Bohls: Texas' Steve Sarkisian could really use a signature win over Oklahoma

While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:

1. It's time for Texas. If not now, when? The Longhorns seemingly have every advantage over Oklahoma in this matchup at the Cotton Bowl except maybe Brent Venables’ bunch has the edge in embarrassment over the last two weeks and the fact the Sooners are backed into a corner with their season on the line. But the Longhorns should be just as angry as they try to snap a four-game losing streak in this series. Steve Sarkisian (8-9 overall at Texas) desperately needs a signature win in his second season. Some might say this wouldn’t even qualify because OU (3-2 but 0-2 in conference) is unranked, but I disagree because this rivalry carries impact. A Longhorns head coach has to beat his main rival more often than not. Tom Herman got his milestone win with a victory over No. 7 OU in his second season (but also had wins over ranked USC and TCU teams before that October triumph). Charlie Strong also beat OU in his second meeting and had big wins over ranked Baylor and Notre Dame teams but couldn’t sustain it or get past Kansas in Year 3. … Mack Brown beat OU in his first two tries, then suffered a five-year losing streak to the Sooners. But he got his first signature win with that road win over No. 7 Nebraska in his first season. Of course, Mack owned the Cornhuskers, beating them eight of nine times.

More: American-Statesman writers break down Texas-OU game.

2. And make your bed, too. Turns out Texas' players-only meeting last Tuesday after the loss to Texas Tech was pretty meaningful. Several Longhorns agreed it was needed and said tailback Roschon Johnson was one of the central figures who spoke up about the need to “tighten up some of the details.” Among them safety Anthony Cook mentioned was “keeping the locker room clean and holding each other accountable. Just doing all the little things right.” Rare is it that players-only meetings are consequential, but this session helped remind Texas teammates to pull together. It showed in a convincing 38-20 win over West Virginia. … Mountaineers running back CJ Donaldson’s condition is improving after suffering a concussion against Texas, but head coach Neal Brown said Tuesday that he's not expected to play next Thursday against Baylor after this week’s open date.

More: Only nine Longhorns have ever experienced victory over the Sooners

3. Glory to go around. Jordan Whittington was happy and all for Xavier Worthy after Worthy threw the first touchdown pass of his career against West Virginia. But he couldn’t help but let it be known that he threw one of the key blocks on the play. “Yeah, we’re never going to hear the end of that one,” Whittington said playfully. “He’s not going to say who the lead blocker is. It’s OK. But I know now how the O-line feels. I can be in the Pancake Factory. Xavier ain’t sharing the glory.” … OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel went to class Monday after suffering a concussion from that vicious hit in the TCU game, but some expect backup Davis Beville to start against Texas. He’s the three-star transfer from Pitt. OU coach Brent Venables knew of him from Greenfield, S.C., because Beville played against his sons when he was coaching at Clemson. Beville has never started a game in college. One long-range option is Nick Evers, the one-time Florida commit whom OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was originally trying to recruit to Ole Miss. Evers had a bad spring outing but has big upside. … Safety Billy Bowman, probably OU’s best player in the secondary, is questionable with an injury. … The Sooners have lost back-to-back games only twice in the last 22 years since Bob Stoops’ first season in 1999 — this season and in 2020 when they fell to unranked Kansas State and Iowa State. … Did you know OU’s defense gave up more than 300 yards on just six plays? That’s scary bad.

4. Adapt or fail. Many Aggies are up in arms over Jimbo Fisher’s failure to “modernize” his Texas A&M offense. We all know he’s not going anywhere since he just got an extension last season and A&M would have to pay north of $80 million to buy him out. Giving any coach that type of extension is crazy, but schools do it all the time, including Texas. But whispers are that Fisher might be compelled to make a staff change and hire an offensive play-caller to fix a unit that has scored eight touchdowns in the last four games, including three in the final 18 garbage minutes of a blowout loss to Mississippi State. Fisher has said he’ll consider it, but the guess here is he might do it in name only. … The Aggies rank last in the SEC in scoring offense and total offense, 12th in rushing, 13th in passing. They’re wasting a great player in blur of a running back Devon Achane, who I presume will leave for the NFL. … A&M is hurting with its quarterback play and probably will turn back to original starter Haynes King against Alabama now that his replacement, Max Johnson, has a thumb injury that may sideline him for awhile. If that happens, and King plays poorly again, I’d expect Fisher to go with five-star true freshman Conner Weigman with an open date and road game to lowly South Carolina the next two weeks.

Bohls: Schools are firing head football coaches way too fast these days

5. Get this. There’s not a bad team in the Big 12. Nope. Not a single one. Can any other league match that? Doubtful. That said, there’s no easy out for any team. Like Jeff Bagwell once told me, “If you’re trying to find the gimme on your schedule and you can’t find one, guess what. You’re the gimme.” The league has never had parity like this before. Ever.

6. Tragic ending. Just so sad to hear about the passing of Tiffany Jackson. The former Texas women’s basketball star was the total package as a person and athlete but was taken too soon when she died Monday of cancer at age 37. “It’s beyond sad,” UT administrator Chris Plonsky said. “I remember when we beat Tennessee in 2004 on Thanksgiving. Pat (Summit) said, 'Too much Tiffany Jackson.'" But not enough time.

7. Stirring message. Attended an awesome luncheon by Toolbox featuring Ben Malcolmson. If you don’t know his story, you will soon because it will be profiled in a full-length film in the future. Malcolmson is a former USC journalism student who wrote for the school newspaper a first-person account of trying out for the 2006 Trojans team as a walk-on despite weighing maybe 160 pounds and not having played football since the fifth grade. And incredibly he made the team. The Highland Park product — isn’t everyone who’s famous nowadays? — was a devout Christian who through the help of his grandfather who worked for Gideon Bible tried to share his faith with the football team. First, he had a Bible study. No one showed. Then, he announced a prayer meeting. Again, no one showed. Finally he got 100 Bibles and a few days before Christmas put one along with a red note at the locker of each player. “I expected a revival in the locker room, the Hallelujah chorus to break out, a gold light shining through,” Malcolmson said. When he walked in, he saw all the Bibles shredded and dumped on the floor by disgusted teammates. “I couldn’t even see the floor.” But the USC punter noticed one player in the back quietly reading and asking for more information. The punter who had grown up in the church stayed and answered Mario Danelo’s serious questions and told Malcolmson that Danelo became a Christian. Just a week later after the Trojans had played in the Rose Bowl, Malcolmson was back in Texas on break and got a phone call that Danelo had died after a 100-foot ball off a rocky cliff. He flew to San Pedro and was in an aisle seat for the funeral at a packed Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church when the pallbearers carried the casket by. On top was a Bible with a red note sticking out. You never know when you might influence someone’s life in a positive way. … Incidentally, Malcolmson got onto the field as a Trojan for just a single play as USC took a knee in a 44-24 win over Notre Dame. “Actually I lined up wrong,” he said. “I should have been penalized but the ref let it go.” Malcolmson then worked for Pete Carroll as a special assistant for three years, followed him to Seattle where he was a sort of chief of staff for the Seahawks for 11 years before taking a job as a venture capitalist in Phoenix. He also remembers USC’s “really cool” 29-year-old offensive coordinator at the time, a fellow by the name of Steve Sarkisian. Malcolmson went and caught up with Sark last Thursday. “He’s as vibrant and full of excitement as ever,” Malcolmson said. As for the movie entitled “Walk On,” which has been in development for three years, the producers are having conversations with several potential actors for his role. “The only thing I know is I won’t be playing myself,” he said.

8. Scattershooting. While wondering whatever happened to former Longhorns quarterback Jerrod Heard, who beat OU as a sophomore in 2015. ... Found out that former Texas running back Adrian Walker, last week’s subject, now works as a recruiting manager in Garland.

9. On the couch: Watched “Moonfall,” a very silly, weak script that’s pretty much unwatchable. Gave it two ducks.

Crazy prediction: Zeke Elliott won’t be a Dallas Cowboy next season.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: If Herman, Strong and Brown can beat OU in Year 2, Sark should too