The Red River Rivalry is already right around the corner, and the Texas Longhorns are flying toward their second top-10 matchup of the season as they prepare to take on the currently-ranked No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners.
The biggest question mark for the Sooners is their quarterback, with QB1 John Mateer undergoing hand surgery less than two weeks ago and his availability not entirely nailed down for the rivalry game.
The biggest question for the Longhorns is, well, everything. Texas quarterback Arch Manning failed to find consistency against the Florida Gators as the running back room fell well short of expectations once again. The defensive unit gave up over 450 yards to an unranked team that entered the game with a 1-3 overall record.
Texas struggled on both sides of the ball vs. Florida
Simply put, the Horns have a heck of a lot to focus on other than which Oklahoma quarterback will be in the backfield next Saturday. And even if that's what they choose to fixate on, it might not matter anyway.
The Sooners are coming off a ridiculously dominant 44-0 win over Kent State, led by backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. alongside 185 total rushing yards and a defense that gave up just 135 total yards on the opposite side of the ball.
After the win, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables hinted at the fact that Mateer likely wouldn't be ready for the Red River Rivalry.
"I'm assuming [Mateer] can't," Venables said about the possibility of the quarterback playing against the Longhorns.
No matter the QB in the backfield, the Oklahoma defense has allowed a minuscule 36 points over its first five games of the year (7.2 points per game). It has forced 21 sacks for a loss of 93 yards, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one interception.
Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian have to focus on their own game before they can even consider focusing on the availability of the Oklahoma quarterback room, especially since either QB poses a threat to a defense that just fell well short of expectations.