Texas heads to the Cotton Bowl lacking significant Red River Shootout experience

Around this time every year, a litany of truths regarding the Red River Shootout are repeated. Things like, “there’s nothing like it,” and “the experience is one of a kind,” and “anything can happen.” Those ring true year after year, and the players involved will be the first to tell you.

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“Coming in as young guys, we understand a little bit of how much this rivalry is,” Liona Lefau said Monday. “But we don’t really know this rivalry is until we play in it. They just did a good job of telling us what to expect. We got out there, and it was everything they told us.”

The “they” Lefau is referring to is the veteran players who guided him during his first opportunities in the Cotton Bowl. The Texas linebacker cited players like Jaylan Ford, David Gbenda, Jahdae Barron, and Barryn Sorrell as teammates that illustrated the war that takes place in the State Fair of Texas.

Lefau, Anthony Hill, Ryan Wingo, Michael Taaffe, and Quintrevion Wisner — players Texas made available to the media on Monday — know what it’s like to face Oklahoma in Dallas in early October.

That said, there are a lot of players on the 2025 Texas roster that don’t boast a lot of experience playing the Sooners, if any at all.

Texas has 48 non-specialist players who have appeared in at least four of the five games this season. That list is

1. Anthony Hill
2. DeAndre Moore
3. Colin Simmons
4. Ryan Wingo
5. Derek Williams
6. Jaylon Guilbeau
7. Jelani McDonald
8. Malik Muhammad
9. Kobe Black
10. Christian Clark
11. Trey Moore
12. Jerrick Gibson
13. Kade Phillips
14. Parker Livingstone
15. Brad Spence
16. Justus Terry
17. Michael Taaffe
18. Arch Manning
19. Daylan McCutcheon
20. Matthew Caldwell
21. Liona Lefau
22. Zina Umeozulu
23. Ryan Niblett
24. Jordon Johnson-Rubell
25. Warren Roberson
26. Ty’Anthony Smith
27. Graceson Littleton
28. Jonathan Cunningham
29. Lance Jackson
30. Travis Shaw
31. Marshall Landwehr
32. DJ Campbell
33. Cole Hutson
34. Connor Robertson
35. Neto Umeozulu
36. Brandon Baker
37. Trevor Goosby
38. Connor Stroh
39. Nick Townsend
40. Spencer Shannon
41. Jordan Washington
42. Emaree Winston
43. Jack Endries
44. Ethan Burke
45. Colton Vasek
46. Hero Kanu
47. Maraad Watson
48. Cole Brevard

Of those 48, here are the players with 20 standard down snaps against Oklahoma in their careers.

1. Anthony Hill
2. DeAndre Moore
3. Colin Simmons
4. Ryan Wingo
5. Derek Williams
6. Jaylon Guilbeau
7. Jelani McDonald
8. Malik Muhammad
9. Trey Moore
10. Michael Taaffe
11. Liona Lefau
12. Cole Hutson
13. Connor Robertson
14. Ethan Burke

There are a couple notable omissions based on mixed availability this season, namely Wisner, CJ Baxter, and a few others.

But most of the regular offensive linemen, tight ends, and defensive tackles, plus a few starters in the secondary, are not on this list.

Nor is the starting quarterback in Arch Manning.

“This game is really unique,” said Manning, who has not appeared at all in a Red River Shootout. “A lot of guys go to OU to play Texas in this game. A lot of guys come here to play OU in this game. It’s a special one.”

“Young” and “hungry” has defined this year’s Texas team, maybe the former more so than the latter at least from what has been put on the field. That youth is going to be seen across the offense and defense on Saturday, and those players’ ability to respond to the environment they’ll find themselves in the middle of will be critical.

While youth can be targeted, even some of the experienced players lack snaps in the Cotton Bowl. Hero Kanu, who has played in the Cotton Bowl Classic twice for Ohio State but never the actual Cotton Bowl stadium, was told about this game during his recruitment process.

“When I came to America, there were three rivalry games people were always talking about,’ Kanu said. “Obviously, the Ohio State-Team Up North game. You’ve got the Iron Bowl and the Red River Rivalry. It’s a blessing to be able to play in two of those at least.”

He’d continue: “They say it’s one of the best atmospheres that they have ever seen. They keep talking about the field being split. One side is OU, the other side is Texas. Super excited to see what this is going to look like and experience it myself for the first time.”

Experiencing it for the first time is about all a player can do. Try as veterans might, nothing replicates the thrill of running out of the tunnel to a chorus of boos before crossing the 50-yard-line and hearing only cheers. Nothing replicates one side of the stadium screaming at full throat only for the other side to do the same moments later. Nothing replicates scoring in the silence of the opposing side of the field.

All that can be said from those who have been a part of it? There’s nothing like it.

“You can’t say anything about the atmosphere,” Taaffe said. “You just have to be in it and watch and experience it. There’s no other feeling in college football besides the Red River Rivalry. That’s the cool thing about it, there’s no other game like this. It’s a unique game. I would say just be ready. It’s a big momentum game.

There will be a lot of players doing things for the first time on Saturday for the Longhorns. They’ll have to go through those challenges in a place that no other game can replicate. They’ll also have to do that against an Oklahoma team that would like nothing more than to send Texas to a 3-3 record and put any Longhorn hopes for making the College Football Playoff to bed.

Those players will still be playing the same game of football they’ve played for about a decade now. And in that game, one thing holds true no matter the arena.

“You make plays, you get the orange side excited,” Taaffe said.