Texas Longhorns Coach Steve Sarkisian Raves About 'Challenging' Oklahoma Sooners Defense

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian had a lot of praise for the Oklahoma Sooners defense ahead of the Red River Rivalry

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns are set to hit the road and head to Dallas for what could be the most important rendition of the Red River Rivalry in a decade.

The Oklahoma Sooners come in as the No. 12 team in the country, and despite having a down year last season they are trending way up. One of the main reasons for their success is something that hasn't been able to be said about an Oklahoma team for quite some time, which is their success on defense. Unlike under the previous regime, which constantly saw the Sooners' defense rank among the worst in the country, Brent Venables has this unit performing as a top-30 defense in college football.

Something Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has recognized and attributed to the continuity between each unit.

“I think they’re playing really well together," Sarkisian said of the Oklahoma defense. "A lot of guys on the same accord. The front tied together with the backers tied together with the secondary."

Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Reggie Pearson (21) and Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) tackle Iowa State Cyclones running back Abu Sama III (24) / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Sarkisian also explained that Oklahoma prices themselves on creating confusion with different looks. 

"The multiplicity of what they do is very challenging," Sarkisian said. "They’ve got a lot of pressure packages so it’s definitely challenging on that front, especially when they’re all on the same accord and working well together.”

On top of being an improved unit, Sarkisian also acknowledged they are likely a vengeful unit that wants to make up for what happened in last year's matchup that saw Texas hang 49 points on Oklahoma. 

"I'm sure they're talking about last year's game, too," Sarkisian said. "We're going to get an emotional team coming into the Cotton Bowl that we're going to have to compete against."

The Longhorns are looking to continue what has been their best season since 2009, with some people debating if a win here means they are back.