right place when it matters with 22 defensive stops. Ranked as the No. 4 off-ball linebacker prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft, Stutsman can nonetheless struggled in coverage, allowing 10 receptions on 10 targets, including six receptions for 69 yards against Houston.
A big name in last year’s Red River Rivalry was junior linebacker Desean McCullough, who missed the first five games of the season with a foot injury.
When asked about McCullough’s role in this week’s game, Venables said, “He’s going to have to play a role. He’s practiced for a few weeks now and gotten progressively back into it. Excited where he is right now and the additional playmaking that he can bring to the table. He’s long, he’s athletic, he loves to compete. He’s got natural instincts, toughness.”
Last season McCullough had 30 tackles, five of which came in critical moments against Texas. The Indiana transfer offers another level of intensity beside Stutsman and whatever level he can perform at provides a big boost for the Sooners at the linebacker position.
With the loss of Kendall Dolby to a broken leg last week, McCullough will be forced back into action this week to fill the flank next to Stutsmann.
Secondary
Junior free safety Robert Spears Jennings is a problem in this Sooners secondary — the league-bound junior has the fourth-highest defensive grade amongst all safeties in the nation at 87.2, according to PFF.
Jennings has a coverage rating of 85.1 and is dangerous with the ball in his hands, returning the one interception he’s had on the season for a touchdown.
He is rarely used as a pass rusher, however in the three times he has rushed the quarterback, he’s gotten home twice for two sacks on the year. Jennings is also effective in the open field with 17 solo tackles and only two misses.
Jennings is flanked by senior strong safety Billy Bowman, who is seemingly always on the field with 314 total snaps on the season. Bowman is a big part of their run defensive sets, especially in the red zone.
Kani Walker is their primary corner in this defense, often lining up against opposing offense’s X receiver. However, as seen against Tennessee and Auburn, he has trouble keeping up with elite receivers. This year, Walker has allowed eight receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
This unit as a whole can struggle against the deep ball, mainly due to their propensity to jump passes. They have already totaled five interceptions on the year and will likely look to continue this aggressive coverage moving forward. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, in his first game back from injury, has been known to be great at protecting the ball and will have to be careful not to throw any errant passes to these ballhawks.
Overview
Overall, despite the amount of talent that remains on this Oklahoma team, the number of injuries across the roster, primarily on offense, should be too much to overcome in such a big rivalry game. Texas has managed to stay relatively healthy outside of the running back position and should be able to take advantage of these young Sooners who have been thrust into action.
The biggest goal on defense will be to expose this offensive line that has been riddled with injuries all season. The lack of continuity and experience should make it easy for Alfred Collins, Barryn Sorrell, and the young phenom Colin Simmons to get home.
And with a true freshman under center, the goal should be to force Hawkins to run for his life all game. With practically all of their receivers injured, they will be forced to rely on a running game behind a hobbled offensive line and Texas needs to shut that down.
On offense the goal will be to protect the football. This Sooners defense has been a menace all year in creating turnovers, mainly against opposing ball carriers. Blue struggled with putting the ball on the carpet last game against Mississippi State and that cannot happen again.
They are very strong up front, so developing a running game and keeping Ewers clean will be tough. However, if they can give Ewers time in the pocket, he should be able to get the ball to this talented group of receivers over the top. There should certainly be some big passing plays in this game and also some bad sacks. Ultimately, the trenches will decide this game for the Longhorns.