There are a lot of haunting images from last year’s Red River Showdown that saw Texas score a series-high 48 points in upsetting Oklahoma.
No doubt it was unsettling to watch Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger simply barrel through the OU defense to earn touchdowns and key first downs when the game mattered most.
That Ehlinger was maybe a little one-dimensional, but that’s not the Ehlinger coming into the Cotton Bowl this week as the rivalry continues.
A much-improved passer, for sure, but that element that still makes Ehlinger more dangerous than anything else is his will to get the big yards in big moments.
“He's a heck of a player,” OU head coach Lincoln Riley said. “I've got a lot of respect for him. The way he plays the game and the way he competes. He's certainly the catalyst of that entire team and he's certainly what makes that group go.”
Especially in the red zone. In two matchups with the Sooners last year, Texas 8-of-9 in red zone opportunities. That number is pretty strong on its own and is only bolstered by the fact all eight were touchdowns.
Fast forward to this year. Texas is 16-of-18 in red zone chances. Those 16? Yep, you guessed it, every single conversion has been a touchdown.
“It's one thing to say they have size, whether we are talking about the receiving corps or, in this particular case, the quarterback in the run game,” defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. “There are other guys that are big, but he has a unique ability to find enough of a crease and then kind of create the pile moving forward. It's why they are good at what they do and why they have had so much success.”
If OU is going to be taking back the Golden Hat, stopping Ehlinger inside the 20 is going to be a huge reason why that happens.
Would be foolish to point out Ehlinger’s improvement without mentioning how different the OU defense looks under first-year defense of Grinch. Because this isn’t the same group that limped out of the Cotton Bowl last year.
“I watch tape on them. They got a good offense, but at the end of the day, it’s about us,” linebacker Kenneth Murray said. “So we got to focus in on what we need to do and do what we do.”
Despite the better play, red zone defense hasn’t been a strong suit for the Sooners. OU has allowed scores on 11 of 12 trips with seven touchdowns and four field goals. Changing those numbers vs. Ehlinger is no easy task, no doubt, but the Sooners have come up big before.
One of the signature plays of OU’s 2018 season was Tre Brown coming off the corner to sack Ehlinger for a safety in the fourth quarter of the Big 12 championship game.
It’s going to take that type of effort Saturday for OU to remain undefeated after the Red River Showdown for the first time since 2011.
“Let’s say if I stop running and I let up a little bit, I don’t think I would actually have tackled the guy,” Brown said. “Because like I said, he’s so big he can run out of anything. I’ve seen him get out of things with guys who are way bigger than me. If I would have stopped, I don’t think that play would even exist.”
Ehlinger racked up 386 total yards (314 passing, 72 rushing) and five total touchdowns in the 48-45 victory last year.
Safe to say, OU’s defense hasn’t forgotten and is looking forward to the chance to rewrite that script.
“It's been played in my head a bunch, just seeing those guys cheering on that field with that hat in their hands,” Murray said. “Last year walking off that field, I vividly remember exactly how I felt. So you know, definitely a game that that we want to go out here and we want to dominate. Definitely a game that we’re gonna go out here and we want to play the way that we play.
“And I think this team this year is different from the team last year. I think it's a different approach. I think it's a different mindset, and so I’m excited to get some preparation this week and go out there and dominate on Saturday.”
