Texas is SEC ready. Oklahoma is not. The rivalry in Red River proves it

DALLAS – It all looked, felt and smelled the same: the stark gap at the 50-yard line between crimson and burnt orange, the gluttonous stench of State Fair of Texas food sitting just outside the walls of the Cotton Bowl has been deep fried, leaving fans stumbling around in various states of inebriation as their skin burns under the 33 degree October heat.

The only thing that changed, however, wasn't just symbolic. For Texas and Oklahoma, the removal of the Big 12's Roman numerals from the field and their replacement with the Southeastern Conference's circular seal served as a thermometer for the two geographical and cultural rivals that met at this location, located about halfway between their respective locations since 1929.

Texas is SEC ready. Oklahoma? Not so much.

Of course, this admittedly banal conclusion is a story that can be told using the lopsided record we saw here on Saturday: Texas 34, Oklahoma 3.

But it is a story that needs to be told, perhaps even spoken out loud, because just three years ago it seemed unlikely.

The Texas Longhorns did it. They've built a monster: probably the best team in the SEC and maybe the whole damn country.

“In the first half of the season, I don’t see many teams that have played as well as they have in all three phases,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “They're good in all the right spots – quarterback, offense.” Line, explosive playmakers, really good defense. They have a really complete team.”

It will be months before we can make a judgment on how good Texas is, but perhaps we can see that emerge as early as next week when the Longhorns host Georgia in the next game of the year. That should be the type of test Oklahoma is incapable of. After watching the Sooners' offense meander through possession after possession, they don't seem destined for much more than a mediocre future in the SEC, which will likely end with many confused Sooners wondering how the program, that they held for the most part, had the upper hand – Hand against 2 1/2 decades blew past them at exactly the wrong moment.

In a 125-year rivalry that wasn't always predictable, this role reversal is a must.

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Asked whether it was concerning that such a huge divide had suddenly emerged between Texas and Oklahoma, Venables repeated the question, then looked down and mumbled a “no” that didn't seem particularly convincing.

But it should be alarming to Venables and everyone in Oklahoma because it wasn't that long ago that these questions were being asked about Texas and its viability as a national power.

If you can, rewind to the moment you heard that Texas and Oklahoma were joining the SEC. It was the summer of 2021. Texas had kicked Tom Herman out of town after four seasons, just as they had thrown Charlie Strong out of town after three. It had been a dozen years since the Longhorns fielded a team that even remotely looked like one of the SEC's big dogs.

The Would the Texas program leave the protective cocoon of the Big 12 and head to the deepest, most physically demanding conference in America?

Oklahoma's move to the SEC seemed questionable for another reason. The Sooners had won the Big 12 for six straight years under Bob Stoops and then Lincoln Riley and were in the College Football Playoff four times before reaching their talent ceiling against the likes of Alabama, Georgia and LSU.

Why mess with a good cause? Why would you leave a conference where your advantages over every other program were so great that you could almost secure an annual playoff spot, especially when the four-team model inevitably expands?

Sure, there were plenty of reasons to go to the SEC — the money, the recruiting pull, the excitement of being a regular at top-tier programs — but competitively, it didn't seem like a great deal for either man.

As it looked three years ago, both – but especially Texas – would go down in this league. Now we have to ask ourselves: Are the Longhorns close to leading this league?

Not only is this remarkable, it would have been absurd to predict such a thing.

Even going all-in on Steve Sarkisian made sense given his success as offensive coordinator at Alabama, but seemed risky considering how disappointing he had been as a head coach previously at Washington and Southern California. But what other choice did Texas have?

Now in his fourth year, Sarkisian has a CFP appearance on his resume and is perhaps the most reliable team in college football. Not only is he a better football coach than he was a decade ago, he is backed by an administration and a fan base that has quickly become familiar with the name, image and image of the recruiting world, filled some gaps in the club wars and absolutely wanted to be sure that its increased competition would not lead to a historic facade factory.

The result was a collection of talent and experience that perhaps only Ohio State can match.

“A lot of times on our team it's hard to tell the difference between our 1s and 2s,” Sarkisian said in a subtle tone as he downed a corn dog after the game.

The Longhorns didn't even play The Well, on Saturday, the divide between Texas and Oklahoma appeared to be wider than the stretch of Interstate 35 that separates them. Don't blame the burnt orange brigade if Austin's invective reverberates beyond Auburn and everywhere else in the South.

But it's a statement that comes with a caveat. Because of history, the Red River Rivalry may have always been the most important game on the Texas schedule, but because of the reality that now exists for both programs and the league in which they play, it is no longer the benchmark.

“We have to give this game the respect it deserves,” Sarkisian said. “This is a big game at the University of Texas. This game is important for us, and I know it's important for Oklahoma, too. So there's a lot that goes into it and we're lucky and blessed to be a part of it. But what impresses me about our guys is that we enjoyed the win and the locker room was fun, but it's almost like our team knew there was more work to do. Put it in the trophy box and keep grinding.”

That's the SEC mentality Sarkisian knows they'll need. Texas has arrived in this conference as a program worthy of singing those three letters, making Oklahoma another fringe contender in a league full of them.

The Longhorns not only won a football game on Saturday, they also broke away from their rival and their past. You are ready for this.

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