The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
Football preview: Oklahoma
10.03.2022 | Football
The Longhorns and Sooners meet for the 118th time on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.
Texas (3-2) vs. Oklahoma (3-2)
October 8, 2022
Where: Dallas, Texas
Stadium: Cotton Bowl
Time: 11:00 a.m. CT
TV: ABC (Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy, Katie George)
Radio: Longhorn Radio Network/LEARFIELD (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Will Matthews)
Spanish Radio: Longhorn Radio Network/LEARFIELD (Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva, Jesus Mendoza)
National Radio: Compass Media Networks (Gregg Daniels, Steve Beuerlein)
THE OPENING KICKOFF
• The University of Texas continues its 130th season of football on Saturday when the Longhorns meet Oklahoma for the 118th time on Saturday in a matchup of the Big 12's most successful programs. The AT&T Red River Showdown, played in Dallas for the 94th consecutive year, will kick off it the Cotton Bowl at 11 a.m. CT on ABC.
• Last week, Texas (3-2, 1-1) defeated West Virginia, 38-20, winning for the third time in the last five games played in Austin, while Oklahoma (3-2, 0-2) fell to TCU, 55-24, in Fort Worth.
• Texas currently boasts 931 all-time wins, tied for the fourth-most in college football history. UT holds an all-time record of 931-387-33 (.701).
The All-Time Series
• There is no rivalry quite like the Texas-Oklahoma series, which is being played for the 118th time on Saturday. Texas is the only Big 12 program with a winning record against Oklahoma and leads the series, 62-50-5.
• The series, which began in 1900, has been played in Dallas since 1912 and at the State Fair since 1929. Saturday marks the 100th time the game will be played at a neutral site in Dallas.
• 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.
• Only Texas A&M (118 times) has played the Longhorns on as many occasions. Since 1900, the only years Texas and Oklahoma have not played were 1918, '20, '21 and 1924-28.
A Texas Win Would ...
• Be Texas' 932nd victory all-time, the fourth-winningest program in college football history.
• Improve the Longhorns to 63-50-5 all-time against Oklahoma.
• Give Steve Sarkisian his 55th victory as a head coach and ninth at Texas.
• Be the Longhorns 144th victory in Big 12 Conference play and improve their all-time conference record to 144-77.
Tracking the Red River Rivalry
• Both teams enter the game unranked on the Associated Press poll for the first time since 1998, a 34-3 victory for Texas.
• Since the AP Poll Top 25 began being listed in 1936, Texas and Oklahoma have met 12 times as unranked opponents with the Longhorns holding a 10-1-1 advantage.
• Texas has won the turnover battle in seven of the last eight meetings with OU, with the two teams tying at one turnover apiece in the 2018 Big 12 Championship Game. The team that wins the turnover battle between Texas and OU is 13-7 since 2000.
• The last nine meetings between the Longhorns and Sooners have been decided by eight points or less after 15-straight years in which the annual matchup was decided by at least two scores (1999-2013). Texas leads the all-time series, 29-21-5, when the rivalry game is decided by one possession (eight points or less).
• The Longhorns have scored at least 20 points against Oklahoma 28 times since 1980, posting a 14-13-1 record in those instances. Texas is 8-3 during that stretch when scoring 30-plus points, and 3-3 when scoring at least 40 points against the Sooners. Conversely, UT is 16-9-2 when holding Oklahoma to under 30 points or less since 1980, and 12-3-1 when limiting the Sooners to no more than 20 points.
• The Longhorns are 5-4 since 2000 when averaging at least four yards per carry on offense vs. Oklahoma. UT is 3-0 when rushing for at least 200 yards and 0-7 when rushing for less than 100 yards against OU during that stretch.
AT&T Red River Showdown Traditions
• The Cotton Bowl: After the series ended following a game in Austin in 1923, the tradition of the two schools playing at the State Fair of Texas 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. This year's Red River Showdown will be held in the Cotton Bowl for the 86th consecutive year.
• 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 2022, the Longhorns will wear their white uniforms and occupy the east bench area (opposite the press box side).
• The Governor's Cup: The Governor's Cup is exchanged annually by the Governor of Texas (Greg Abbott) and the Governor of Oklahoma (Kevin Stitt) 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. Following the game, the trophy will once again be engraved with the winner after the game and housed in the office of the winning governor for the year.
• 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."
Texas Fight Rally and Parade
• A tradition since 1916, the Texas Fight Rally & Parade is a popular student event held every year before the Texas vs. OU game and is run by the Texas Exes.
• Each year, Longhorn students gather at the Main Mall in front of the Tower where the crowd of students, faculty, alumni and fans hear from the Longhorn football coaches and players.
• The event features performances by UT Cheer & Pom and the Longhorn Band, as well as photo opportunities with Smokey the Cannon and Hook 'Em.
• This year's parade will be held on Thursday, October 6 and begins at 7:30 p.m. on Guadalupe between 25th Street and 21st Streets with the rally taking place at the Tower at 8 p.m.
Sarkisian Era Enters Second Season
• Texas Football Head Coach Steve Sarkisian begins his second season at the helm of the Longhorns and his ninth season as a head coach overall.
• Last season, the Texas offense ranked 18th in the nation and second in the Big 12 Conference with 35.5 points per game, the third-straight top-18 scoring output for a Sarkisan-led offense.
• The offensive showing also marked the eighth top-30 scoring offense in Sarkisian's career.
• Bijan Robinson rushed for 1,127 yards in 2021, marking the 10th consecutive year a Sarkisian coached offense has had a 1,000-yard rusher.
DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium Shines
• The Texas-Alabama game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium drew record-setting crowds to the Forty Acres.
• A total of 105,213 packed DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, topping the previous record of 103,507 established in 2018 in the Longhorns' victory over USC.
• It marked the 30th game in DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium history to draw more than 100,000 fans.
• Texas drew over 100,000 fans to a home game for the first time since 102,498 Longhorn faithful packed the house for UT's 24-10 victory over Iowa State in 2018.
Drawing a Crowd
• A week after setting the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium attendance record, the Longhorns drew another huge crowd with 102,520 Longhorn faithful packing the house, the third-largest crowd in DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium history, and the 31st crowd of 100,000-plus.
• It marks the first time since 2018 that Texas has drawn back-to-back crowds of over 100,000 fans.
• Texas followed that by drawing 100,740 fans for the matchup with West Virginia, the first time DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium held over 100,000 fans three times in a season since 2018 and the first time with three consecutive games of more than 100,000 in attendance since 2012.
The Eyes of College Football are Upon Austin
• Nearly 10.6 million viewers tune into FOX for Texas Football's game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 10, the most-watched college football game of the 2022.
• The broadcast averaged 10,595,000 viewers on FOX, peaking at over 15.1 million viewers, and was the fourth-most watch regular season college football matchup in the network's history.
• It marked the 30th game in DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium history to draw more than 100,000 fans.
• In addition to the record-setting crowds on the Forty Acres, FOX College Football announced that the game was the most streamed regular season college football or NFL game in FOX Sports history.
• ESPN's College GameDay drew its top Week 2 viewership in over a decade for the pregame show's live coverage from Lyndon B. Johnson Library Lawn.
• The show averaged 2,104,000 million viewers, an increase of 26% from 2021's Week 2 total.
• The final hour of the show, broadcast live from inside Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. CT, drew 2.7 million viewers.
• ESPN College GameDay's viewership of 2.1 million was the highest Week 2 total for the show since 2010 and the best for a September episode since 2016.
Non-Offensive Touchdowns
• Texas has made scoring non-offensive touchdowns a habit, registering at least one in 13 of the last 14 seasons.
• The Horns wasted no time this season when Keilan Robinson scored on a D'Shawn Jamison blocked punt to close out the first drive of the season opener by ULM.
• Jamison secured a defensive score with a third-quarter, 69-yard interception return against ULM, giving UT multiple non-offensive touchdowns in a season for the fourth time in six years.
• UT added a third for the 2022 campaign when Jahdae Barron intercepted a pass against UTSA at the Roadrunner 44-yard line and took it to the house for the first interception return of his career.
• Josh Thompson tallied a 27-yard interception return against Texas Tech last season that marked the fifth-straight season in which the Longhorns had a non-offensive touchdown.
• D'Shawn Jamison's 100-yard kickoff return against Oklahoma State in 2020 was the second of his career and fueled the Longhorns comeback from an 11-point deficit at the sixth-ranked Cowboys.
• Texas has scored a non-offensive touchdown in 15 of the last 16 seasons.
• Thompson's touchdown was the first for the Texas since defense since Anthony Wheeler's 38-yard fumble return in the 2017 Texas Bowl.
• It was the first interception returned for a touchdown since DeShon Elliott's 43-yard return at Baylor, also in 2017.
• The score was the 79th interception returned for a touchdown in UT history.
• UT finished 2017 with eight non-offensive touchdowns, tied for the most in the country. It was their most since registering 11 in 2009.
Defense Bringing the Heat
• The Texas defense came up huge in the 20-19 defeat at the hands of Alabama in week two, the first matchup between the storied programs since the 2010 BCS Championship Game.
• Texas' defense limited the high-powered Crimson Tide offense to 20 points, just the seventh time in the last eight seasons that Alabama has been held to 20 points or fewer.
• In the first half, Alabama rushed for 94 yards on 12 carries, with 81 of those yards occurring on one play.
• Following the 81-yard run, Texas forced Alabama to punt on each of the next six drives.
Finding the End Zone
• In the Longhorns' season opener against ULM, Keilan Robinson returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, D'Shawn Jamison returned an interception for a score and the Texas offense scored three rushing and two passing touchdowns.
• It marked the first time since the season opener against Maryland in 2017 that Texas scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams.
• In the 2017 game, Holton Hill had a 31-yard interception return and returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown, and Reggie Hemphill-Mapps scored on a 91-yard punt return. Shane Buechele added a pair of touchdown passes to Armanti Foreman and Collin Johnson and ran in for another score.
Heisman Hopeful: Bijan Robinson
• Texas has a strong Heisman tradition when it come to the running back position with two of the greats - Earl Campbell (1977) and Ricky Williams (1998) hailing from the Forty Acres.
• Additionally, the Longhorns have had 10 running backs or fullbacks place in the Top-10 in Heisman Trophy voting, most recently D'Onta Foreman in 2016.
• Current Big 12 Conference programs have produced five Heisman Trophy Winners from the running back/tailback position: Campbell, Williams, Billy Vessels (1952), Billy Simms (1978) and Barry Sanders (1988).
• The last three running backs named as the Heisman Trophy winner have been sophomores or juniors: Reggie Bush (2005), Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015).
Robinson By the Numbers
• Bijan Robinson has been one of the top performers in the FBS this season, ranking second in total touchdowns (9), third in total points scored (54), fourth in rushing touchdowns (8), and fifth in scoring 10.8 ppg), while also ranking 14th in rushing yards (515), 15th in rushing yards per game (103.0) and 17th in all purpose yards per game (140.6).
• He leads the Big 12 Conference in all purpose yards per game, scoring, total points score and total touchdowns, while ranking second in rushing yards, rushing yards per game and rushing touchdowns. Additionally, he is fifth in rushing yards per carry (5.85), sixth in yards per reception (18.80) and 10th in points responsible for (54).
• This offseason, Robinson focused on maintaining his speed for 90 yards (instead of the 40-yard dash), and was clocked at 22.3 mph on the GPS.
• Robinson has a history of not only making people miss and getting the tough yards, but also breaking big plays as both a rusher and receiver. For his career, Robinson has 34 plays (23 rushes/11 receptions) of 20-plus yards and that includes seven of 50 or more (all runs).
• Over his last 17 games, his ratio of long plays is even more impressive. During that time, he has 29 plays (19 rushes/10 receptions) of 20-or-more yards, including five runs of 50-plus. He's accomplished that in just 343 plays (302 rushes/41 receptions) in that 17-game span, or a play of 20-plus yards on average about every 12 plays.
• In five games this season, he has eight plays (4 rushes/4 receptions) of 20-or-more yards, including touchdown runs of 78, 41 and 40 yards.
• In 10 games last season, he had 12 plays (9 rushes/3 receptions) of 20-or-more yards, including two of 50-plus, with five touchdowns.
All About Zay
• Sophomore WR Xavier Worthy opened his 2022 campaign with a solid outing against ULM and a standout performance against No. 1 Alabama to move past 1,000 career receiving yards. He climbed closer to 100 career receptions with a stellar showing against West Virginia.
• Against West Virginia, he caught seven passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns of 15 and 44 yards.
• The two touchdown receptions gave him 15 for his career, tied for ninth in UT history.
• He also threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Tavion Sanders on the first pass attempt of his career.
• Worthy was the first Longhorn to pass and receive a touchdown in the same game since Lil'Jordan Humphrey against Oklahoma in 2018.
• His two touchdown receptions marked the fourth game of his career with that many, while the 100-yard performance was his fifth.
Sanders is a Sensation
• Sophomore TE Ja'Tavion Sanders has shown his versatility as a blocker and pass catcher during the 2022 campaign.
• Against West Virginia, Sanders caught five passes for 78 yards and a career-best two touchdowns.
• His two scores went for 33 and 13 yards and marked the first time a Texas tight end has hauled in two touchdowns in a game since D.J Grant in 2011.
• At Texas Tech, he was the top target for QB Hudson Card, making five catches for 40 yards.
• He made his first career start in the season opener against ULM and did not disappoint, establishing career highs with six receptions, 85 yards and his first touchdown.
• The 85 receiving yards were the most for a Texas tight end since Jermichael Finley tallied 149 yards on four receptions in against Oklahoma in the 2007 Red River Showdown.
• A tremendous blocker as well, Sanders was targeted six times and caught all six passes, including a pair of clutch catches on third and fourth down that set up a pair of touchdowns.
• He then added three receptions against No. 1 Alabama.
Ford Foundation
• Junior LB Jaylan Ford has emerged as a crucial member of the defense during the 2022 season.
• Against West Virginia, he registered 14 tackles (seven solo), his fourth-straight game with 10-or-more tackles, and a tackle for loss.
• At Texas Tech, he recorded 12 tackles (four solo), his third-straight game with 10-or-more tackles, and had a forced fumble.
• Ford was a force against UTSA, posting career best numbers with 15 tackles, 10 solo tackles and his first forced fumble.
• He had a breakout performance against No. 1 Alabama, posting a team-high 10 tackles (six solo) with two tackles for loss and one sack, helping hold the Crimson Tide to 20 points.
• In 2021, the Frisco, Texas native led the team with six tackles for loss. He collected at least one five of the least six games of the season with two in the season finale against Kansas State.
• He notched a career-high 12 tackles (seven solo) against Oklahoma State.
• Ford had at least six tackles in each of the last three games of the season, recording six against Kansas, five at West Virginia and six (all solo) against K-State.
Jerrin's Jumpstart
• Junior DB Jerrin Thompson has become the field general of the Longhorn secondary, starting each of the first five games of the 2022 campaign as a focally leader of the defense.
• Thompson was flying to the ball against West Virginia, posting his second-straight 10 tackle performance, including six solo tackles.
• At Texas Tech, Thompson established career highs with 10 tackles and seven solo tackles, while also breaking up one pass.
• Against UTSA, he had four solo tackles in helping UT pick up the win.
• Thompson registered one of the best games of his career against Alabama, tallying seven tackles (four solo) against the Crimson Tide.
• That effort was preceded by a four tackle (two solo) performance against ULM in the season opener.
• He had six starts in his 12 appearances last year, registering 41 tackles (26 solo) with three tackles for loss, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
• Thompson made his first start of the season against Arkansas, finishing with five tackles (four solo) and the first tackle for loss of his career.
• Thompson made his first career start on Dec. 5 vs. Kansas State last year, and wasted no time making an impact for the Longhorns.
• He notched his first career interception in the first quarter and returned it 21 yards to the K-State 3-yard line, setting up the Longhorns for an easy touchdown.
• He tallied three tackles, all unassisted, the interception and one pass breakup in his first career start.
• In his second start, Thompson led the team with six tackles in the Alamo Bowl.
• In 2020, Thompson appeared in all 10 games and contributed on special teams. He totaled 14 tackles, 10 of which were solo stops.
Anthony's Cookin'
• Super senior DB Anthony Cook has become a leader in the Texas secondary, pacing the defensive backfield with 34 tackles (20 solo) through the first five games of the season.
• He tallied four tackles (one solo) and had one pass breakup against West Virginia.
• Cook had a career game at Texas Tech, recording personal bests with 12 tackles and eight solo tackles, while also adding a pass breakup.
• He tallied six tackles (three solo) in UT's win over UTSA, the 11th game of his career with five or more tackles.
• Against Alabama, he collected nine tackles (six solo) and had a career-best tying two tackles for loss.
• He had breakout year in 2021, appearing in all 12 games with eight starts and establishing career highs for tackles (47), solo tackles (27), tackles for loss (three) and pass breakups (three), while equaling his career best with one sack and one fumble recovery.
• He had four tackles (two solo) in the season-opening victory over Louisiana and followed that with four tackles (two solo) and two pass breakups at Arkansas • Against Texas Tech, Cook tallied six tackles (three solo).
• He had a standout game at TCU, establishing a career high with eight tackles (six solo), including two tackles for loss and a strip-sack fumble recovery.
• Cook notched five tackles (four solo) against Kansas and equaled his career high with eight tackles (three solo) at West Virginia.
• He eclipsed 100 career tackles at West Virginia and heads into the 2022 season with a total of 107.
• His 47 career games are second-most among active Longhorns.
• For his career, Cook has 110 tackles (62 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, six pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
