AUSTIN, Texas — Texas safety B.J. Foster, who has a reputation as one of the hardest hitters on the Longhorns' team, basically warned Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Sooners' leading rusher this season, to "slide" when No. 11 Texas and No. 6 OU meet in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday.

“He’s not dumb,” Foster said of Hurts, who is averaging 99 yards per game on the ground. “He’s gonna have to slide, or it’s not gonna be good for him.”

Longhorns players met with the media on Tuesday, and definitely sounded like there is unfinished business heading into Saturday's Red River Shootout after Texas beat OU 48-45 last October but lost to the Sooners in the Big 12 championship.

Las Vegas might also be fueling the Longhorns this week. Texas (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) opened as nine-point underdogs to Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0), and wagering on OU has helped make the Sooners 10.5-point favorites as of Tuesday.

“I use that as motivation, and I’m sure my teammates do, too,” said senior safety Brandon Jones.





When Texas left tackle Samuel Cosmi was asked what stood out about Oklahoma’s defense this season under new coordinator Alex Grinch, Cosmi said more line stunts and twists but added, “Nothing super special. They have good players, solid players. But nothing to worry about too much.”

Cosmi was asked if Texas will be the best team Oklahoma has faced considering the combined record of OU’s five opponents thus far (Houston, South Dakota, UCLA, Texas Tech and Kansas) is 10-17. Tech (3-2) is the only team OU has beaten with a winning record.

“They have a really explosive offense and are a really good team overall. I won’t take that away from them,” Cosmi said. “But I don’t think they’ve played anyone like us.”

Cosmi went on to say Texas having faced a team like No. 5 LSU (who gave UT its only loss) already this season “showed us what we have and our abilities and how we perform on the field. It will be interesting to see how they (the Sooners) respond and see what type of team they really are.”







When told Oklahoma is averaging a nation-leading 7.8 yards per carry this season, Foster responded, “We’re sound on the run game. Oklahoma State — what did they do against our defense?”

Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard, the nation’s leading rusher, averaging 182.3 yards per game on the ground, was held to 121 yards on 37 attempts (3.3 yards per carry) against the Longhorns.

The Cowboys ran 56 times for 226 yards (4.0 ypc) against Texas as OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders got loose for 109 yards on 18 carries (6.1 ypc).

Hurts is averaging 8.8 yards per carry this season, which takes on added meaning when you consider his yardage lost on sacks (37 yards) is deducted from rushing totals (not his passing totals).

Jones, another thumper on the Longhorns’ defense, said Hurts is a similar runner to Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger, but added getting a big hit on a quarterback who runs can be tricky.

“Anytime you get a quarterback to run, you want to get him on the ground,” Jones said. “You don’t know as the defender what the quarterback is going to do — slide or not.

“A guy like Jalen, he’s probably gonna try to run you over. So, the biggest thing is just getting him on the ground.”





Foster and Cosmi said there’s definitely unfinished business between Texas and OU after splitting their meetings last season.

“Who knows?” Cosmi said. “I think you could see us both in that (Big 12 championship) game again.”