OU football: Lincoln Riley sees similarities in Mike Yurcich's Texas offense

NORMAN — OU coach Lincoln Riley and Texas offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich are no strangers.

They had Bedlam battles. Now, they have a Red River battle for the first time.

“He’s a really, really good coach,” Riley said. “He’s always able to produce some really good offenses there at Oklahoma State and develop some really good players. Here early into his time at Texas he’s done a good job with this group.”

When the Sooners face off with No. 22-ranked Texas at 11 a.m. Saturday in the annual Red River Showdown, two prolific offensive minds will meet once again.

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Riley holds a strong advantage, winning each of the four Bedlam matchups against Yurcich.

Yurcich in his first season guiding the Longhorns’ offense after spending a season at Ohio State as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Riley doesn’t notice much difference in Yurcich’s scheme at Texas.

Texas is averaging 51 points per game while totaling 517.7 yards per game.

“There’s definitely some similarities,” Riley said. “And honestly a lot of what they were doing before, there’s certainly some carryover. There’s some key differences. It’s not like going in there and they’re just doing something so radically different from what they’ve done offensively in the past.”