Texas Football: Game-by-game predictions for the Longhorns in 2018

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 07: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns and Antwuan Davis #7 sing The Eyes of Texas after the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 07: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns and Antwuan Davis #7 sing The Eyes of Texas after the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 14: Rodney Anderson #24 of the Oklahoma Sooners leaps toward the goal line for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl on October 14, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Richard W. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 14: Rodney Anderson #24 of the Oklahoma Sooners leaps toward the goal line for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl on October 14, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Richard W. Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

The end of this grueling portion of the schedule ends with the Red River Shootout and the Oklahoma Sooners. All eyes will fall onto a top 15 matchup between Texas and OU for the first significant Red River battle in what seems like more than a decade. However, Texas has a long road ahead with an undefeated OU team.

After getting selected in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft, former Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Kyler Murray has taken hold of the OU offense. Murray is a true Heisman contender by this point in the season along with star running back Rodney Anderson. Both Murray and Anderson come out firing as the Texas defense gets off to a slow start for the second consecutive week.

Ehlinger tries to keep pace with Murray throughout the first half, as Texas and OU put up a combined 38 points in the first half. OU owns a 21-17 lead after the first half behind 225 passing yards and two touchdowns from Murray. Anderson owns the other OU score.

The second half sees the Texas front seven come alive with a whopping 18 total tackles and three tackles for loss from senior linebacker Gary Johnson. Ingram and sophomore running back Daniel Young combine for more than 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Ehlinger has one of his best halves of football for the entire 2018 season.

Texas has another big second half effort in Red River, but the result is more in their favor this time around. Ehlinger’s 375 total yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions helps the Horns offense keep pace with the high-powered offense of the Sooners. This is the biggest win for Texas since knocking off OU in 2015.

Final Score: Texas 48, Oklahoma 45 (5-1, 2-1 Big 12)