Kirk Herbstreit will be in Dallas this weekend, calling the Red River Showdown between Oklahoma and Texas. The Sooners have won nine of the last 12 meetings between the two sides, but we’ve seen the Longhorns give them some serious runs, and pull a few upsets during that time.
There’s no real debate between the two programs at the moment. Lincoln Riley has turned the Sooners into the clear top dog in the Big 12, and a regular College Football Playoff participant. Herbstreit is bullish on what Steve Sarkisian is building in Austin as well, though, and thinks the program has really “found its identity” since the embarrassing early season loss to Arkansas.
“I think they were searching for it early, which I couldn’t blame them. There’s a new coach, (and) a lot of new players,” Herbie told 247. I think after losing that game and making the switch at quarterback, I think they have now found that Bijan (Robinson) is their guy.
SI Sportsbook has Oklahoma as just a 3.5-point favorite, with an over/under of 63.5 total points. Herbstreit seems to think we’ll get a shootout, befitting the rivalry’s former name. In fact, after watching film he sees this as a “last team with the ball wins” situation.
We are LIVE from the State Fair tomorrow morning for Texas-OU!!!
This is one of my favorite stops for @CollegeGameDay and I can’t wait to see all the Texas and Oklahoma fans out here!! Show starts at 8am CT/9am ET!! pic.twitter.com/0AptFHVmL0
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 8, 2021
“I’m excited to see — going in as we sit here on Friday, I feel like it’s a high-scoring game,” Herbstreit said. “I think both defenses will struggle to stop the other offense.
“I feel like it has the makings of a ‘who has the ball last?’ kind of game. Maybe I’ll be proven completely wrong. But that’s what it feels like based on watching the film.”
Texas is currently sixth in the nation in scoring, at 43.8 points per game. Oklahoma’s offense hasn’t fired on all cylinders every week this year, but they’re not far behind, at 38.4 per game, good for 15th in the country. Kirk Herbstreit could be on to something here, and wouldn’t it be fun if he is?
Texas and Oklahoma kick off at 12 p.m. ET. Herbstreit and company have the call on ABC, after hosting College GameDay from the game.
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