Texas and Oklahoma have played this one 121 times, and this year's edition might carry more weight than most. Last October's 23-6 beatdown in Dallas is still fresh in Norman — now both programs show up with something bigger to prove.
Bush’s Picks
TEXOU
TEXOU
OverUnder
Best BetTexas
Texas is the better team from top to bottom right now, and Manning looked like a different quarterback by the back half of last season. The Longhorns also have the head-to-head evidence — a 23-6 shutdown of a top-10 Oklahoma team last October — that this matchup already favors them. Backing Texas here is backing the more talented roster with the more proven starter.
Texas
+Arch Manning back, team drawing top-5 preseason buzz
+Blew out Oklahoma 23-6 in last meeting
+Sarkisian calls this his deepest roster yet
−Missed the CFP after 3 losses in 2025
−Manning underwent an offseason foot procedure
−Brutal SEC slate could catch up before October
Oklahoma
+Mateer returns as a starter for the first time since 2023
+Venables defense ranked top-10 nationally in 2025
+Made the CFP as an 8-seed last season
−Offensive line struggled mightily, run game stagnant
−Shut out (relatively) by Texas 23-6 last meeting
−Lost in the CFP first round 34-24 to Alabama
Arch Manning gets his second full season as the starter, and Steve Sarkisian isn't shy about how he feels about this roster, calling it his most talented group yet in Austin. Across the field, John Mateer is back for a redemption tour after an injury-shortened, up-and-down debut season in Norman. Both quarterbacks will be under center for a Saturday, October 10 date at the Cotton Bowl that could swing how each team's SEC slate plays out down the stretch.
Manning dealt with a minor offseason foot procedure but was cleared for summer workouts well before fall camp, so there's no lingering health question hanging over Texas's QB1 entering this one. Oklahoma's bigger concern all offseason has been the trenches — the offensive line struggled mightily in 2025 and the run game never got out of neutral, even as Brent Venables kept building one of the nation's best defenses around it. That imbalance is worth watching as the market sets its number for this one.
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TEX Texas
OU Oklahoma
Both fan bases remember exactly how last year's meeting went: Texas held a top-10 Oklahoma team without a touchdown, something that hadn't happened to the Sooners in nearly half a century. That result is the backdrop for everything both staffs are selling this preseason — Texas as the team with the ceiling, Oklahoma as the team that closes the gap on both lines of scrimmage.
Texas Longhorns
Sep 26?@ Tennessee—
Sep 19?vs UTSA—
Sep 12?vs Ohio State—
Sep 5?vs Texas State—
Oklahoma Sooners
Sep 25?@ Georgia—
Sep 19?vs New Mexico—
Sep 12?@ Michigan—
Sep 4?vs UTEP—
Recent form.
Texas enters as the more complete team on paper. The Longhorns finished 10-3 a year ago, closed with a 41-27 Citrus Bowl statement over Michigan, and arrive in Dallas as a preseason top-five team — some polls have them No. 1 outright for a second straight year. Oklahoma's path back is more defense-first: the Sooners made the College Football Playoff as an 8-seed before a first-round exit, and Venables' unit ranked top-10 nationally in both yards and points allowed. The question in Norman all offseason has been whether Mateer and a shaky O-line can give that defense enough support to flip last year's result.
Texas Longhorns
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Oklahoma Sooners
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
This is still the Red River Rivalry, which means form guides and depth charts only matter so much once the two teams get into the Cotton Bowl and the crowd splits down the middle. Texas has the better roster and the head-to-head receipts from last October. Oklahoma has the defense that can make any offense look ordinary for four quarters. That tension is exactly why this one is circled on both schedules months in advance.
