Finebaum weighs in on whether Texas is on upset alert vs. Oklahoma
The stage is set for one of college football’s most prominent games year in and year out, as Texas and Oklahoma will square off in the Red River Rivalry this weekend. Both teams enter this matchup undefeated, but the Longhorns are currently 6.5-point over the Sooners and are currently regarded as one of the best teams in college football ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 compared to Oklahoma’s No. 12 ranking.
Some are already proclaiming that Texas is back following their first 5-0 start since their 2009 season where they hoisted the BCS Championship trophy. But on ESPN’s ‘Get Up‘ host Mike Greenberg asked college football analyst Paul Finebaum if the Longhorns could be due for an upset in the Cotton Bowl this weekend.
“I think Texas is a superior team to Oklahoma, I think they have them across the board,” Finebaum said. “They’re more physical on both sides of the line, they have the better quarterback, they have the better coaching staff.”
Texas does boast one of the most talented rosters in the country, which also pulled off one of the most impressive wins of the college football season when they beat Alabama by double digits on the road in Week 2.
Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian seems to have turned things around in Austin at the moment as he’s in the midst of his third season at the helm for Texas. But the same could definitely be said about Oklahoma head coach Brent Vendables, who in his second season with Oklahoma not only boasts a 5-0 record, but the Big 12’s best scoring offense and defense through five weeks.
“This is a huge rivalry and Oklahoma has revenge on its mind after just being eviscerated last year Greeny, but I think Texas is in good shape in this game,” Finebaum said.
The Longhorns made easy work of the Sooners in last year’s edition of the Red River Rivalry defeating Oklahoma handily 49-0. But the Sooners were without starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel in that matchup due to an injury he sustained the week prior.
Gabriel will be under center for the Sooners in this year’s matchup and has started off the season red hot, leading the Big 12 in passing yards and touchdowns this season. The veteran transfer from UCF will have to outscore Longhorns’ quarterback Quinn Ewers and an offense loaded with weapons if the Sooners want to pull off the upset in what should be an exciting game kicking off at noon ET this Saturday.