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Despite topping the Oklahoma Sooners during their Red River Showdown meeting in early October, the Texas Longhorns opened as 7.5-point underdogs for Saturday’s Big 12 Championship rematch with the Sooners, per Longhorn Network’s Alex Loeb.
Texas opens as a 7.5 point underdog to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game.
— Alex Loeb (@SpanningTheLoeb) November 25, 2018
The first time around, Texas quickly amassed a lead which ultimately ballooned to 45-24, but in resilient fashion when the game seemed out of reach, the Sooners roared back, tying the game at 45-45 with just over two minutes remaining. Of course, the Longhorns enjoyed the last laugh, as Texas pieced together a nine-play, game-winning drive capped by a 40-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker to lift the Longhorns to a 48-45 victory.
However, the two Red River rivals have fared fairly differently since that Saturday.
Texas is 4-2 since its win over Oklahoma, with its wins over Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State, and Kansas coming by a combined 34 points. Oklahoma, on the other hand, is a perfect 6-0 and on the cusp of cracking the final four in the final College Football Playoff picture. That said, three of the Sooners wins (Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, West Virginia) have come by a combined nine points.
Nevertheless, for both Texas and Oklahoma, wins are wins, and those wins are why the Longhorns and Sooners are each now sitting within the top 10 in the AP Top 25 at No. 9 and No. 5, respectively, setting up the first top 10 showdown between the two since 2008.
The Big 12 Championship game is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1.