The 119th version of the Red River Rivalry is set to kickoff at 11:00 AM in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. Oklahoma and Texas are the only two ranked teams that the Big 12 has to offer and they’ll take center stage for a conference they’re about to leave, in a game that should put the winner on the inside track for a spot in Arlington, Texas on the first Saturday of December. To sound cliché, this is a game where heroes are made and legends are immortalized. So, who are the guys that could live on in infamy long after this game concludes? Here are our top options.
Team Stats
| Oklahoma | Texas | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 510.0 | 478.4 |
| Yards Passing | 352.4 | 286.6 |
| Yards Rushing | 157.6 | 191.8 |
| Yards Allowed | 319.0 | 290.8 |
| Pass Yards Allowed | 212.8 | 196.2 |
| Rush Yards Allowed | 106.2 | 94.6 |
The Quarterbacks
Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel ranks first nationally since the start of the 2019 with his 110 touchdown passes despite missing 11 games during the span due to injury (he is two ahead of current Notre Dame and former Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman; Hartman has played in two more games). Gabriel also ranks first nationally since the start of 2019 with his 12,793 passing yards. Hartman is second (12,441 in 45 games) and Oregon’s Bo Nix is third (12,303 in 52 games). He needs 21 TD passes to move into the top five in FBS career history. He ranks 19th on the all-time chart and needs four to tie Florida’s Danny Wuerffel (114) for 15th.
Texas sophomore Quinn Ewers has led the Longhorns to 11 wins in 15 starts during his first two seasons on the Forty Acres. He ranks 13th all-time in UT history with 3,535 passing yards, moving ahead of Garrett Gilbert in UT’s all-time rankings.
The Running Backs
The Sooners have started three different running backs in five games this season (junior Tawee Walker vs. Arkansas State, redshirt senior Marcus Major against SMU, Cincinnati and Iowa State, and sophomore Jovantae Barnes at Tulsa). Major leads OU with his 199 rushing yards and has one rushing touchdown and one receiving TD. Walker has 193 rushing yards (team-high 5.1 average) and two touchdowns, while Barnes has 122 rushing yards (4.4 average) and one TD (he has not played the last two games). Sophomore Gavin Sawchuk has battled injury this season and has 17 carries for 46 yards and a TD.
Sophomore running back Jonathan Brooks is is averaging 6.8 yards per carry across his career for the Longhorns. He’s carried the ball 137 times for 937 yards with 11 touchdowns. Last week, against Kansas, he posted his first career 200-yard rushing game, totaling 218 yards on 21 carries (10.4 ypc) with two touchdowns. His 218 yards were the fourth-most for a Longhorn running back versus an AP-ranked opponent.
The Receivers
Three Oklahoma receivers rank in the top 61 nationally in yards per catch (Nic Anderson second at 27.9, Jalil Farooq 36th at 19.0 and Andrel Anthony 61st at 17.6). They rank first, seventh and eighth in the Big 12 in the category.
Anderson has five touchdowns on 10 catches. He got to five TDs on fewer receptions in a season than any Sooner since running back George Thomas Jr. did it on six catches in 1949.
The Defenders
One year after leading the Big 12 in tackles, junior linebacker Danny Stutsman is at it again by averaging a league-high 9.8 stops per game (next most is 8.8). He has led OU in tackles in each game.
True freshman defensive back Peyton Bowen has 14 tackles and leads the Sooners with four pass breakups (one on fourth down late vs. SMU). He has blocked two punts on the season. One vs. SMU and the other vs. Iowa State (the latter for a safety). He made his first career start in week three at Tulsa.
Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford has collected eight takeaways over the last 12 games, including six interceptions. Junior DL Byron Murphy II has appeared in 30 career games for the Longhorns, registering 55 tackles (25 solo), 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks during his three seasons.
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