Brent Venables previews Saturday's matchup against Texas

The Red River Showdown has lost some shine in the weeks leading up to the annual showdown between Texas and Oklahoma, as both the Longhorns and Sooners will take the field in Dallas with a 3-2 record. Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables is still ready for Texas to bring its best, regardless of record.

On top of a defense that pushed Alabama to the limit, Venables knows Texas has playmakers littered all over the field on offense. Before even getting to the possibility of quarterback Quinn Ewers playing, Texas will feature the likes of Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy — two players capable of scoring any time they touch the ball.

“First play of the game against Texas a year ago, they throw a perimeter screen, we misfit it, missed a tackle and as they showed you, just like you saw against TCU, you make a mistake against a good football team, that’s got good players that have a pulse, they’re gonna — you’re gonna get punished for mistakes on game day,” Venables said. “They’ve got home run hitters across the board. And guys are not going to faint when they’re unblocked. They’re going to make the play. So again, we’re going to have to really execute at a really high level. We’re going to have to play with physical and mental toughness, all of those things, to have a chance to win this game.”

The Sooners are reeling defensively. In the last two games — against Kansas State and TCU — Oklahoma has allowed, combined, 1177 yards and 13 touchdowns and a total of 96 points. And 636 of the yards were given up on the ground.

There is no doubt the Sooners need to be on the ball defensively lest they get torched by Texas and its array of playmakers.

And Venables thinks the Texas defense has been solid, too. They of course frustrated the Crimson Tide for most of the afternoon in a 20-19 loss Week 2, finally succumbing to the transcendent play of Bryce Young. The Longhorns are allowing 120 rushing yards per game, good for 44th nationally, and tied with Clemson for 42nd in scoring defense (21.4 points per game).

“Got some excellent football players at all three levels. They’re big, they’re long, they’re athletic. They’re playing with great toughness,” Venables said. “… But defensively, they’re giving up just over 100 yards a game rushing, and they’ve done a good job getting pressure on the quarterback and a lot of disruption in the run game.”

And though both the Longhorns and Sooners are limping into this game, the Red River Showdown rarely disappoints.