Texas football vs. Oklahoma State: 4 bold predictions for major road test

The next test on the docket for head coach Steve Sarkisian and No. 20 ranked Texas football lies on Oct. 22 on the road against longtime head coach Mike Gundy and the No. 11 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. Texas has an opportunity to win its fourth game in a row in Big 12 play in Week 8 against Oklahoma State in a tough spot in Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater.

This is sure to be a pretty crazy game between the Longhorns and the Pokes this weekend. Both Texas and Oklahoma State have a lot on the line in this one. For Oklahoma State, a win is needed to get this team back on the right track to get a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game for the second straight year.

Oklahoma State suffered a bad loss last weekend on the road in Fort Worth against the No. 13 TCU Horned Frogs after blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead to fall short in double overtime by just three points.

Meanwhile, Texas should have a little bit more confidence and momentum heading into this one coming off three straight wins. But last weekend’s win over the Iowa State Cyclones was a really physical and gritty game for both teams. Texas beat Iowa State by just a three-point margin last weekend.

Bold predictions for a high-stakes game in Stillwater between Texas football and Oklahoma State

This meeting between Texas and Oklahoma State will come in front of an energetic crowd at Boone Pickens Stadium on Homecoming weekend in Stillwater. Here’s a look at four bold predictions in a critical matchup between Texas and Oklahoma State in Week 8.

Jerrin Thompson gets the lone interception of the game for Texas

On a usual week against Oklahoma State, I would say that the Texas secondary would definitely be put to the test, especially when it comes to covering the deep pass. But with the looming injury concerns to senior Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders this week, I don’t know how difficult this matchup will actually wind up being compared to some of the other ranked Big 12 teams the Longhorns will face this season.

Sanders is dealing with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, which looked to hamper him in Oklahoma State’s loss to TCU last weekend. We even saw him toss a pick on a deep ball to senior wide receiver Braydon Johnson late in the game that wound up giving the Frogs the ball on the eventual game-tying drive.

If that shoulder injury is still limiting Sanders’ ability to hit the intermediate and deep throws on a consistent basis in this game, I would anticipate that there will be some opportunities for Texas to get turnovers here.

Combine that with the weather forecast showing that there will likely be winds of at least 20 miles per hour in Stillwater on Oct. 22, and this game is set up to be a tough one for each team’s passing game.

I do believe this will give the deep safeties a shot to get at least one pick each this weekend. For Texas, that means that junior safety Jerrin Thompson could have the chance to get his first interception since the end of the 2020 regular season.

Thompson certainly had his opportunities in the last few weeks, including an inaccurate ball from Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers last week that went off of his fingertips and dropped to the ground for an incomplete pass.