NORMAN, Okla. — One of the biggest rivalry games in college football has suddenly been pushed even further into the spotlight.
The Oklahoma Sooners are preparing for their highly anticipated showdown with the No. 1 Texas Longhorns, and the buildup has taken another dramatic turn following talk of a major last-minute adjustment to ESPN’s broadcast schedule.
For fans, any late kickoff change can create immediate chaos.
Travel arrangements change. Tailgates move. Watch parties have to be reorganized. Thousands of supporters who have structured their entire Saturday around the Red River rivalry suddenly have another detail to monitor.
For Brent Venables and Oklahoma, however, there can be only one response.
Adapt and prepare.
Because regardless of when the football is kicked off, the opponent waiting across the field remains Texas.
And Oklahoma has an enormous opportunity sitting directly in front of it.
OKLAHOMA ENTERS THE RIVALRY WITH SOMETHING TO PROVE
The Sooners aren’t arriving at this matchup after an easy week.
Their last appearance ended with a painful 41–13 loss to Georgia, a game that exposed some of Oklahoma’s biggest weaknesses and left the program with difficult questions to answer.
The Sooners committed four turnovers.
Quarterback John Mateer completed 25 of 34 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw an interception and lost two fumbles.
One mistake was particularly devastating.
Oklahoma was threatening near Georgia’s goal line when Mateer lost the football. Instead of finishing the possession with points, the Sooners watched Georgia turn the turnover into a long defensive touchdown.
That single sequence represented the kind of mistake Oklahoma simply cannot afford against Texas.
Now the Sooners get their chance to respond.
And there may not be a more dramatic way to do it than by beating the No. 1 team in the country.
THE BYE WEEK COULD NOT HAVE ARRIVED AT A BETTER TIME
Oklahoma had an open week following the Georgia loss, giving Venables and his staff additional time to examine what went wrong.
That matters.
The Sooners needed time to reset mentally.
They needed time to address turnovers.
They needed time to improve an offense that produced only 65 rushing yards against Georgia.
And most importantly, they needed time to build a plan for Texas.
The Red River rivalry doesn’t offer much room for hesitation.
Oklahoma has to arrive prepared from the opening snap.
JOHN MATEER HAS A CHANCE TO CHANGE THE ENTIRE STORY
Few players will enter this game with more attention surrounding them than Mateer.
The Georgia performance contained both encouraging moments and costly mistakes.
Now comes the opportunity every quarterback wants.
A rivalry game.
A national spotlight.
The No. 1 opponent.
And a chance to make people forget what happened the last time Oklahoma took the field.
Mateer doesn’t need to produce outrageous statistics to become the hero.
He needs to control the game.
Protect the football.
Make good decisions under pressure.
Take the easy completion when Texas gives it to him.
Attack downfield when the opportunity appears.
And when Oklahoma reaches the red zone, finish drives.
Against Texas, possessions will be too valuable to waste.
### OKLAHOMA NEEDS MORE FROM ITS RUNNING GAME
One of the clearest lessons from the Georgia defeat was that Mateer cannot be asked to carry everything.
Oklahoma finished with only 65 rushing yards.
Lloyd Avant led the Sooners with 23 yards on 10 carries.
That imbalance allowed Georgia to focus more aggressively on Oklahoma’s passing attack.
Texas will undoubtedly attempt to do the same.
If the Longhorns can make Oklahoma one-dimensional, Mateer will face significantly more pressure.
That’s why establishing the run could become one of the defining objectives of the afternoon.
Even four or five productive rushing plays early can change the way a defense attacks.
Suddenly play-action becomes more dangerous.
Passing windows become larger.
The defensive front cannot simply attack the quarterback.
Oklahoma needs that balance.
### ROCKY BEERS AND ISAIAH SATEGNA III COULD BE CRITICAL
Mateer will also need his receiving weapons.
Rocky Beers was one of Oklahoma’s most productive players against Georgia, catching eight passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Isaiah Sategna III added eight receptions for 81 yards.
Those numbers matter heading into Texas.
Oklahoma needs receivers who can consistently win individual matchups.
More importantly, Mateer needs targets he trusts when the game becomes chaotic.
Third-and-long.
Red-zone possessions.
Two-minute situations.
Those are the moments when quarterback-receiver chemistry becomes critical.
### THE KICKOFF DRAMA CANNOT BECOME A DISTRACTION
A late broadcast adjustment may dominate conversation among fans, but inside Oklahoma’s football operation, it has to become background noise.
Game-day routines are carefully structured.
Players eat at specific times.
Treatment schedules are organized around kickoff.
Team meetings, warmups and final preparation all operate according to a detailed timeline.
Move the kickoff and some of those plans have to move with it.
But elite teams are expected to adjust.
Texas faces the same situation.
There can be no excuses.
### THE RED RIVER RIVALRY DOESN’T CARE ABOUT RANKINGS
Texas carries the No. 1 ranking into the matchup.
That makes the opportunity even bigger for Oklahoma.
But rivalry games have never followed normal rules.
Rankings disappear quickly when emotions rise.
Records don’t make tackles.
Poll voters don’t convert third downs.
History is filled with rivalry games where the supposedly better team discovered that none of its advantages mattered once the ball was kicked off.
Oklahoma knows that.
Texas knows it too.
The Longhorns may have the No. 1 next to their name, but that also means they carry enormous pressure.
Everyone expects Texas to win.
Oklahoma gets the opportunity to destroy those expectations.
### BRENT VENABLES HAS A SEASON-CHANGING OPPORTUNITY
There are ordinary victories.
Then there are rivalry victories.
And then there is beating your biggest rival when that rival is ranked No. 1 in the country.
For Venables, this could become one of those games that changes the conversation around an entire season.
Oklahoma’s loss to Georgia was ugly.
Nobody inside the program can pretend otherwise.
But college football offers opportunities for redemption quickly.
Beat Texas and suddenly the discussion changes.
Instead of asking what went wrong against Georgia, people start asking whether Oklahoma has re-entered the national picture.
Instead of focusing on turnovers, people focus on the upset.
Instead of questioning the Sooners, people start wondering how dangerous they could become.
One afternoon can do that.
### THE FIRST QUARTER WILL BE MASSIVE
Oklahoma cannot repeat what happened against Georgia.
The Sooners trailed 28–0 at halftime in that game.
Against Texas, falling into another enormous early deficit could be fatal.
Oklahoma needs to create doubt immediately.
Maybe it’s a long Mateer completion.
Maybe it’s a defensive takeaway.
Maybe it’s a touchdown on the opening possession.
Maybe it’s simply forcing Texas into consecutive punts.
Whatever the method, Oklahoma needs to make the Longhorns understand early that this will not be comfortable.
The longer the game remains close, the more pressure moves toward Texas.
### TURNOVERS COULD DECIDE EVERYTHING
Four turnovers were devastating against Georgia.
Against No. 1 Texas, four turnovers could make victory almost impossible.
Oklahoma has to value every possession.
Mateer cannot force throws simply because the first option isn’t available.
Running backs have to protect the football.
Receivers must secure catches before looking for extra yards.
And the Sooners’ defense needs to create takeaways of its own.
Rivalry games are often decided by one or two chaotic moments.
Oklahoma needs those moments to happen in its favor.
### SOONER NATION KNOWS WHAT THIS MEANS
There doesn’t need to be an elaborate motivational speech.
It’s Texas.
That’s enough.
Oklahoma supporters understand exactly what is at stake.
Bragging rights.
Momentum.
Pride.
A potentially season-defining victory.
And this time, the opportunity to knock off the No. 1 team in America.
That combination creates an atmosphere unlike almost anything else in college football.
### ONE GAME CAN ERASE A LOT OF PAIN
The Georgia loss cannot be removed from Oklahoma’s record.
But its importance can be reduced.
That’s the opportunity Texas provides.
Imagine Oklahoma walking away after beating the No. 1 Longhorns.
Suddenly Mateer’s difficult moments against Georgia become part of a redemption story.
Venables’ team goes from being criticized to being celebrated.
Questions become belief.
Disappointment becomes momentum.
That’s how quickly the sport moves.
### THE STAGE IS SET
Oklahoma versus Texas.
Sooners versus Longhorns.
John Mateer versus one of the biggest challenges of his college career.
Brent Venables attempting to guide his team back from a painful defeat.
Texas protecting the No. 1 ranking.
Oklahoma trying to take it away.
And now another layer of attention surrounding the kickoff and broadcast schedule.
Eventually, though, all of that disappears.
The pregame discussion ends.
The television cameras turn toward the field.
The helmets go on.
The crowd rises.
And the football is placed on the tee.
At that point, there is no schedule controversy.
There is no Georgia game.
There are no rankings that can make a tackle or score a touchdown.
There is only Oklahoma and Texas.
For the Sooners, the mission is straightforward.
Protect the football.
Help Mateer.
Establish the running game.
Start fast.
Match Texas physically.
And make the No. 1 team feel pressure for four quarters.
Because Oklahoma isn’t simply playing for another victory.
The Sooners have an opportunity to change the entire story of their season in one afternoon.
And there may be no better way to do it than by beating Texas.
