Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Texas: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

The Oklahoma Sooners haven't played to expectations this season. The offense has underperformed. Saturday, against their biggest rival, the Sooners can turn the tide when they take on the No. 1 Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown.

There's little confidence that the Sooners' offense can hang with the Longhorns. But crazier things have happened in this game through the years, and in a rivalry game, throw everything you know out the window. It may take some Sooner Magic to win and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive, but just when you count them out, the Sooners come through with a special performance.

Here are our predictions for the 2026 Red River Showdown.

Oklahoma's Still Not Good Enough

The team that runs the football better almost always wins the Red River Rivalry. Well, Jim Nagy, Brent Venables, and Ben Arbuckle spent the entire offseason trying to improve the rushing attack, and now it’s worse than it was last year. Texas’ offense has talent, but the OU defense should be able to keep them from turning the game into a laugher. They’ll give up a couple of scores, but OU’s offense will also give Texas a few points as well. The Longhorns have a very good defense, and it’ll be a long day for the Sooners on offense. Texas wins their third straight in Dallas and gets their fourth victory in five years over Venables.

Texas 24, Oklahoma 3

Aaron Gelvin, Contributor

Sark Continues Dominance of Sooners

Steve Sarkisian is 3-1 against Brent Venables. However, Venables is 1-0 when his team scores a single touchdown. Unfortunately, Oklahoma’s offense hasn’t given any reason to believe it will score a touchdown this weekend, so I’ve got the Longhorns.

Texas 24, Oklahoma 3

Jaron Spor, Contributor

Sooners Offense Still Not Right

Rivalry games are generally unpredictable. But the Sooners haven't punched above their weight class in this game in a long time, and several things are working against them. The injuries and lack of cohesion on the offensive line will make Saturday a tough challenge. Even though Texas isn’t as good as advertised, they’ve proven they can overcome adversity with the big second-half comeback against Ohio State. The Red River Rivalry is generally going to the team that can respond to big momentum swings. Unfortunately, John Mateer and the Sooners haven’t proven that this year.

Texas 24, Oklahoma 13

James D. Jackson, Contributor

Oklahoma Defense Wins the Day

There's no reason Oklahoma should win this game. But it's the Red River Shootout. We're just going to bank on the crazy things happening. The Oklahoma defense has been good this year, but this is the game where they play at an elite level, slow down the Texas run game, and force Arch Manning into uncomfortable decisions. The defense finds a turnover or two and turns one into a score of their own. If the Sooners offense can put together a few scoring drives, including a touchdown, they'll have a shot to win the game.

Oklahoma 17, Texas 13

John Williams, Lead Writer

Week 1: Predictions vs. UTEP

Week 2: Predictions vs. Michigan

Week 3: Predictions vs. New Mexico

Week 4: Predictions vs. Georgia

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Texas: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions