It's hard to believe that we're already at the point in the season where Texas takes on Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl. It feels like they just kicked their season off in Columbus, Ohio, against the Ohio State Buckeyes last week. A lot of Longhorns fans are a little scared about coming into this week after what happened in the Swamp last weekend.
Talk about a week to forget for Texas Football.
There are a lot of good storylines heading into this year's Red River Rivalry. One of those storylines is the possible return of Sooners quarterback John Mateer. He's one of the quarterbacks who could be nominated for the Heisman award this season, but is doubtful due to the injury he sustained. Another one is Arch Manning's shaky performance against the Gators. Do we see him continue to make mistakes against the Sooners? Let's look at the storylines ahead of the game this weekend.
1. Arch Manning vs. John Mateer
All eyes will be on the quarterback matchup if Mateer decides to return against the Longhorns this weekend. Both quarterbacks are up-and-comers in their respective programs. It will be interesting to see if Mateer has any rust after having surgery and being out for the last couple of weeks. Manning is also under the spotlight after his terrible performance in Gainesville against the Gators last weekend.
2. Steve Sarkisian playcalling
I think a lot of fans are at the point where Steve Sarkisian needs to give up the playcalling duties to someone else. The Longhorns' offense did not look good over the course of the game against the Gators, and it's probably due to the questionable playcalling of Sarkisian. That will be under the spotlight as well this weekend as the Longhorns take on the Sooners. This is one game that Longhorns fans don't like to lose. Winning the game is basically bragging rights against that team up north.
3. Pressuring Mateer
Over on the defensive side of the ball, one of the main storylines will be how the Longhorns will get pressure on Mateer if he lines up under center this weekend. The Longhorns gave DJ Lagway too much time to throw the ball last weekend.
The Longhorns need to get to the quarterback faster to pressure him into making bad throws. Mateer has a really great arm and can throw the ball downfield with the flick of his wrist. Ensuring that Mateer is running for his life should be Anthony Hill Jr. and Colin Simmons' main job this weekend.
4. Shutting down the airspace in the Cotton Bowl
The last storyline of the game is that the Longhorns' secondary needs to do an excellent job of shutting down the Sooners' passing attack. The Gators had almost 300 passing yards against the Longhorns last weekend. That is something the Longhorns will need to work on if they want to beat the Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. Sooners Junior receiver Isaiah Sategna III is the top receiver heading into the matchup this weekend.
Letting him have all day running down the field uncovered could end up being the "back-breaker" for Texas on Saturday.