JD PicKell: What a Red River Rivalry win over Oklahoma could mean for Texas, Steve Sarkisian

Texas rolls into this weekend’s Red River Rivalry sporting two losses but still in the hunt in the Big 12 conference title race with only one of those being in conference play. And though rival Oklahoma has two conference losses, there’s no denying that the stakes remain huge in the annual showdown.

On3’s JD PicKell broke down exactly what a win would do for the Longhorns.

“This would be a signature win for Steve Sarkisian at the University of Texas, create a lot of belief in that locker room for sure,” PicKell said.

“It would create a lot of belief, because I think as a whole for Texas, and we’ve talked about it before, there’s been a lot of talk about how the culture’s changing, it’s a different program, there’s a new focus, a new mindset. You can say all of that, but until you prove it on the field in a situation where, quite frankly, a lot of people in this day and age are expecting you to beat Oklahoma, until you prove it on the field it’s just talking.”

PicKell outlined a couple areas the win would really help. On top of just creating the belief within the program, it would also start to provide a real pop in recruiting.

The Longhorns have had plenty of success on that front as is, turning in the nation’s No. 5 class in the 2022 On3 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings, while also boasting the No. 5 class early in 2023.

Still, PicKell noted you might start to see some outsized return on investment with a win Saturday.

“Steve Sarkisian, credit to him and his staff, they’ve recruited with a 5-7 record on their mantle and gotten a lot of really great recruits,” he said. “If you’re able to get a big win over your rival and sort of look like how I think a lot of people are expecting you to look, that would do wonders and I think be even more appealing for guys during their high school season and are maybe still looking to commit to the University of Texas at Austin. That would be a very big deal.”

Texas enters the Red River Rivalry with the burden of expectations

In a bit of an unexpected twist, Texas actually enters this year’s game as a seven-point favorite according to consensus lines provided by VegasInsider.com.

That’s not something many would have expected when Oklahoma went into the season ranked No. 9 nationally, with Texas unranked.

“Let’s just call a spade a spade,” PicKell said. “People expect Texas to beat Oklahoma.

“Oklahoma is kind of limping into this game, which is maybe even being kind after the performance they had against TCU and Kansas State, back-to-back weeks. This is the game if you’re Texas where you should be able to straighten your back a little bit, puff your chest out, flex your muscles and be able to say, ‘No, we are in a better position. We hope that Dillon Gabriel is OK, but we probably have the better quarterback in this game. We have more momentum. We have a second-year head coach, you have a first-year head coach.'”

That can swing one of two ways, of course. A loss in the Red River Rivalry could be hugely deflating for the Longhorns.

So there’s plenty of pressure. Deliver a result and that setup definitely starts to work in Texas’ favor, though.

“All these things are coming together for Texas to have a really great showing in this game,” PicKell said. “To be able to win this game would just allow Texas to take that next step forward as a program and get the Oklahoma burden off their back and allow them to start to have something to build on.”