By: George Ahearn

The Red River Rivalry kicks off Saturday, when the Longhorns and the Sooners meet in Dallas, Texas for the final time as members of the Big 12. With both teams owning impressive 5-0 records, the final bout between these two as bitter Big 12 rivals has the potential to be the most memorable of them all.

No. 3 Texas has looked borderline unstoppable through their opening five games of the season, defeating No. 11 Alabama and No. 24 Kansas with ease. While the offense of the Longhorns was always feared, what has proven insurmountable to their opponents is scoring on this defense.

In his third season as Texas’ defensive coordinator, Pete Kwiatkowski may have his best defense yet. This tenacious unit owns the 12^th best scoring defense in the nation, only allowing an average of 12.5 points per contest. Led by fourth-year linebacker Jaylan Ford, who was a third-team All-American and first-team All-Big 12 talent in 2022, this Longhorns defense is a force. 

We’re used to Texas teams of the past becoming overhyped, leading to inevitable collapse at some point during the season. However, this was always partly due to their inability to slow down the nation’s top offenses. Now, their defense is what Texas leans on to win football games, and it is the main reason as to why the Longhorns are a top five team in the nation. 

In a quieter manner, the Sooners have also greatly impressed through their opening five games. In head coach Brent Venables’ second season, he has the Sooners clicking. They have won their five games by a combined score of 237-54, which is utter insanity for a team that finished with a 6-7 record last season. 

When Venables was hired by Oklahoma, the idea was that he would bring his relentless, Clemson-led defenses with him. In his second year at the helm, that is exactly what Venables has done. The Sooners own the nation’s second ranked scoring defense, allowing only an average of 8.5 points a contest. 

The story you’ll hear leading up to this game will be about quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Dillon Gabriel and how explosive these offenses will be. Yet, in reality, it should be each of these teams’ ferocious defenses. Both teams have shown the ability to ride the shoulders of their defenses to wins, and I expect this trend to continue come Saturday.  

Despite these defenses each being some of the top-ranked units in the nation, this total currently sits at 60.5. While this may seem high, this is the lowest the total has been set for the Red River Rivalry since 2018.

The expectation that revolves around this game, and for good reason, is that of a shootout, and this commonly-held belief is why I believe this total is so high. While these offenses are talented and more-than-capable of putting up points, a 60.5 total provides more than enough wiggle room for this under to cash. 

It may be scary, but, in a game where emotions will be running high, with two stout defenses and one highly defensive-oriented coach, take the road less traveled and bet the under. 

The play: Under 60.5