The Red River Rivalry gets renewed this weekend though as Texas take on Oklahoma in their first meeting as members of the Southeastern Conference. You’d better believe that Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is pumped for it.
Texas are the No. 1 team in the country with a perfect 5-0 record, some impressive wins over big teams and not one, but two of the most talented quarterbacks in football with start Quinn Ewers and former top prospect Arch Manning. On the other side, the Sooners are the No. 18 team in the nation with a 4-1 record and a young quarterback of their own in true freshman Michael Hawkins. Texas 14.5-point favorites, but Sarkisian doesn’t seem to care.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sarkisian made it clear that “the records and things don’t matter” because it’s a big rivalry game.
“It’s a rivalry game. Forget whatever we’re favored or we’re not, it doesn’t matter. The records and things don’t matter in games like this,” Sarkisian said, via the Longhorn Network.
As for the idea of playing a true freshman, Sarkisian refused to take Hawkins lightly, pointing out that he won’t be as likely to overthink things.
“I think one of the advantages of being a true freshman starter in games like this, you have no scars,” Sarkisian said. “You have no wounds. You have no — you’re playing with a clean slate, a blank slate. He’s a blank canvas that’s just starting to start his career. And so he doesn’t have any of those things in the back of his head to worry about and I’m sure he’s going to go in there and let it rip and go play.”
“And our job is to try to confuse him,” Sarkisian said. “Our job is to try to make it difficult on him. How we do that, we have to do that a variety of ways that all hopefully can add up to making it a tough day for him. But, again, that’s easier said than done on a Monday at 11:45 or whatever time it is. It’s going to be a big task for all parties involved, coaches and players included.”
The game will be played at the Cotton Bowl this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air on ABC.
Related: Report: Steve Sarkisian Looking To Poach A Top Oklahoma Assistant