The Red River Rivalry is finally back. And although the Longhorns enjoyed a massive 34-3 win last year against Oklahoma, things are looking a lot iffier for this year’s game.
While Texas started the season ranked number 1, they’ve since fallen from favor and are now unranked in the AP Top 25, and ranked at number 19 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. OU, on the other hand, is ranked sixth in both the AP Top 25 and the AFCA Coaches Poll.
Here’s a look at some of the top predictions for the Texas-OU game, and why a surprising Red Rivalry statistic may point in a different direction.
Joel Klatt Predicts OU Will Win in a Close Game
Football analyst Joel Klatt predicted a close game that will ultimately leave OU as the winner, during an edition this week of “The Joel Klatt Show.”
“Texas is unranked, hasn’t played well against FBS opponents at all, and is favored by a point,” he started out. But he continued, saying he disagrees with that assessment.
“I don’t see any evidence thus far on tape that Texas is all the sudden going to turn it around on the offensive side,” he said. “Therefore, I’ve gotta take the point and a half. I think OU wins this one straight up, 20-17 in the Red River in Dallas.”
David Pollack Predicts a Win for Oklahoma
College football analyst David Pollack is also predicting a win for Oklahoma. He made the prediction on his podcast, “See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack.”
“Florida won a bunch of individual battles up front against Texas,” he said. “D tackle vs. center, D tackle vs. guard. You don’t think Stone and company aren’t going to win a bunch of one-on-one battles? R Mason Thomas and company on the outside. I’ll take Oklahoma as well.”
CBS Sports Analysts Favor Oklahoma
Overall, CBS sports analysts are predicting a win for Oklahoma based on Texas’ past inconsistencies. They’re picking Oklahoma +3, though they note that OU will need some explosive plays to get there.
Fox Sports Gives the Betting Odds to Oklahoma, But Only Narrowly
Fox Sports reported that the Sooners are betting odd favorites to win, but just barely as 1-point favorites, with a 44.5-point over/under set for the game. The overall prediction is Oklahoma 30 to Texas 11.
This gives the Sooners a 52.6% chance to win and the Longhorns a 51.9% chance. So the odds are still very close.
Texas Has Won More Games as an Unranked Team Against OU Than They’ve Lost
The Daily Texan, however, noted an interesting statistic when looking only at games where Texas was unranked when facing OU.
They noted that the Longhorns have played 16 games against Oklahoma where they went in unranked. In those games, they have a 9-7 record against OU. And in six of those games, Texas beat a ranked OU. And in three of the games that they lost, they came within a possession of OU.
In 2022, Texas last faced Oklahoma as an unranked team, and won 49-0.
So ultimately, no matter what the rest of the season has looked like, it can be tough to predict how the Red River Rivalry will turn out. Unexpected things have been known to happen.
Texas vs OU Predictions Are In, But a Surprising Statistic Could Flip the Odds