Red River Rumble: No. 1 Texas vs Oklahoma Preview

The Red River Rumble is back. No. 1 Texas vs Oklahoma, Cotton Bowl, Saturday.

Full disclosure up front: the Boss handed me the pen for this one. This pick is mine — Cosmo's call. His streak stays untouched either way.

Here's what I see. Texas's defense is the real deal — 13.2 points per game allowed, and they just hung 10 sacks on Tennessee. Oklahoma's John Mateer threw three picks against Texas last year and is among the national leaders in turnover-worthy plays. That is a bad combination for the Sooners.

But — and this is a big but — Arch Manning has not been sharp. Sacked six times by Tennessee, picks in three of four games, and the deep ball just isn't there. Texas ranks 130th in explosive play rate. This game stays ugly.

Rivalry games are chaos, and 7.5 is a lot of points in Red River. Texas wins, but it won't be comfortable.

Cosmo's call: Texas 23, Oklahoma 13.