Oklahoma vs. Texas Complete Game Preview

It’s always fireworks when the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns tangle in Dallas.

Last season, the Longhorns shocked their rivals, upsetting the then-unbeaten Sooners, 36-20. It only goes to show that records are nothing but numbers when it comes to heated rivalries.

Will Texas surprise Oklahoma again? Or will the Sooners get sweet revenge?

Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s matchup.

Where: Cotton Bowl

When: Saturday, October 11, noon ET

Watch: ABC

Live Stream: Sooner Sports

Listen: Sooner Sports Radio Network

Betting Line: Oklahoma (-14), per Odds Shark

Oklahoma Players to Watch

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Knight has to be better.

RB Samaje Perine (Fr.)

With Keith Ford set to miss his third consecutive game, per The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), the brunt of the rushing attack will once again fall upon the shoulders of Perine.

Thus far, the true freshman appears to be more than up for the task, rushing for 506 yards and eight touchdowns on 91 carries. Seven of those scores have come over the last two games with Ford on the sidelines.

There’s no question that Perine has the goods. The only question is: Will offensive coordinator Josh Heupel actually stick with what works?

QB Trevor Knight (So.)

Knight had a performance to forget last Saturday against TCU.

Although the redshirt sophomore threw for a season-high 309 yards, he also tossed a pair of interceptions and completed just 14 of his 35 pass attempts. On the season, Knight has only thrown five touchdowns to five interceptions on 54.5 percent passing.

With Texas boasting a formidable pass defense, Knight will once again be under pressure.

Texas Players to Watch

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Swoopes has to be better.

QB Tyrone Swoopes (So.)

Over the past two weeks, the Sooners secondary has made Clint Trickett and Trevone Boykin look like Heisman Trophy contenders.

Can Swoopes be next?

Through four starts, the sophomore hasn’t been all that impressive. He’s only thrown for 734 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions on 59.4 percent passing.

Even given the generousness of the Oklahoma defense, it will take a lot for Swoopes to turn things around on Saturday.

WR John Harris (Sr.)

If Swoopes is going to perform, he’ll need a wide receiver to have a big game.

Harris could be that guy.

The senior proved he can put up numbers, catching seven passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in the season opener. Ironically, that was the one game Swoopes didn’t play in. Still, Harris has caught three touchdowns over the past four games.

Look for Harris and Swoopes to hook up on more than one occasion in the passing attack.

Oklahoma Keys to Victory

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Perine has been phenomenal thus far.

Run, Run, Run the Ball

It may sound cliche, but running the ball is the way to beat this Texas defense.

On the year, the unit ranks No. 100 in run defense (199.0 yards per game). The Longhorns have allowed six touchdowns on the ground, and four of its five opponents have rushed for 170 yards or more.

The Sooners should fire up Perine and run him until he can’t stand anymore.

Limit the Big Plays

After beginning the season highly regarded, the Oklahoma defense has softened in recent weeks.

The unit has been gashed by one big play after another. That includes several against TCU, including three touchdowns that went for more than 30 yards.

One of the poorer offenses in the Big 12, Texas should find it awfully difficult to move the ball down the field. That makes it all the more important that the Sooners don’t make it easy for the Longhorns by conceding the big play.

Texas Keys to Victory

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Strong must dare Knight to throw on Saturday.

Force the Action into Strong Suit

Yes, the Longhorns struggle at stopping the run. But they’re also extremely good at stopping the pass.

Through five games, Texas ranks No. 4 in pass defense (134.6 yards per game). The team has allowed just four passing touchdowns and intercepted nine passes.

Obviously, the big question is whether or not the Longhorns can slow down Samaje Perine and the Oklahoma rushing attack. If the Sooners can keep getting yards on the ground, there will be no need to pass.

But if Texas can force Trevor Knight to have to win the game with his arm, the team has to like its chances.

Get Some Offensive Momentum

Only a handful of teams score fewer points than the Longhorns.

Through five games, they average just 18.4 points per game. That ranks Texas as the No. 116 offense in the nation.

Against an Oklahoma team that ranks No. 14, averaging 42 points per game, that’s going to need to change. The Longhorns have to ensure their drives end in points.

They can’t waste opportunities.

What They're Saying

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Stoops knows he has a lot of work to do with his team.

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops on the TCU loss:

"

I believe a lot of it is easily correctable, and some of it's just discipline and fundamentals. I'm not going to detail it because then, you're calling out these young guys, and that's not the right thing to do. In the end, some of it is very fundamental in what we do, and for whatever reason, even guys with a lot of experience didn't do it very well, so we've got to do a better job coaching them and they've got to do a better job being mindful of their disciplines and what we're doing.

"

Oklahoma defensive end Chuka Ndulue on the rivalry: "It's the reason why most people come to Oklahoma, for the OU-Texas game. My mom will be there, my sister, my dad, my best friends are going to be watching."

Oklahoma cornerback Julian Wilson on thoughts of revenge: "It's a big-time game. It's a smashmouth football game. OU-Texas—everyone wants to know who is going to win. We still have a bad taste in our mouth from last year. We're going to go out there and execute our game plan on Saturday."

All quotes courtesy of The Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

Prediction

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The Sooners will get back to their winning ways on Saturday.

There’s nothing worse than playing an Oklahoma team on the heels of a loss.

The Sooners should come out of the gates fired up. Texas’ defense will limit the scoring, but unfortunately, its offense hasn’t been able to do much of anything this season.

Oklahoma’s defense should bounce back in this one, forcing turnovers that should help the team win the battle for field position.

The Sooners should have no problem getting some revenge on Saturday.

Prediction: Oklahoma 38, Texas 17

All stats, recruiting information and rankings used in this article are courtesy of CFBStats.com and 247Sports.

For complete coverage and everything Oklahoma football, you can reach Sebastian on Twitter and via email at [e-mail].