How to watch No. 1 Texas vs. No. 18 Oklahoma: Game time, TV, live streaming, and more

After an extra week of buildup thanks to the bye, the No. 1 Texas Longhorns are finally heading to the Cotton Bowl to reignite the annual rivalry with the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday in Dallas.

The Longhorns are heavy favorites in this game by most measures. Whether its as a two-score betting favorite or any of the advanced statistic models, most think that Texas should be able to win the game with relative comfort, but as anyone who has followed this game can tell you that won’t likely be the case. Excluding the bonus matchup in the Big 12 Championship game, just one of the last 10 matchups between the two teams has been by more than one score.

Oklahoma comes to the table struggling to find consistency on offense, both due to injuries and performance on that side of the ball. Missing his top five receivers and standing behind a suspect offensive line, Jackson Arnold struggled early in the season and saw Brent Venables and his staff shift full-time to his backup, Michael Hawkins, Jr. Despite that, the Sooners have just one loss on the year, thanks in large part to the production of their defense. Oklahoma has proven through five games that their defense is opportunistic and enough to keep them in, or downright win games, as evidenced primarily by a go-ahead pick-six against the Auburn Tigers, in which they were out-gained by 190 yards of offense.

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Blind ranking, I would feel like yes, Texas is two touchdowns better than OU. As someone who watched Case McCoy and Charlie Strong put on the Golden Hat, I know none of that matters in this game. There have only been two years when I felt confident going into this game: 2009 and 2022 and both years OU effectively didn’t field a quarterback.

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Games are won and lost in the trenches in the Cotton Bowl, so let's start there since I think it will be one of the biggest advantages that could tilt things in favor of Texas on Saturday. Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh has produced his fair share of quality offensive lines for the Sooners, but this year’s unit has struggled mightily so far. The Sooners are tied for 110th in the country in sacks allowed with 14 through five games and are tied for 100th in the country in tackles for a loss allowed.

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The challenge for Texas is that Hawkins is so dangerous scrambling against man coverage when defenders have their back turned to him, putting a heightened emphasis on the defensive front to maintain rush-lane integrity in those situations. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is also cognizant of the need to show Hawkins different looks, which could necessitate using a spy on him when playing man, likely sophomore middle linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.

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How to Watch

TV: ABC

Time: 2:30 PM Central

Radio: Texassports.com. Broadcasts are also available on Sirius 132, XM 199, and App Ch. 953

Online Streaming: WatchESPN

Odds: Texas -14.5, according to FanDuel

Weather: High of 95 degrees and sunny