Heather Dinich explains who needs Red River Showdown win more between Texas-Oklahoma

The stakes are always high in the Cotton Bowl for the Red River Rivalry game, but this season they may be even higher as both Texas and Oklahoma enter this year’s edition of the matchup with 5-0 records.

With that in mind, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg asked college football reporter and insider Heather Dinich which team needs the win more on ‘Get Up‘ Wednesday morning ahead of Saturday’s iconic showdown.

“Well Greeny in the court of public opinion it would be Texas and Steve Sarkisian because this program is so desperate to be nationally elite again, and they’re off to a 5-0 start since 2009 which is significant,” Dinich said.

There’s no question that Texas showing early flashes of their 2009 BCS Championship season has fans excited in Austin and many across the country feeling like Texas is finally back. But according to Dinich, the Sooners actually need a win on Saturday even more than the Longhorns largely due to the remainder of their schedule.

“But from a playoff perspective, Oklahoma absolutely needs this more because this could be the only ranked opponent that they face during the regular season,” Dinich explained. “That’s critical on selection day when the College Football Playoff selection committee is reviewing these resumes.”

Oklahoma’s 5-0 start has gone a little bit more under the radar compared to Texas’, ranked No. 12 in the AP Top 25 compared to the Longhorns who sit at the No. 3 spot receiving a lot more national attention.

A lot of that has to do with the Sooners’ schedule through the first five weeks of the season, which is not perceived as the strongest despite beating Big 12 opponents in their last two weeks of play. And with Oklahoma and Texas both currently being the only two ranked teams in the conference, it’s clear that this is the Sooners’ best shot at making some national noise.

“So the difference is Texas went to Tuscaloosa and beat Alabama which is still one of the most impressive wins in the country. If Texas loses this game and finishes as a one-loss Big 12 champ they still have an excellent chance to impress the selection committee and finish in the top four,” Dinich said.

Texas handed Alabama their first double-digit home loss since 2003 in Week 2, which will likely continue to be one of the strongest parts of their resume this season. And while deciding who needs this win more is up for debate, theirs no doubting that both teams this weekend will be laying it all on the line in one of college football’s most iconic rivalries.