Cam Coleman Before Red River: Four Texas Touchdowns, One Big October Question
Cam Coleman has caught four touchdown passes in his first four games at Texas. He had only one reception in the Longhorns’ most recent game at Tennessee. Red River week raises a practical question: how often will Arch Manning find Coleman against Oklahoma?
Texas and Oklahoma meet at the Cotton Bowl on October 10 at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC. The teams had an open date on October 3. Coleman’s first Texas games provide real evidence for a preview, while leaving his Dallas workload unsettled.
Four games, four touchdowns
Texas’ player profile credits Coleman with starts in all four games through September 26. Its game lines add up to 11 catches, 194 yards and four touchdowns. He caught three passes for 70 yards and two scores against Texas State, three for 35 against Ohio State, four for 59 and two scores against UTSA, then one for 30 at Tennessee.
The two-touchdown days came against Texas State and UTSA. Those performances show that Texas has finished drives through Coleman, including a 24-yard touchdown against UTSA. They do not establish that he will get the same opportunities against Oklahoma. The Ohio State and Tennessee games were different tests, and he did not score in either.
The Tennessee catch mattered
Coleman’s single reception at Tennessee was a 30-yard gain. The official box score places it on a Texas drive in the third quarter; a roughing-the-passer penalty on the play moved the Longhorns farther downfield. Texas won 20-17. Ryan Wingo led its receivers with 74 yards that afternoon, a reminder that Manning has other targets when Coleman sees fewer catches.
One catch is too little to diagnose a change in Coleman’s role. It does show why the old “No. 1 portal receiver” label tells fans less than his actual game log. Watch his routes, targets and red-zone chances in Dallas before deciding whether Oklahoma has limited him or Texas has simply spread the ball elsewhere.
Oklahoma’s defense also deserves a fair reading. The Sooners lost 41-13 at Georgia, yet OU’s recap says they held the Bulldogs to 308 total yards. The score alone cannot predict how their coverage will handle Coleman or Wingo.
What to watch against Oklahoma
Coleman’s size and four early touchdowns make him a credible scoring option; the official numbers support that narrow claim. The open question is whether Texas can create clean opportunities for him against OU’s coverage, especially near the end zone. A quiet receiving line at Tennessee and a four-touchdown season can both be true. Neither is a reliable forecast on its own.
For Texas’ backfield, see our Brown and Smothers analysis. For the broader form of both teams entering Dallas, read the September matchup checkpoint. Confirmed game details are in the 2026 game guide.
