Sidelined Sooners and heroic Horns creep closer to the Red River Rivalry
By Sam Fariss
The featured picture at the top of this article is from 369 days ago. It shows Oklahoma Sooner fans celebrating as wide receiver Nic Anderson catches the game-winning touchdown to defeat the Texas Longhorns in the annual Red River Rivalry.
Anderson and the Sooners devastated the hearts of Horns fans as Texas was ranked No. 3 in the country and Oklahoma was just No. 12. Led by Anderson and then-quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma knocked down the top-ranked Longhorns and walked away with the 34-30 upset victory.
Just one year later, both rosters look wildly different but the two teams find themselves in shocking similar situations.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is once again returning from injury as the Longhorns prepare to take on their rival. Ewers has been sidelined for the past month with an oblique strain but head coach Steve Sarkisian announced on Thursday, Oct. 10 that the QB would start versus the Sooners.
Throughout his career, Ewers is 1-1 against the Sooners. The Longhorns' quarterback was part of the active roster in 2023 when Texas was bested by Oklahoma but led the Horns to a resounding 49-0 shutout victory over the Sooners in 2022.
Anderson, the hero wide receiver from last season' RRR, is sidelined along with at least three other wideouts on Oklahoma's roster.
Jalil Farooq, Jayden Gibson, and Andrel Anthony will also be sidelined for the Red River Rivalry and star WR Deion Burks may also be out for the matchup.
No. 1 Texas and No. 18 Oklahoma are scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 12 from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX. Fans (of either side) can tune into ABC or ESPN+ to catch all of the Red River Rivalry action.