Paul Finebaum says 'everything's at stake' in Oklahoma-Texas showdown
Texas has already established itself as a College Football Playoff contender after winning at Alabama earlier this season. Oklahoma has a chance to do the same if it can upset the Longhorns this weekend.
ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum joined SportsCenter on Monday and shared the importance of Saturday’s rivalry game.
“Everything’s at stake, because of the national championship and playoff implications,” Finebaum said.
According to Finebaum, Texas can remain in the College Football Playoff picture, even with a loss in the Red River Showdown. However, he believes the Sooners will be eliminated from CFP contention if they don’t win on Saturday.
Texas is currently a six-point favorite for the matchup.
“For Texas, they could survive a loss, because they have that win at Alabama, and maybe get it back later on in a rematch or Big 12 championship game,” Finebaum said. “For Oklahoma, they don’t have the same fortunes. Remember, they lost that Georgia game off the schedule.”
Oklahoma and Georgia were originally scheduled to meet in an out-of-conference matchup this season. However, with OU and Texas joining the SEC for 2024, the out-of-conference series was canceled.
Finally, Finebaum feels that there is a lot of pressure on Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables heading into this game. Venables and the Sooners suffered a 49-0 loss to Texas a year ago.
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“There’s also pressure on Brent Venables. I mean he just got destroyed last year in this game,” Finebaum said. “You don’t do that two years in a row if you want to remain the coach in Norman for very long.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey to attend final Big 12 Red River Showdown between Texas and Oklahoma
The Red River Showdown will soon be an SEC game as both Oklahoma and Texas will be in that conference next year.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey will get a sneak peek at the matchup this weekend, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
On Monday, Dellenger revealed that Sankey will watch Oklahoma and Texas, before heading over to watch the Texas A&M Aggies take on the Alabama Crimson Tide.
“SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is scheduled to be on hand to watch current Big 12 teams and future SEC teams Texas and Oklahoma,” tweeted Dellenger. “… He’ll also drop by Texas A&M-Alabama.”
It’ll be fascinating to see how the Big 12 feels about Sankey wanting to attend the game, but you can’t blame him. The SEC Commissioner is ready to see his two new marquee programs in action, and it’s expected to be an amazing contest.