Texas Football: 3 problematic Sooners players vs. Longhorns

A difficult battle lies ahead for No. 3 Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian in the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas at the Texas State Fairgrounds on Oct. 7 against the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners. Texas will face head coach Brent Venables and the Sooners for the final time in Red River as Big 12 foes this weekend.

This is one of the last decade’s most consequential Red River Rivalry games for the Longhorns and Sooners. Texas and Oklahoma both come into Red River this weekend with undefeated 5-0 (2-0 Big 12) records on the season.

It is the first undefeated matchup in Red River in over a decade. The last time Texas and Oklahoma were both undefeated heading into Red River was in 2011. This is also the first time since 2009 that the Longhorns are ranked in the top three heading into Red River.

Problematic OU players vs. Texas football in Red River in Week 6

Need more excitement for Red River this weekend; the set of ESPN College GameDay will be in Dallas at the Texas State Fair for Texas-Oklahoma on Oct. 7.

Oklahoma is potentially the most difficult team Texas will face in the Big 12 this season. Here’s a look at three problematic Sooners players for the Longhorns in Red River in Week 6.

Nic Anderson, WR

The Oklahoma offense is off to an explosive start this season after give games, averaging over 510 total yards of offense per game and over 47 points (both top 10 in the FBS). While that looks impressive, Oklahoma hasn’t faced many difficult defenses this season.

According to ESPN defensive efficiency rankings, the SMU Mustangs are the best defense the Sooners have faced this season, ranking 33rd in the FBS. The most efficient Power Five defense Oklahoma has faced this season is the Iowa State Cyclones, ranking 63rd in the FBS.

Most of the production Oklahoma has on offense this season comes through the air. Nearly 70 percent of Oklahoma’s total yards of offense this season have come in the passing game (averaging 357 passing yards per game).

The best weapon Oklahoma’s got in the passing game this season isn’t what many expected it to be during the preseason.

This season, Oklahoma’s best wide receiver has been an emerging stud at the boundary spot, redshirt freshman Nic Anderson. The 6-foot-4 and 210-pound second-year wideout leads all Oklahoma receivers in touchdowns, yards per catch, offensive grade, receiving grade, quarterback rating when thrown to, and drop rate.

Anderson was an underrated recruit from Katy (TX) High School in the 2022 class. Many major recruiting services didn’t tab him as a blue-chip recruit in the 2022 class despite his special combination of size, body control, hands, and route running ability.

Fifth-year senior starting Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel has started to look Anderson’s way more this season. In the last three games, Anderson was targeted 10 times, resulting in eight catches for over 200 receiving yards and five touchdown catches. He has at least one touchdown catch in the last three games.

Given the success offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and the Oklahoma offense found targeting Anderson in their first two games in Big 12 play, it wouldn’t shock me if they targeted him early and often in Red River this weekend. Anderson gives the Sooners a potential mismatch on the boundary, especially with starting redshirt junior Texas boundary corner Ryan Watts day-to-day with a lower-body injury he suffered last weekend.