Five Questions: Oklahoma vs. Texas
Welcome to Five Questions, a weekly article featuring insights from experts on the Oklahoma Sooners’ upcoming opponents. For the Red River Shootout Payton Guthrie spoke with Jacob Neidig, a native of Elgin, TX., that grew up watching the Longhorns in DKR Stadium. The recent Stanford graduate covers Texas for Burnt Orange Nation.
You can find Jacob on X.com at @jneidig_2
Five Questions: Oklahoma vs. Texas
Payton Guthrie - What is your expectation for the Texas football season and how has the first half of the season impacted that outlook?
Jacob Needing - Texas lost every starting offensive skill position player—three WRs, two RBs, and a TE—to the NFL Draft, along with an OT, two standout interior defensive linemen, a linebacker, and a defensive back. Yet, despite these losses, preseason expectations only grew higher after last year’s success, and they’ve continued to rise as the season progresses. Personally, I think the hype train surrounding Texas may have left the station a bit too early. Texas has all the pieces to make a deep playoff run, but setting a national championship appearance as I’ve seen lately as the expectation feels premature. Before the season, I predicted 1-2 losses and a return to the playoffs for a second consecutive year. Now, through five games, Texas has shown that they might even surpass those expectations. However, the next three weeks should give us a much clearer picture of whether this team is truly ready to exceed the hype.
Payton Guthrie - What will Texas try to do on offense against the OU defense?
Jacob Neidig - It’s tricky to predict how Steve Sarkisian will try to attack the OU defense, especially with the injury to Quinn Ewers the last few weeks and a bye week to prepare. So far in this season, Texas has shown flashes of a strong run game but hasn’t established the ground attack week in week out.
I’d expect Sarkisian to lean on the passing game early to soften up the OU linebackers and secondary before establishing the run. If Texas can effectively push Billy Bowman Jr and Robert Spears-Jennings off the line of scrimmage, we’ll likely see a lot of 12 personnel, something Sarkisian loves to employ.
On the flip side, if Texas is unable to stretch the field or run effectively, fans can expect a healthy dose of short passes and screens to supplement the ground game. Regardless of how things unfold near the line of scrimmage, there will be shot plays down the field. Texas has thrived on the deep ball so far this year and will repeatedly use it on Saturday.
Payton Guthrie -How will Texas try to defend against the Oklahoma offense? Does Texas need to do anything special to prepare for Michael Hawkins Jr?
Jacob Neidig - Perhaps the biggest focal point for Texas will be to limit the running ability of Hawkins Jr. While stopping Hawkins Jr in designed runs is important, the real emphasis for the defense has been shutting down his ability as a scrambler. Enter freshman EDGE Colin Simmons, a budding star who already has 4.0 sacks on the year. His athleticism will be used to put pressure on Hawkins Jr but also close rushing lanes. Behind him, sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill Jr will likely serve as a spy for most of the game. Last year, Hill Jr primarily played as an EDGE. His transition to middle linebacker has been smoother than expected. On Saturday, his instincts and speed, two of his greatest attributes, will be put to the test. Beyond Simmons and Hill Jr, expect the Longhorn defense to throw as many exotic looks as possible at Hawkins Jr. while rotating a healthy number of defensive lineman in. Keeping the big boys fresh enough to maintain gap integrity and chase Hawkins Jr throughout the entire game will be crucial to containing him.
Payton Guthrie - What players do OU fans need to keep an eye out for during the game?
Jacob Neidig - Offensively, look out for TE Gunnar Helm. Helm has a knack for showing up in big games. Against Michigan, he hauled in 7 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Last year, his season high in receptions and yards was set against Oklahoma. He also added a touchdown. As for another player, I’d love to pick a WR but six different wide outs have caught eight passes or more and at least one touchdown while five of them have multiple scores. So far, Isaiah Bond, the Alabama transfer, has led the pack. He’s a reliable pass catcher with elite speed that can turn a screen or end-around into 6. Plus, he’s someone with big game experience so I don’t expect the stage to be too big for him.
Defensively, Simmons and Hill Jr are key playmakers. I’d be on the lookout for DB Jahdae Barron as well. The 5th year defensive back successfully transitioned from STAR to the outside, recording an interception and fumble recovery along with 18 tackles this year. Barron is a versatile player with a knack for making big plays, including the three career touchdowns to his name.
Payton Guthrie - Score Prediction?
Jacob Neidig - 38-20. I think the Texas defense is able to styme Hawkins Jr for a majority of OU’s possessions and so long as Texas avoids repeatedly turning the ball over or blundering in the redzone (there’s no way two years in a row… right?), the offense will be too hard to stop.
What are your score predictions? Post them in the comments.