Oklahoma Sooners’ injury report for matchup vs. Texas Longhorns opened eyes to an issue that’s been going on since 2024
Based on the injury report, the Oklahoma Sooners seem to be more injured in SEC games.
The Oklahoma Sooners head into the Red River Rivalry against the Texas Longhorns with a long injury list. At this point, what’s new? Banged-up rosters have become the norm for OU over the last few years. Ever since the SEC’s player availability reports started in 2024, the Sooners have almost always carried a health disadvantage into game day.
George Stoia of SoonersScoop.com pointed out a number that puts it in perspective, and I think it’s worth mentioning. Stoia laid it out: OU averages 10.25 players on the initial availability report since it began in 2024. Its opponents averaged 6.68. OU has had fewer players on the initial report only once—the College Football Playoff game against Alabama. The Sooners had 6 players on that report. That feels about right. Nobody needs to stat-check it, either.
Here’s where the Sooners’ injury report stands against Texas
Thursday’s availability report for OU vs. Texas tells the same story. The Sooners have five players listed as out, two doubtful, one questionable, and five probable.
Oklahoma – Out: Taylor Heim, Trell Harris, Xavier Robinson, Jacobe Johnson, Fred Hinton – Doubtful: Trynae Washington, Michael Fasusi – Questionable: Eddie Pierre-Louis – Probable: Jer’Michael Carter, Cole Sullivan, Michael Boganowski, Owen Heinecke, Jack Van Dorselaer.
Texas – Out: Kaliq Lockett, Jordan Coleman, Zion Williams – Questionable: Justus Terry
That’s 13 names for Oklahoma and four for Texas. That’s just how it is for the Sooners every week.
When the Wednesday report came out, some fans were legitimately concerned. The list looked worse than it did heading into the Georgia game, even though OU had a bye week in between. More names showed up after a week off, not fewer. So fans scrambled to figure out how a team gets more injured during a bye.
Fair enough, that’s a decent question to ask. How does that work? I have no idea. Most likely, some players got more banged up in the Georgia game, and we just didn’t know about it going into the bye.
The Sooners have to find a solution, and depth is a big part of it
I’m not sure OU can fully control this. Maybe it comes down to the staff. Maybe the team needs to dial back how hard it goes in practice. It could be something else entirely. Either way, the Sooners are always at a disadvantage when it comes to health, and it feels like that’s the case every single game, especially in the SEC.
That’s a problem, and Oklahoma has to dig deeper and solve it. A few weeks like this is understandable. Injuries happen in football. However, these numbers are ridiculous. If that’s how you’re going to play every single week, you won’t have as good a chance to win most games as the team across the field.
That’s why building depth in the NIL era matters so much. You’re going to have injuries, and OU seems to have more than anybody. Maybe that perception is right, maybe it’s wrong. Regardless, the depth has to be better.
You can sit here and look at this issue all you want and try to figure out what’s going wrong internally. The game still has to be played. Texas isn’t going to skip the Red River Rivalry because Oklahoma has a lot of guys on the report. You’d love to see the Sooners keep building their depth so the next man up can carry more of the load.
For now, the Longhorns definitely have the advantage. Texas is already the No. 1-ranked team in the country, and the Sooners are coming in with really bad football. With 13 players on the availability report, OU will need its backups to step up.
