Steve Sarkisian praises Lincoln Riley ahead of matchup

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian had high praise for Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley ahead of the first meeting between the two coaches.

“I think one thing Lincoln has done … a couple of things: He has done a really good job over his career, most notably at his time at Oklahoma, I think that he does a good job of fitting his scheme to the players that he has, most notably the quarterback,” Sarkisian said. “And I think that’s something that a lot of guys as coordinators or play-callers struggle with because it’s about their scheme and then the players have to fit the scheme. I think he has done a masterful job with the quarterbacks that he has had of tweaking and adjusting his scheme to the skillset that best fits his players and/or his quarterback.”

Sarkisian continued.

“I think he does a nice job of getting the advantage throws,” he said. “I think that they believe in running the football, and I think he does a nice job week to week of taking formations and then having second- and third-layer plays off of the original plays from that formation. And so everything is very complimentary. They set things up very well. He does a nice job of calling it that way and it makes it taxing on your own play-caller on defense as well as your players.”

Texas enters the game ranked No. 21 in the country, sitting at 4-1 on the season. After a week two loss to Arkansas, Sarkisian has found his groove offensively behind quarterback Casey Thompson and Bijan Robinson. The Longhorns enter Red River Rivalry week coming off a tough 32-27 win against TCU. The Longhorns relied on Robinson in the win, as the sophomore carried the ball 35 times for 216 yards and two touchdowns.

Oklahoma, though still undefeated, has underperformed offensively relative to expectations. The Sooners opened the season surviving an upset scare against Tulane, rolled over Western Carolina 76-0, then played three-straight one-score games against Nebraska, West Virginia and Kansas State. Despite winning against Nebraska and West Virginia, Oklahoma scored less than 40 points combined in those two games.

Against Kanas State, Oklahoma was outgunned in total yards 420-392. Quarterback Spencer Rattler completed 22 of 25 pass attempts for 243 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. On the season, Rattler has thrown for 1,260 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.

On Saturday, the two offensive minds will face off, looking to gain the upper hand in the Big 12. Currently, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State sit atop the conference undefeated. Texas sits right behind, still undefeated in conference play. For Sarkisian, a win over Oklahoma and Lincoln Riley in Year One could not only have major conference implications, but major recruiting implications as well.