We're only one day away from one of the biggest rivalry games in all of college football, and for Texas, three key players need to have big games in order for the Longhorns to find success against Oklahoma.
DE Colin Simmons
The 2025 preseason all-world pass rusher has been fairly underwhelming in that aspect so far this season, despite being stout against the run. For whatever reason, Simmons just hasn't been able to get to opposing quarterbacks this year, and if there's a game for him to "break out" in that aspect, it's this one.
Regardless of what quarterback starts for the Sooners, John Mateer or Michael Hawkins Jr., it'll be imperative for the Longhorns to get consistent pressure on them for the entirety of the game. Texas DC Pete Kwiatkowski needs to find ways to put Simmons in advantageous situations against Oklahoma this weekend.
LT Trevor Goosby
On the flip side, the Sooners' pass rush has been incredibly dominant over the first part of the season for Brent Venables and Co.
OU star DE R. Mason Thomas came into the season as one of the top pass rushers in the SEC, and he's picked up right where he left off in 2024. He currently has 5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble in 2025, and he'll undoubtedly be facing Texas LT Trevor Goosby quite a bit on Saturday. Goosby has been fairly solid in 2025, but he'll have to step up against Thomas if Arch Manning is going to have any chance to succeed this weekend.
TE Jack Endries
Like Arch Manning, Endries came into 2025 with a crazy amount of hype. He looked great against Ohio State and San Jose State, but has undoubtedly tailed off since then. In his last three matchups combined, he's only had 3 receptions for 6 total yards.
Oklahoma will undoubtedly be focusing on attacking Texas' "weak" offensive line on Saturday, and it's plausible that the Sooner defense could get some of their linebackers involved in blitzing. When defenses try to take away certain aspects of an offense, it opens up doors in other areas to exploit. In this case, Jack Endries could be targeted a lot underneath and on route combinations that are aimed at "replacing" linebackers.
If Texas wants to make sure that Arch will always have an open safety valve, they'd be smart to use Endries on stick variations and underneath routes all day long.