In the iconic Cotton Bowl, the Red River Showdown delivered thrills, raw emotion, and stomachaches (from both fried food and a historic comeback by the bad guys). The environment was electric, but Texas left with another disappointing loss to our rivals in crimson. OU now holds a 7-2 record against the Horns over the past eight years.
Trying to quickly move away from the heartbreaking range of emotion experienced in Dallas, we shift our attention to the Oklahoma State Cowboys and a home game at DKR. With Texas hanging on by a thread in the AP Poll, this game will be a matchup between two top 25 teams. The Fighting Mike Gundy’s from Stillwater come to the Texas Capital City undefeated and primed for the upset over the Horns. The Longhorns will be playing in a premier nationally televised game for the second week in a row.
We are Football on the 40, a podcast hosted by University of Texas alumni that takes a weekly dive into the Longhorn football season. These are our individualized takes for the Oklahoma State game (11 am, Big Noon Kickoff on Fox).
Bowen: I think it’ll take a while for me to emotionally recover from last week’s game… I’m just fortunate that I was the only one out of us at Football on the 40 that was spared from having to see the meltdown in person (on account of being on my honeymoon). Looking ahead to Oklahoma State, a Big 12 Conference championship berth is definitely still within reach if we can execute and head into the bye week with a win.
We’re going to need to continue to perform well at home, as we have all season, to come out on top on Saturday. Texas opened at -5 favorites against Oklahoma State, who are 3-2 against the spread this season. We’re 4-2 ATS, and importantly, 3-0 ATS as a home favorite. Vegas expects another high-scoring game with an over/under at 60.5. It’ll be our 4th game in a row at 60+, and the over has hit the last 2 of 3. I have Texas bouncing back and winning a shootout 52-35. Hook’em!
Andrew: Mike Gundy will have his team prepared and ready to go on Saturday. Texas can’t let the emotions of last week’s game affect the outcome of this game. Look for Oklahoma State to run the ball early and often, especially with Jaylen Warren, who is averaging 4.5 yards per carry on the season.
The Cowboys will want to shorten the game as much as possible and limit the firepower of the Longhorn offense. Wow, look at how the tables have turned in the past half-decade! As a result, I don’t think Texas will score as much as in previous games, but I expect them to win the game by a score of 37-27.
Kevin: Unfortunately, last weekend, we attended in person the best Texas/OU game of our lifetimes. The gameday and fan experiences lived up to the hype, but sadly, the Longhorns couldn’t quite hold on for the win. This weekend Oklahoma State will challenge the Longhorns’ defense on the ground with similar running game schemes as Arkansas and Oklahoma.
If we can prevent a 300+ yard rushing game from the Cowboys and have Bijan and Casey Thompson add to their already illustrious offensive highlight reels, the Longhorns will win in a shootout in Austin… I think.
Jake: Though it’s a little tough to look past the stunner in Dallas, I am still quite excited for this Saturday. This team is strong, different from past Texas teams, generally well-coached, motivated, and I still expect success to come this season.
Thus far, Texas has been quite strong at home (3-0, with the closest game being a 20-point win against ranked Louisiana in the season opener). I look for that trend to continue, with Texas winning 45-35. As a result, Texas returns to 2nd in the Big 12 standings and is the front-runner to challenge Oklahoma for the Big 12 Championship in December.
You can check out this week’s podcast here.
