The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
Football preview: No. 19/20 Football vs. No. 7/5 Oklahoma [Oct. 6, 2018]
10.01.2018 | Football
The Longhorns meet the Sooners in the AT&T Red River Showdown.
No. 19/20 Texas (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) vs. No. 7/5 Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0 Big 12)
October 6, 2018
Where: Dallas, Texas
Stadium: Cotton Bowl
Time: 11 a.m. CT
TV: FOX (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)
Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Quan Cosby)
Spanish Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva, Jesus Mendoza)
National Radio: Compass Media Networks (Gregg Daniels, Tony Hill)
Live stats: hookem.at/FootballLiveStats
All-time series: Texas leads 61-46-5
COMPLETE GAME NOTES
The Opening Kickoff
• The University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma will meet for the 113th time on Saturday in the AT&T Red River Showdown. Kickoff from inside the Cotton Bowl in Dallas will be at 11 a.m.
• The Longhorns enter the matchup winners of four straight, with an overall record of 4-1 and a 2-0 mark in the Big 12 Conference. UT defeated Kansas State on the road, 19-14, on Saturday for their first win in Manhattan since 2002.
• Oklahoma is 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12. They are coming off a 66-33 win over Baylor on Saturday.
• The game will be broadcast on FOX, with Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline) on the call.
• FOX College Football Pregame will broadcast live on Lone Star Blvd. between the Texas Hall of State and the Esplanade at the Texas State Fair. Rob Stone, Matt Leinart, Robert Smith and Dave Wannstedt will be live on FS1 beginning at 9 a.m., with a simulcast on FOX beginning at 10 a.m. The crew will bring viewers the latest news and analysis leading up to one of college football's biggest rivalries.
• For the first time since 2011 (also Red River Showdown), College GameDay will be live from a Longhorn Football game as they broadcast from the State Fair. Coverage on ESPN begins at 8 a.m. with Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, David Pollack, Desmond Howard and more.
• The Longhorn IMG Radio Network broadcast with Craig Way (play-by-play), Roger Wallace (analyst) and Quan Cosby (sideline) can be heard on Sirius channel 106, XM channel 199 and app channel 953 in addition to the local affiliates listed on page two.
• Compass Media Networks will provide a national radio broadcast. Gregg Daniels (play-by-play) and Tony Hill (analyst) are on the call.
• The Longhorns' Spanish language radio broadcast, Cadena Deportiva, can be heard in Austin and Dallas, or online at TexasSports.com. Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva (play-by-play) and Jesus Mendoza (analyst) are on the call.
• Longhorn Network's broadcast begins at 9 a.m. with Texas GameDay. The two-hour pregame show will feature interviews, stories and analysis surrounding Saturday's game. After the game, LHN broadcasts Texas GameDay Final, with postgame interviews, analysis and highlights.
The All-Time Series
• There is no rivalry quite like the Texas/Oklahoma series which is being played for the 113th time on Saturday.
• The series, which began in 1900, has been played in Dallas since 1912 and at the State Fair since 1929.
• Only Texas A&M (118 times) has played the Longhorns on more occasions. Since 1900, the only years Texas and Oklahoma have not played were 1918, '20, '21 and 1924-28.
• The first matchup between the two teams in 1900 ended with a 28-2 Longhorns' victory. Texas is the only Big 12 Conference team that holds an all-time series lead against the Sooners.
AT&T Red River Showdown Traditions
• Texas State Fair: The Texas-Oklahoma game is once again a part of the State Fair of Texas in 2018. After the series ended following a game in Austin in 1923, the tradition of the two schools playing at the State Fair began in 1929 in an old wooden structure called Fair Park Stadium. The new structure, also called Fair Park Stadium, but renamed the Cotton Bowl in 1936, was built in time for the 1930 matchup. The first Texas-OU game played at "The Cotton Bowl" was in 1937.
• The Battle Line: One of the unique characteristics of the great rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma is the colors. Tickets are divided equally and the stadium is split in half (burnt orange and crimson) at the 50-yard line. As the visiting team in 2018, the Longhorns will wear their white uniforms and occupy the east bench area (opposite the press box).
• Texas Fight Rally: The annual Texas Fight Rally is set for Wednesday night at the Main Mall on the UT campus. Head coach Tom Herman and members of his team will be on hand.
• The Governor's Cup: The Governor's Cup is exchanged annually by the Governor of Texas (Greg Abbott) and the Governor of Oklahoma (Mary Fallin) following the AT&T Red River Showdown. The tradition began when Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe donated the trophy, and each year it is transported from the office of the previous year's winning Governor to Dallas. It is displayed in the Hall of State on game day and transported to the office of the winning Governor after it has received its engraving.
• The Golden Hat: To the victor goes the Golden Hat, a rotating trophy given annually to the winner of the Texas-Oklahoma game. A gold cowboy hat that is mounted on a large block of wood, it has been part of the rivalry since the State Fair of Texas donated it in 1941. When the hat first arrived, it was known as the "Bronze Hat" and was actually made out of bronze. The hat was reworked in the 1970s and came out gold, hence the name change to the "Golden Hat."
Both Teams Ranked
• Saturday's matchup will pit the #19/20 Longhorns against the #7/5 Sooners. It will be the first time since 2012 that both teams are ranked for the AT&T Red River Showdown.
• Since 2000, the two teams have met as ranked foes 12 times in this game. Oklahoma owns an advantage in such matchups, having won 9-of-12 contests against Texas.
Four Straight
• Texas has won four consecutive games for the first time since the 2013 season in which they won six straight after a 1-2 start to the season.
• Since going undefeated in the regular season in 2009, UT has had just four instances (2011, 2012, 2012, 2013) in which they have won four straight games.
Ehlinger By The Numbers
• True sophomore Sam Ehlinger completed 29-of-36 for 207 yards and a touchdown against Kansas State.
• He has not thrown an interception in four straight games, a stretch of 128 consecutive pass attempts. That is the third-longest streak in school history (Major Applewhite 156 in 1999; Applewhite 138 in 1999).
• Ehlinger became the first Longhorn QB since Colt McCoy in 2008 to have at least two TD passes and one rushing TD in three consecutive games (Tulsa, USC, TCU).
• He has passed for more than 200 yards in five-straight games to begin the season, becoming the first Longhorn QB since McCoy in 2009 to do so. McCoy (5 straight 2009; 8 straight 2007), Major Applewhite (11 straight 1999) and Peter Gardere (7 straight 1992) are the only other Longhorn QBs to do so in school history.
• Ehlinger was the first Longhorn QB ever to pass for at least 200 yards and two touchdowns in each of the season's first four games.
• He has now passed for 3,100 yards in his career and currently sits 14th in school history. Next up is Bobby Layne's (1944-47) 3,145 career passing yards.
Two-Headed Monster
• Junior wide receivers Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Collin Johnson have provided QB Sam Ehlinger with two dangerous targets so far this season.
• Humphrey leads the team with 26 catches for 402 yards and three TDs, while Johnson is close behind with 24 receptions for 350 yards and three scores.
• Fifty-four FBS teams have at least one receiver with 24-plus catches so far this season, but Texas is one of just 11 to have two receivers with 24-or-more catches.
• The 11 schools are TEXAS, Ball State, Baylor, Bowling Green, Colorado State, Hawaii, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Southern Miss, Texas Tech and Washington State.
Two-Headed Monster, Part II
• Humphrey and Johnson have combined for 50 catches, 752 yards and six scores through five weeks.
• The last time two Longhorn receivers went over 40 catches in the same season was 2014, when John Harris caught 68 passes for 1,051 yards and seven TDs, and Jaxon Shipley had 59 receptions for 577 yards and one score.
Dominant Defensive Effort
• Texas allowed just 110 passing yards and 217 total yards in Saturday's win over K-State.
• The 110 passing yards were the fewest allowed against a Power Five opponent since holding Baylor to 84 yards through the air in 2015.
• The 217 total yards allowed were the fewest against a Power Five opponent since limiting Oklahoma State to 192 in 2014.
Points Off Turnovers
• One of the keys to success in the Tom Herman era has been UT's ability to score points off turnovers, while limiting opponent points after turnovers of their own.
• Since the beginning of 2017, UT has forced 33 turnovers while scoring 134 points off of them. On the flip side, the Longhorns have committed 23 turnovers and allowed just 24 points.
