By Jay Berry
The 120th Red River rivalry turned out to be a Red River beatdown.
Just how bad was it? The final score was 34-3, and with one minute left in the third quarter, Oklahoma had only 119 yards of offense.
Once again, the Oklahoma offense struggled significantly. Yes, they have injuries at wide receiver and on the offensive line, but because of those injuries, they simply don’t have enough talent to run a functional offense.
Going into their final drive of the fourth quarter, the Sooners had only 176 yards of total offense. They finished with 89 rushing yards and 148 total yards for the game.
Texas, on the other hand, posted 229 passing yards and 177 rushing yards, nearly doubling Oklahoma’s yardage, despite the Sooners holding the ball for just over 32 minutes.
The Longhorns also sacked Michael Hawkins Jr. five times and had multiple tackles for loss.
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— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) October 12, 2024
Where Does Oklahoma Go From Here
The Sooners do have some wide receivers who could recover from injuries and return this season, which would help them get open downfield and make plays. But in the game against Texas, they just couldn’t get open, and even when they did, Michael Hawkins Jr. was running for his life under constant pressure from the Texas defense.
While getting their playmakers healthy will certainly help, I don’t see a solution for their offensive line. The players they have available simply aren’t good enough.
On the other side, Texas came into the game ranked number one and cruised. Both teams are in their first year in the SEC together. Texas is in a great spot, and Oklahoma is on the other end.
Oklahoma’s upcoming schedule includes a game against Maine, which should result in a win, bringing their record to five wins.
After that, things get a bit tricky. Next week, Oklahoma faces South Carolina, followed by matchups with Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU. Eight wins seem highly unlikely unless something miraculous happens on offense, and even getting to seven wins will be a challenge.
Many fans are frustrated with Seth Littrell and the play-calling. He may not be the long-term solution, and it’s hard to see any immediate fix with the offensive line struggling to block. A couple of weeks ago, head coach Brent Venables mentioned in a press conference that the RPO can sometimes give young quarterbacks too much to process, and sometimes you just need to let them play freely. Whether that would change anything remains to be seen.
The coaching staff definitely has their work cut out starting next week. They play South Carolina, a team that gave Alabama everything it could handle on Saturday.
Texas has one of the biggest games of the year next week as it hosts No. 5 Georgia. That will be a college football tilt that has everyone’s attention. Steve Sarkisian and Texas enter the game 6-0, while Kirby Smart and Georgia are 5-1.
