By: Kyle Golik
This current round of conference realignment can be traced to when the SEC announced in 2021 that Texas and Oklahoma were joining the conference in 2024.
Much like how the conference realignment roulette wheel has spun at a feverish pitch across the country, the same pace of jockeying has been occurring between the Red River rivals.
Seismic events such as five-star quarterbacks Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers committing to Texas, Oklahoma losing Lincoln Riley in the middle of the night to Southern Cal as well as quarterback Caleb Williams.
Both teams have struggled, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian dealt with setbacks that included injuries to Ewers and wide receiver Xavier Worthy that hurt the Longhorns and his progression. Meanwhile, the Sooners brought in Brent Venables, while Oklahoma fans expected a reload from Venables, Venables realized it would be a total rebuild of the Sooners foundation that was needed.
During Big XII Media Days this past June, Venables touched on his first year 6-7 disappointment:
“We went 6-7 last year and fell well below our expectations and standards at Oklahoma. We learned and grew a lot as a football program. We’ve looked long and hard this offseason at what we need to do to become a more efficient football team. We’ve looked at every single part of our program to see how we can improve and get better. We spent a lot of the offseason practicing film review, programmatically coaching, and all the things that can get better. We are really excited about the improvements that we’ve made.”
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He has been accurate so far on being excited about the improvements his Sooners have made in his second season with Oklahoma currently ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll at a 5-0 record.
The improvements have occurred on both sides of the ball. Offensively, quarterback Dillon Gabriel has found his stride guiding the Sooners to the No. 7 passing attack in the country at 352.4 yards per game. Individually, Gabriel has completed 74% of his passes, has 15 passing touchdowns to two interceptions, and has a 132.9 passing rating.
Venables’ defense, one that was a primary culprit in Oklahoma going 0-5 in one-possession games a season ago, has been stifling the opposition. The Sooners’ defense has surrendered 10.8 points per game which is the No. 5 scoring defense nationally and allowing 318 total yards per game.
Despite the Sooners’ improvements, it is Texas who are ranked higher and have the signature win of the season. The current No. 3 Longhorns dominated Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Texas outgained Alabama 454 to 362 in total offense and it was Ewers who delivered the monster performance Longhorn fans pined for from last season’s encounter that got cut short due to a Ewers injury.
Ewers finished 24 for 38 passing for 349 yards, three touchdowns, and a QBR of 92.7. His game hasn’t slowed down in Big XII conference action as Ewers has completed 74.9% of his passes, averaging 309 yards per game, with a QBR of 88.9.
Defensively, Texas has a pair of headlining linebackers in senior Jaylan Ford and freshman Anthony Hill Jr. who lead the defense. Ford has forced a turnover in eight of his 12 games with Hill bursting onto the scene against Alabama with a pair of sacks.
With both teams undefeated and looking to position themselves into the driver’s seat of the College Football Playoff race for this year, let’s look beyond this year and see who is in a better position to enter the SEC.
Quarterback
Verdict – DEPENDS IF EWERS COMES BACK
Quinn Ewers spent the 2021 season at Ohio State meaning after this season he would have been out of high school for three seasons.
The question that cannot be answered now is whether Ewers is a lock to go early in the NFL draft after this season. Entering the season he was rated in most draft analyst’s Day 1 picks but it wasn’t a firm consensus.
Ewers entered college football as one of the highest-rated recruits ever and it would be a safe assumption he wants to be the first quarterback taken. With Southern California’s Caleb Williams not a lock to leave it will be interesting to watch what he does.
For Texas, Ewers coming back has the Longhorns much better for entry into the SEC than without him.
While Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel has another year of eligibility, it looks like he’ll go to the NFL after this year. He contemplated leaving for the pros after last year but chose to stay for another year in Norman.
Behind them, both teams have five-star talent in Arch Manning (Texas) and Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma). Between the two it is a coin flip, I wasn’t enamored as most were with Arch Manning’s prep career. While I won’t go the distance that Mike Farrell did and say if Arch Manning was Arch Smith he would be a three-star quarterback, I don’t feel he is a prodigy like those inside his family.
Other than the two freshmen, Texas has RS Freshman Maalik Murphy. He played above Manning in the spring game and looked much better than him. Texas’ Week 5 depth chart seated Murphy OR Manning as QB2, so there could be a big QB battle in Austin next spring.
What I saw from Arnold in mop-up duty against Arkansas State, completing all 11 of his passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, I feel Jeff Lebby’s offense has their quarterback of the future and one that will stand out. I would say, Ewers stays, I give Texas the edge. If Ewers leaves then give me the Sooners.
Coach
Verdict – SARKISIAN
I think this is much closer at the moment than most people think. If Sarkisian gets another win over Venables, he will begin to distance himself a bit. There is the opportunity that Oklahoma and Texas would square off again in the Big XII Championship Game at AT&T Stadium, which could position one a good step ahead of the other.
For Saturday’s Red River showdown, Sarkisian to me has the Texas program ahead a bit with Venables and the Sooners charging heavy and closing the gap.
In previous jobs, Sarkisian proved he can get the big win, but the one thing we did not see at Washington or Southern Cal is capitalizing on major wins and taking the program to the next level. After the Alabama win, is looks like Texas is ready to take that next step and Sarkisian has the talent to do it.
A win on Saturday would really cement the Longhorns finally having the right coach in Austin.
Offensive Weapons
Verdict – Backs: Texas Receivers: Oklahoma
Sarkisian is building a major pipeline at the running back position and leveraging not only Texas’s great history at the position with Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams but its most recent blockbuster at running back Bijan Robinson, who was a physical freak in the same vein as Campbell and Williams.
With Robinson gone to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, sophomore Jonathon Brooks, has filled the void. He has been spectacular this season averaging nearly seven yards a carry. Supporting Brooks is incoming five-star freshman CJ Baxter, who was the first true freshman to start for Texas since Ricky Williams in 1995.
In the pipeline, Sarkisian scored the No. 2 running back in the country in the Class of 2024 in Jerrick Gibson, a four-star recruit from the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
While Texas enjoys a strong pipeline at running back, it should be noted Taylor Tatum, the No. 1 running back in the country in 2024, according to 247 Sports, from Longview HS in Longview, Texas committed to OU. Besides him, current underclassmen Jovante Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk are no slouches either, although they haven’t performed to the level Texas backs have. Overall, I do prefer Texas’s situation a bit more than Oklahoma’s.
While Texas enjoys having one of the best receiver/tight end combos in the country with Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington, and Ja’Tavion Sanders, a group in 2022 that was the only Power 5 school in the country to have three or more receivers have 50 or more receptions, are all draft eligible.
Whittington is a senior, Sanders is seen by many only behind Georgia’s Brock Bowers as the best tight end in the country, and if Worthy has a repeat of the 2021 season, he may take his chances in the NFL. I do like Adonai Mitchell, a transfer from Georgia, who should assume the WR1 role after this year.
However, I like Oklahoma’s receiver situation a bit better. I feel the group this year with Jalil Farooq and Andrel Anthony should return, they will be supported by underclassmen most Sooners fans will be excited about.
On the roster is a pair of freshmen, Nic Anderson and Jaquaize Pettaway who are the future of the Oklahoma program.
Add in a Top 10 tight end from the Class of 2024, four-star Davon Mitchell from Los Alamitos HS in Los Alamitos, California, you can see quickly why I like not only Oklahoma’s receiver situation but also Jackson Arnold’s future.
Trenches
Offense: Texas Defense: Oklahoma
Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, who has coached the Sooners offensive line since 2013, is one of the best O-Line coaches in the country.
The Sooners have three senior starters to replace next year. While the Class of 2024 will fill the depth chart, most Oklahoma fans will be interested in Class of 2023 Top 10 interior lineman Cayden Green, who is currently a backup to senior left tackle Walter Rouse.
While Oklahoma has a solid offensive line, Texas has one to marvel at.
For the first time since 1993, all five offensive line starters returned; a unit in 2022 gave up only eight sacks in 2,143 pass-blocking snaps.
Barring a junior exodus, the Longhorns should return four starters and when you couple in three high-end recruits from the 2023 and 2024 classes, 2023 Top 20 offensive lineman Jaydon Chatman and Peyton Kirkland, with No. 1 tackle from the Class of 2024 Brandon Baker from Mater Dei HS in Santa Ana, California, the offensive line present and future for Texas is robust.
On the defensive side of the ball, Brent Venables is committed to recruiting the elite NFL defensive lines he spearheaded in Clemson at Oklahoma.
He hasn’t disappointed thus far when he landed the No. 2 defensive lineman in the country last year in EDGE rusher Adepoju Adebawore and this year landing four Top 25 defensive linemen headlined by No. 3 defensive lineman David Stone, a five-star recruit from the IMG Academy.
While Venables’ current defensive line is being patched by the transfer portal, it will be sooner rather than later that Oklahoma’s defensive line is not only SEC-ready but amongst the elite units in the country.
Defensive Weapons
Verdict – Texas
The present for Texas isn’t ideal at linebacker for Sarkisian, but he is building towards an ideal state.
Currently, senior Jaylan Ford is playing at a Butkus Award-winning level and is expected to continue that throughout this season as he continues to cement his legacy in Austin as one of the greatest linebackers to ever play for Texas.
The future is bright in Austin on the roster from the Class of 2023 two of the Top 5 linebackers in five-star Anthony Hill Jr. and four-star Tausili Akana look to make their impact. A third freshman, Liona Lefau, is the current backup to Ford and will have some of the toughest shoes to fill.
In the 2024 cycle, five-star Colin Simmons, from Duncanville HS in Duncanville, Texas, was classified as the No. 4 linebacker in the country upon his commitment. He has since been reclassified as an EDGE rusher and 247 Sports rates Simmons the top EDGE rusher in the country. With comparisons to former Oklahoma Sooner and current Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonito, it gives Texas the edge at linebacker.
Texas secondary is just as good if not in a better position than the linebackers.
Currently, Texas has the stronger secondary and it is razor thin on the future of both programs.
Seniors Jahdae Barron and Jerrin Thompson are not only leaders of the secondary but the entire defense. Barron was the only defensive back in the Power 5 since to register double-digit tackles for loss in a season as well as a fumble and interception return for a touchdown.
This season Barron set the tone against Alabama with an interception on the Crimson Tide’s opening possession.
Thompson this season had the game-clinching interception against Wyoming and had another big pick against Alabama.
Thompson and Barron are mentoring exceptional young Longhorns in freshmen Derek Williams Jr. and Malik Muhammad who both were rated in the Top 5 at their positions.
Oklahoma has some exceptional pieces as well.
A major coup for Venables in the transfer portal was landing sophomore linebacker Dasan McCullough, who transferred in from Indiana and will be an instrumental piece of the future of the Sooners defense.
If any position group Venables has as much emphasis as the defensive line, it is the secondary. Venables between the 2023 and 2024 cycles has landed five Top 10 defensive backs, notably Jaydan Hardy (2024: No. 9 – S), Peyton Bowen (2023: No. 3 – S), and Kendel Dolby (2023: No. 1 – S).
If anything Oklahoma on a revisit may take at least the defensive backs portion of it, but for now I like the present and future of Texas’s secondary.
Final Verdict – Texas
Prepare is the key word to emphasize here in this article. Who’s better prepared for the SEC?
If you take away names and faces and you believe in what NFL GMs preach that the core of any successful team is the quarterback, blindside tackle, and elite EDGE rushers, what Texas has done if the analysts are correct is they are more than prepared to be successful in the SEC.
Sarkisian has between the last two recruiting cycles – No. 1 quarterback (Manning), No. 1 tackle (Baker), and No. 1 EDGE (Simmons). Complement that with the No. 1 running back (Baxter – 2023), No. 2 running back (Gibson – 2024), No. 1 linebacker (Hill), and Top 5 athletes at all levels, it cannot get better than that.
We are beginning to see the fruition of Texas being back before our eyes, it is now up to Sarkisian to execute and develop this talent to live up to the ratings.
Oklahoma is very well prepared as well, it’s hard to knock their program. They have a five-star quarterback (Arnold) who I honestly prefer, a top 2024 running back (Tatum) who has depth and talent equal to his own (Jovantae Barnes), and EDGE rushers that will remind us of the elite Clemson lines that won that program a couple national championships.
Texas has a slight edge over Oklahoma, it now has to leverage and execute this edge not only this season but as they enter the SEC.
