Texas’ Redemption Arch: The Controversial Landmark Set to Stir Debate and Define an Era

Here we are, staring down yet another storied rivalry: Oklahoma at Texas, 3:30 ET. You ever notice how sports can flip on a dime? One minute, a squad’s got the spotlight and lofty dreams of hoisting the National Championship trophy — the next, reality smacks them upside the head. Take this matchup: both teams started dreaming big, but it looks like only Oklahoma’s riding that championship wave, while Texas is scrambling to keep their postseason hopes alive. Now, the Sooners are rolling with five straight wins, climbing the rankings like a rocket — no joke, they’re sitting pretty at sixth nationally despite losing a star quarterback to a hand injury. Meanwhile, the Longhorns, supposed to be a force to reckon with this season, are stumbling through a shaky 3-2 start, their golden boy Arch Manning struggling to ignite the offense. Can Texas somehow right this ship against a surging Oklahoma? Or will the Sooners extend their streak, even while nursing injuries? It’s that kind of chess match that makes college football so addicting — and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a little drama in the Lone Star State?

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Oklahoma at Texas, 3:30 ET

One of my favorite aspects about sports is how quickly things can change. We know that each team has goals in mind at the start of the season. Some are realistic, and others are lofty expectations. Sure, everyone wants to win the National Championship, but I am sure that a team like Northwestern (not to pick on them in particular) doesn’t actually expect to win the championship. We have two teams in this matchup today that are both looking for a chance at the National Championship, but so far it looks like only the Oklahoma Sooners have a chance and the Texas Longhorns are going to miss out.

Oklahoma comes into the game with a five game winning streak and having taken their one and only SEC matchup. The team has vaulted up the rankings and currently sits at sixth in the nation. They have actually faced a couple of decent opponents this season. To start the year, they took down Illinois State with a very easy 35-3 win. In the next game they hosted Michigan, once again winning, and we were able to cash a unit on this game as we bet the under, and the squads combined for 37 points. From there, they dominated Temple, allowing them just three points. Then they hosted and beat Auburn by a touchdown, the SEC win on their schedule. After a bye week, they played Kent State and rocked them to the tune of 44-0. The biggest loss so far for Oklahoma is that they’ve lost their starting quarterback, and potential Heisman winner, John Mateer. Rumors have it that he is pushing to play after a surgery to fix a bone in his throwing hand. How comfortable is the team with starting him? I’m not really sure on that, but I’d have to imagine the Sooners would pull him rather quickly if he does come in and he doesn’t look great.

Texas is a very different story. Entering the year, there was a ton of hype for a few reasons. Texas was very good last season, and they were ranked highly entering the year. The expectation of winning, or at least competing for a National Championship was thrust upon the roster. Along with the team hype was the mania surrounding yet another golden arm of the Manning family. Arch Manning was taking the ball for the Longhorns after a couple of years as a backup. The problem is that Manning has struggled in his first year under center. He is 81-for-135 with 1,151 passing yards and 11 touchdowns. He also has five interceptions. That may not sound terrible, but when your team is just 3-2, the numbers aren’t good enough. He does lead the team in rushing, which is actually a concern of mine, considering he is at just 160 for the season. He does have five rushing touchdowns, but the team needs to have more than just him running the ball. The first loss of the season was against Ohio State, on the road. Ohio State might be the best team in the country, so the loss was a bit expected, and it was a 14-7 loss, so it wasn’t exactly embarrassing. The other loss came last week, off of a bye, when they lost to a bad Florida team, dropping that one 29-21. Simply put they cannot lose another game this season.

None of the three wins that Texas has are impressive, whereas Oklahoma has two wins against quality opponents. I suppose you could make an argument that Auburn is just okay, and Michigan isn’t that good either. You could also point out that both of those games were at home that the Sooners won. That, to me, is where you make the case for Texas. They have been comfortable at home, having only one road game this year. Texas’s two losses have both come on the road. They are fighting for their chance to play for the championship, and playing either the backup quarterback, or a guy returning from hand surgery. Give me Texas to cover and redeem themselves for an ugly Florida loss.

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