No. 1 Texas favored over Oklahoma in Red River
· Yahoo Sports
As the calendar officially turns to Red River Showdown week, the No. 1 Texas Longhorns are -9.5 favorites over the Oklahoma Sooners, according to FanDuel.
In the Longhorns’ SEC opener, fans may have officially confirmed that the 2026 team will be led by its defense, rather than the offense as many predicted in the preseason. Colin Simmons led the defense with a school-record 5.5 sacks, bringing down Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon 10 times overall. Heading into the game, the Volunteers averaged 510 yards per game but managed just 221 total against the Longhorns’ defense. The Volunteers rushed for just 70 yards against Texas in the contest, after putting up 298.67 yards on the ground in their first three games.
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For comparison, the next week against Auburn, they rushed for 237 yards in a 24-14 win.
Oklahoma started the season and fooled everyone into thinking they had solved their offensive woes with a 51-0 drubbing of the UTEP Miners, but they soon crashed back to earth and showed the problems remained. They went to the Big House in Ann Arbor and turned in just 10 points — which was enough to tie the game in the fourth quarter. However, Bryce Underwood and the Wolverines did what many other teams had done before: they turned a John Mateer turnover into quick points to win.
Oklahoma avoided near disaster against New Mexico, holding a one-point halftime lead over the Lobos before taking advantage of one chunk play in the second half to escape with an eight-point win. However, their luck didn’t hold in Athens, and the Georgia Bulldogs capitalized on four Oklahoma turnovers to come away with a 41-13 drubbing heading into their pre-Red River bye week.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has owned the rivalry against Brent Venables, winning three of the last four with a whopping 136-46 scoring margin. In all three wins, the Sooners failed to score a touchdown and needed one with 15 seconds left to win.
All of that being said, one of the only things you can expect from this game is the unexpected, and none of the history actually matters, which is likely reflected by a line of less than 10 for an undefeated No. 1 team and a 2-2 team with its season goals on life support. This game generally hinges on which team survives the early emotions and takes better care of the football.
Either way, all eyes will be on Dallas as the two historic rivals line up in one of college football’s greatest annual traditions.