OU football: 4 questions that will be answered against Texas

Through five weeks, there’s a lot we’ve learned about the 2023 Oklahoma Sooners.

For example, we’ve learned that Andrel Anthony is a huge part of this passing attack. We’ve learned that Danny Stutsman’s ceiling is potentially winning the Butkus Award. We’ve learned that freshman Peyton Bowen and Adepoju Adebawore arrived at OU ready to contribute right away.

However, there’s still plenty of things we don’t know, and this weekend provides the perfect opportunity for some answers. Plus, Saturday's game (11 a.m., ABC) will officially represent the halfway mark of the regular season.

Here’s a look at the OU questions that will likely be answered this weekend in Dallas:

Gabriel’s numbers this season are better than nearly every quarterback in the country. He’s fifth nationally in completion percentage (75.2%), fourth in passing touchdowns (15), sixth in passing efficiency (189.37) and eighth in passing yards per game (318.6). Simply put, there’s not many quarterbacks playing better than Gabriel right now.

But this weekend won’t just be the biggest game of Gabriel’s OU tenure. It’s easily the biggest game he’s played in his career.

Gabriel missed last year’s Red River Rivalry, and the stakes of each game in 2022 diminished as the Sooners’ season spiraled out of control. This year, all eyes will be on the Cotton Bowl. ESPN Gameday will be on hand and the game will be nationally televised on ABC.

Both the Sooners and the Longhorns are 5-0. Whoever wins will have a viable, tangible path to the Big 12 Championship and maybe the College Football Playoff.

If Gabriel plays well, and the Sooners win, his improvement this season will be solified on a national stage. The Heisman buzz for him will grow incredibly loud, too.

The backfield is easily the biggest question for OU on either side of the ball. It certainly doesn’t help that the team with the most rushing yards has won each of the last five games in this series.

The Sooners are averaging around 157 yards per game and 4.0 yards per carry, with both marks ranking in the bottom half of the Big 12. It hasn’t hurt them too much yet, mostly because of the defensive performances and Gabriel’s improvement.

On paper, the Longhorns are a bad matchup. They rank 17th nationally in rushing defense, allowing under 95 yards per game. But they’ve proven susceptible on the ground — last week, Kansas rushed for 124 yards on 25 carries (nearly five yards per carry).

Gabriel will need to play well, obviously. But the Sooners will simply need to establish some kind of consistency on the ground. Otherwise, their chances at defeating Texas decrease, along with their chances of making a run at a Big 12 title.

Across the board, the Sooners have significantly improved in every way. They’re fourth nationally in scoring defense (10.8), 30th in total defense (318 yards per game), 28th in rushing defense (105 yards per game), third in takeaways (12) and 10th in third-down defense (27.6%).

It’s simply been a dramatic turnaround. The Sooners have made it clear this year’s defense is different from the one that surrendered 30 points per game in 2022.

But how much have they improved? We’ll find out for sure this weekend. The Longhorns’ offense poses a bigger test than anything the Sooners have faced this season. For reference, the Longhorns are scoring over 36 points per game and gaining over 430 yards of offense.

The Sooners don’t have to be perfect. The Longhorns are likely going to score some points. They’re going to make some plays. But last year’s defense surrendered 49 points to this Longhorns team. That can’t happen this year.

If the Sooners can limit explosive plays and limit the Longhorns more than they have been this season, that’ll be both another step in the right direction and give the Sooners a chance to win.

The pair of five-star freshmen have already made a big impact. Bowen, in particular, has played the sixth-most snaps (173), per Pro Football Focus. Plus, he’s already blocked two punts, becoming the first Sooner player to do so in nearly 20 years.

However, the safety’s snap-count data has been interesting. According to PFF, Bowen played 40 and 48 snaps against SMU and Tulsa, respectively, but he’s seen a slight reduction in snaps the last two weeks. His snaps dropped to 29 against Cincinnati before playing 32 against Iowa State.

Adebawore’s snaps, however, have slowly increased. The highly-touted defensive end played a season-high 25 snaps against Iowa State after playing 22 and 23 the previous two weeks.

The Sooners will likely need both to play big snaps. But Bowen and Adebawore have never played in an environment like this. Does the coaching staff shorten the rotation? Or are they willing to throw their talented freshmen into the fire?