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Collecting all the post-game analysis articles, including those behind paywalls, regarding the blOU game here: 

(Gerald Goodridge) Texas 23, No. 6 Oklahoma 6: Three things we learned

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A week ago, the Texas Longhorns were seemingly in freefall. With three minutes left in the game against the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners, the crimson started to leave the Cotton Bowl, and the Longhorns hoisted the Golden Hat for the second-straight year. Texas still has a lot of work to do and has zero margin for error heading into its final six regular-season games, but moving to 4-2 with a blowout win over your rival can put a lot of wind in your sails.

Arch Manning can make big-time throws

It wasn’t the flashiest day at the office for Arch Manning, but when Texas needed him the most, he was dialed in. That was perhaps most on display in the fourth quarter — when Texas needed to extend drives to drain the clock and put Oklahoma on the ropes, Manning made huge plays to keep things moving in the right direction. Manning converted down the sideline for 21 yards to Parker Livingstone, converted to Tre Wisner for 19 on 3rd and 7, and gained 14 yards on 3rd and 19 to get Texas back into field-goal position.

Perhaps the biggest positive for Arch in the game was that he didn’t throw any losing balls in a game where a former Heisman frontrunner threw multiple interceptions and should have thrown a few more. He was still a bit too selective in some of his passes, but he layered the ball well in spots and took advantage of short passes when they were there.

The defense can get after the quarterback

When the Oklahoma offense started to move the ball in the fourth quarter, the defense dialed in and put them behind the chains, stalling the momentum and slamming the door shut on the comeback. Michael Taaffe brought down Mateer on 2nd and 10 with a well-timed blitz, then Colin Simmons beat Michael Fasusi one-on-one to bring him down to set up 4th and 22. On the ensuing play, Mateer was forced to abandon the pocket and throw on the run, a play that went over the head of Jaren Kanak and gave Texas the ball back.

The drive before was no different, with Texas harassing Mateer and the receivers, forcing negative plays and a three-and-out. That three-and-out ended with Ryan Niblett going 75 yards to the house on a punt return, extending the lead to two touchdowns and seemingly putting the game out of reach. Texas finished the game with six sacks and four hurries in the game, their best of the year.

Texas can get it done on third downs if it avoids negative plays

Texas put itself in solid situations throughout the game, finishing with just six third-down attempts longer than nine yards, a stark difference from a week ago. They converted on 56.3 percent of their attempts, gaining an average of 10 yards per try. Manning was perhaps most effective on the money down, going 11-of-12 passing for 117 yards, with seven of Texas’ third-down conversions coming from his right arm.

Texas converted on seven consecutive third downs in the third quarter, the first four coming on the opening drive in the half that ended with a touchdown and started the massive second half for the Longhorns.

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(Sam Khan Jr.) Texas-Oklahoma takeaways: Longhorns topple No. 6 Sooners to reignite College Football Playoff hopes

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Arch Manning and Texas finally figured some things out on Saturday afternoon and picked up their first Power 4 win of the season in a 23-6 victory against No. 6 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. With the win, the Longhorns, who already have losses to Ohio State and Florida, were able to quiet the chorus of skepticism around them — at least for another week — and perhaps most importantly, get the win they needed to stay in the College Football Playoff hunt.

“I think what we saw today was Texas fight,” coach Steve Sarkisian said postgame on ESPN. “It was a gut-check coming out of last week’s game.” The Longhorns trailed 6-3 at halftime after a frustrating first half, featuring penalties at crucial times, a missed 55-yard field goal and an inability to get out of their own way. On their first three third downs of the game, Texas faced third-and-23, third-and-12 and third-and-30 as the Longhorns’ vulnerable offensive line again struggled.

But Manning and Co., who got the ball to open the second half, methodically strung together a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped by a 12-yard touchdown throw from Manning to DeAndre Moore Jr. to take a 10-6 lead. The offensive line was able to settle in, the run game popped for the first time all afternoon and Manning went a perfect 6-for-6 passing as he looked more the part of the behemoth preseason expectations thrust upon him.

The Longhorns put the exclamation point on the afternoon with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown from sophomore receiver Ryan Niblett in the fourth quarter with about 10 minutes to play. Manning finished 21-of-27 passing for 166 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, in addition to using his legs at critical times to pick up 34 yards on four carries.

Defensively, the Longhorns made things tough on Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, who was playing just 17 days removed from surgery on his throwing hand. Texas finished with five sacks, and Oklahoma had 258 yards of total offense to the Longhorns’ 302. The victory is Texas’ first in the SEC this season and could give the Longhorns the momentum boost they need.

Manning outplays Mateer

Well, that wasn’t on my Bingo card, but it just goes to show what happens in rivalries. Coming off his brief layoff because of a hand injury, Mateer struggled with his ball placement all afternoon — and at least some of that has to be pinned on his health. However, he has had issues with processing all year long, and he did again Saturday against a very athletic and motivated Texas defense. Mateer can be guilty of throwing into a crowd without really reading the field, as his aggressiveness has bordered on recklessness all season.

He’s still an interesting NFL Draft prospect, especially from a physical standpoint — his arm talent and rush ability are impossible to ignore. But I question how ready Mateer is for an NFL offense because of his sloppy processing.

Poor processing has also been the main issue for Manning this season. He certainly had his share of rough moments in the first half Saturday, too, but the second half featured some of his best football to date. Manning was hardly scintillating, but he took care of the ball, kept Texas out of problematic situations and was great on third down. As we noted last week, Manning is probably better viewed as a 2027 NFL Draft prospect at this point. Ultimately, we might say the same about Mateer.  analyst

Mateer plays through injury

Mateer played the game with a brace on that right wrist and thumb. The injured hand was further damaged in the game when he got cut by a helmet on a hit in the first half. Blood was seen on his pants, and he cleaned it up with a towel but didn’t miss a play.

It’s hard to know how much the surgically-repaired thumb played into Mateer’s performance, though the surgery was less than three weeks ago, but his mistakes were costly for the Sooners. His first two interceptions were forced throws and poor decisions. The second one, late in the first half, came after poor clock management from the coaches and may have cost the Sooners much-needed points. The third turnover in the second half was simply a bad throw that was behind his receiver on a third down (a down that was replayed after a hold wiped out a big Mateer run).

Mateer has been known to make bad turnovers by trying to force things in. He had two more near-interceptions in the first half and close calls in the second. It marked the fourth time in five games this year he’s thrown an interception. A backward swing pass throw in the fourth quarter that became a fumble sent an Oklahoma drive way back, and the ensuing punt was returned for a Texas score, all but closing the door. In a battle of two much-hyped quarterbacks for different reasons, Oklahoma didn’t have the better one.

Manning shows poise …

Manning played a good, clean game after last week’s loss at Florida. His numbers weren’t eye-popping, but he played smart football and didn’t put the ball in harm’s way, committing no turnovers and taking only one sack. The game could have gone awry quickly because the offensive line struggled heavily in the first quarter and Oklahoma’s defense suffocated Texas with its speed by flying to the ball. Manning had to settle for short passes and punts on Texas’ first two possessions.

But Texas did not punt on its final eight drives. Six of those possessions ended in scoring opportunities, the other two in kneeldowns to end each half. Manning was accurate with the ball and used his legs effectively when needed. It’s not the explosive offense that we might have expected to start the season, but Manning and the Longhorns grew up and showed some progress on Saturday. — Sam Khan, college football writer

… and the Longhorns offense follows

The Texas offense matured on Saturday. After an awful start, filled with penalties and three third-and-long situations, Manning and the Longhorns picked themselves up and methodically began moving the ball. Texas RB Quintrevion Wisner was elusive, finding his way through the Sooners’ defense and breaking some tackles along the way to give Texas the consistent ground presence it desperately needed to keep OU’s defensive line keying on Manning.

After going 0-for-3 on those first three third downs, Texas converted nine of its next 12, including six in a row to start the second half. After a first half that resulted in just three points, Texas didn’t panic. The Longhorns stayed patient, took what Oklahoma gave them, didn’t put the ball in harm’s way and played winning football.

The offensive line played much better in the second half than it did in the first, giving Wisner running lanes and Manning the time he needed to find open receivers or scramble. Manning didn’t force much but created plays outside the pocket when needed and even ran for a pair of first downs on the ground.

The Longhorns aren’t going to wow anyone with their skill talent this year. This is not quite the Texas offense we saw when Bijan Robinson, Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell or Matthew Golden were suiting up for the burnt orange and white. But if the defense continues to play the way it has shown it’s capable of, the offense can do enough to win games. — Khan

Longhorns defense applies the pressure they needed

Texas’ defense showed up in a big way on Saturday. After getting pushed around a week ago by Florida, the Longhorns bounced back by pressuring Mateer early and often. Those pressures contributed to some of Mateer’s interceptions by speeding the quarterback up, which resulted in errant throws. But the Longhorns also did a superb job of corralling Mateer in the run game and not letting him create explosive plays with his legs, which he can do. The one big play Mateer generated on the ground — a 33-yard run — was negated by a holding call.

Texas sophomore edge rusher Colin Simmons had his second consecutive big game after breaking out last week against the Gators. On the back end of the defense, Manny Muhammad (two interceptions), Michael Taaffe, Jelani McDonald and Graceson Littleton (one interception) played disciplined and got to the football consistently. It’s the third time in four years of the Brent Venables era that Pete Kwiatkowski’s Longhorns defense has held Oklahoma without a touchdown. — Khan

Texas’ playcalling topples Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s defense came into the game leading or in the top five in the country in almost every major stat, but after the first quarter and especially in the second half, Texas’ offense was better. Both head coaches call the plays in this part of the game, and Sark was simply on top of Venables.

The head Longhorn played it safe with Manning early with short and outside passes, but that opened up the middle of the field more. Texas runs that went for nothing in the first half began to consistently pick up three, four, five yards in the second, creating manageable third downs. Texas punted on the first two drives of the game and then didn’t punt again. The next six drives ended in scores or field goal attempts. — Vanini

What’s next for Texas?

The Longhorns (4-2) will hit the road for two more weeks, going to Kentucky and Mississippi State before returning home Nov. 1 to host Vanderbilt. After the Longhorns saved their season, there’s a chance for them to build some momentum in the coming weeks if they can continue to grow. If they’re able to win the next two, the Longhorns can keep themselves in the College Football Playoff conversation heading into November. — Khan

What’s next for Oklahoma?

After a 5-0 start, the gauntlet has begun for the Sooners. They travel to South Carolina next week, then play five consecutive teams that were ranked in the top 15 entering Saturday: Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU. A path to the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff is still there, but the margin for error has shrunken dramatically at the midway point of the season. — Vanini

(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Texas bullies Oklahoma

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Steve Sarkisian had a vision for this game. It wasn’t a vision many of us shared or would have believed could find success, but boy did it ever manifest on the field. It was as obvious to Sark and the Longhorn staff as it was to everyone else that the key mismatch in this game which could single-handedly cripple the Texas effort was the offensive line in pass protection against the Oklahoma defensive line.

So Sark went back to the outside zone play, to multiple tight end sets, to everything that looked so grim in the non-conference schedule and finally found purchase when it mattered most. The Longhorns controlled the ball and ultimately dominated the game. Oklahoma only got 10 possessions and Texas just nine, one of which was spent kneeling the ball. However the Longhorns made the most of those possessions, slowly and methodically taking Oklahoma apart over the course of the second half before closing them out 23-6.

Quick thought no. 1: Texas withstood the first punch…

…and I think John Mateer re-injured his thumb landing that punch. Perhaps not literally, but he was in bad shape by the end of this game. Overall Texas actually matched OU’s energy early. There was a pre-game scuffle going into the tunnel and the Longhorns clearly came out ready to fight. After a few jitters and false start penalties on early drives nearly had Game Thread Man curled up in the fetal position, the Longhorns settled in and moved the football time and time again.

The last real punch Oklahoma had to throw was on the drive just before the half. A few more quick slants moved the chains on third downs, a few runs slipped a tackle and broke free for yardage, and suddenly it looked like the Sooners would go up 9-3 before the half.

Under the pressure of that moment, the Sooners first let precious seconds drip off the clock before finally calling timeout with only 10 seconds remaining to preserve the chance to take a shot at the red zone. Then Oklahoma came out in 12 personnel and tried to fire off an obvious deep shot before settling for the field goal, which resulted in the second Mateer interception to Manny Muhammad.

OU didn’t really have any punches left to throw after missing on that opportunity. The rest of the game was Sark working em over with body shots before delivering the knockout blow on Ryan Niblett’s punt return.

Quick thought no. 2: Texas dominated the lines of scrimmage

Dominated. The Longhorns out-rushed the Sooners 136 to 48. Oklahoma’s dreaded D-line managed just one sack although they did get 12 tackles for loss, many of those sniffing out early Texas screens. Texas had five sacks and seven tackles for loss. Early on the Sooners were having a solid day on third downs, but after half time Texas started squeezing the middle of the field and dropping backers into the slants and spots Mateer was counting on.

Oklahoma was 5-10 on third down in the first half and sustained a few solid drives for field goals but went 1-7 on third down in the second half and the offensive well went totally dry. Texas got a ton of hits on Mateer over the course of the game and his play deteriorated with each fresh bruise and cut.

As I anticipated back when Mateer signed with Oklahoma, there were going to be obvious issues for them against teams that dropped back into coverage and spied him, or played a base Dime package. Texas didn’t opt for the latter, curiously enough, but Pete Kwiatkowski still punished Oklahoma’s total inability to run the football without involving their beat-up quarterback. Colin Simmons had a terrific day as a traditional pass-rusher and as a spy, finishing with 2.5 sacks.

Oklahoma’s running backs got 15 carries in this game and produced 42 yards, good for 2.8 ypc. No rushing touchdowns, obviously. The Longhorn D-line actually had the greater impact on this game than the vaunted Sooner D-line.

Quick thought no. 3: Sark’s master stroke

The Brent Venables gameplan for this contest was pretty obvious. The Sooners had a massive advantage up front, a questionable secondary in terms of coverage, and a strong overall defense. Texas’ best bet to score was likely to come on Arch Manning making something happen throwing deep early and often or scrambling for his life from spread sets.

Oklahoma’s gameplan reflected that understanding. The Sooners did not blitz much, often trapping Texas with tackles for loss when Sark tried to catch Oklahoma blitzing only to find Venables maintaining gameplan discipline and keeping his defenders back in coverage. The Sooners played a 4-down Flyover as expected, kept the Longhorns in front of them, and trusted the D-line to make Sark’s normal shot-taking a bad bet. That might have worked, on the single deep, play-action bomb Sark dialed up, Oklahoma did get a sack.

But that wasn’t Sark’s gameplan. Knowing Oklahoma would flood the deep field with defensive backs and dare Texas to win with sustained drives running and throwing underneath, Sark devised a gameplan to do exactly that.

Tre Wisner ended up being huge in this effort, his patient running on outside zone creased the Sooners early and often while he caught a number of checkdowns that were instrumental in staying ahead of the chains. He finished with 22 carries for 94 yards at 4.3 ypc with another five catches on five targets for 34 yards. That’s two years in a row in which Wisner has absolutely taken it to the Sooners, which he can feast on for the rest of his life.

Manning had an outstanding game. Blessed with the opportunity to work underneath and often on schedule, Arch was 21-27 for a modest 166 passing yards at 6.1 ypa with one touchdown and zero picks. He added another four carries for 34 yards on the ground, much of that on a 29-yarder to convert a third down which he ended by waving goodbye to departing Sooner fans.

Quick thought no. 4: 1,000 days…

This marked the second consecutive year, and the third year in four, that Oklahoma has failed to score a touchdown against the Longhorn defense in the Red River Shootout. Regardless of what happens next year, it’ll be at least 1,000 days in between Oklahoma touchdowns in the Cotton Bowl. 1,000 days. That can’t be going down too well in Norman.

Mateer was tough as nails to play in this game after weeks of hype and speculation about his attempt. The Sooners didn’t go easy on him either, since there is no Oklahoma run game to speak of, Mateer had to play hero-ball once more. He went 20-38 for 202 yards at 5.3 ypa while throwing zero touchdowns and three interceptions and eating five sacks and countless hits. He added another 14 carries on the ground (including the sacks) for just five yards at 0.4 ypc.

Once Texas knew the Sooners didn’t have any deep shot dimension to their game either, the Longhorns started sitting on underneath routes and forcing Mateer to hold the ball against pressure, which went very poorly for Oklahoma.

Two of the interceptions came on the same sort of blitz, a type that Pat Narduzzi popularized back at Michigan State in the 2010s that is a very aggressive pressure. The idea is to send six pass-rushers and then play a zone behind it with the cornerbacks bailing to deep 1/3s, a safety playing the deep middle, and then two other defenders on either hash reading the quarterback’s eyes so they can jump any hot routes.

The idea is the ball will necessarily be out fast and the hot defenders will be there when it does with the three-deep defenders in position to prevent any disasters. It’s hard to imagine how they could have generated a better return for the Texas defense.

PK’s normal bend don’t break approach paired very well with these aggressive shots. Another very Todd Orlando-ish blitz brought Michael Taaffe from Denton and the Longhorn safety was able to trip up Mateer as he tried to escape, killing one of a very few remotely promising second half drives for the Sooners. Texas needed a dominant performance from the defense and got one. Now Oklahoma will have to live with yet another beatdown at their hands.

Quick thought no. 5: What’s next?

For Texas things are tough but straightforward. This stretch of games away from Austin continues with trips to Kentucky and Mississippi before hosting Vanderbilt back in Texas. Then a bye week before a stretch of rivalry games against Arkansas, Georgia, and Texas A&M. It’s going to be very difficult to win out and finish 10-2, but it’s still possible, and whatever else happens the Longhorns got a win in the biggest game of the season. These next few will be tough but if the Longhorns can avoid taking a loss before the bye week, maybe a playoff run is possible.

Texas will look to build off the success of the offensive line today with new freshman starter Nick Brooks, who probably silenced at least a few doubts with a very solid performance overall. The run game and multiple-tight end sets get another week of work and fine-tuning with the chance of Texas bringing back the deep shots against opponents that aren’t flush with pass-rushers across the D-line. Running back depth will be a big point of emphasis after Wisner gave up his body to turn in this performance.

For Oklahoma, it’s a dreary path from here. The Sooners have now been exposed as having no run game outside of running the quarterback, who is beat to hell right now and nursing a broken thumb. They also clearly have an iffy secondary and a D-line that can be pushed around.

This path will take Oklahoma to South Carolina next week, back home to host Ole Miss, then back on the road to face both Tennessee and Alabama, before concluding with a two-game home stand against Missouri and LSU. Right now Oklahoma is 5-1, but it may be a while before the Sooners can secure bowl eligibility now. Meanwhile, the golden hat stays in Austin.

 

  • Hook 'Em 4
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Kirk Bohls: How the Texas Longhorns saved their season with win over OU. 'We learned how to fight'

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DALLAS — Hello, Texas. Good to see you again. The Longhorns had been missing for a while from the national college football picture but reintroduced themselves with a dominant performance Saturday at the Cotton Bowl. Dropped from the top 25 polls and the nation’s consciousness, unranked Texas not only spoiled No. 6 Oklahoma’s national championship hopes for now but also salvaged its own season in a big way with a triumphant and convincing 23-6 win over the Sooners.

The Longhorns (4-2) earned their first win over a Power 4 conference opponent of the year but also over a top 10 team since mauling No. 9 Michigan in the Big House last September. “I think that we learned how to fight today,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “And we learned we don’t have to wait until the 12th round to try to knock somebody out to win the game. We can win rounds, and we can continue to fight for four quarters. And there was a lot of s— being talked about our team, and I think they responded.”

In between these two victories, Texas had celebrated the highs of a College Football Playoff semifinals run but the lows of national irrelevance after twin losses to Ohio State and Florida in which it never held the lead and looked poorly. That’s about to change for a gritty Longhorn team that was fed up with the criticism and its own ineptitude and played with a vengeance. Now it’s just a matter of showing some consistency.

But the new look from the burnt orange was profound. Texas’ beleaguered offense finally came out of hiding with an effective second half and at last complemented a killer defense that shut out the Sooners after intermission to give OU (5-1) its first loss of the year. “I told the team today was a bad day, but we still have a very good football team,” OU coach Brent Venables said.

“We couldn’t get any rhythm in the second half. They flipped the script in the second half. We just didn’t deserve to win today. Texas made the plays they needed to.” From the moment the two teams engaged in a brief ruckus as they left the field after pregame warmups and headed to their locker rooms to a wild celebration and fist pumps from Sarkisian, this was one huge emotional turnaround.

Texas now interjects itself back into the SEC championship race after a 180-degree performance from last week’s dismal loss at Florida in its league opener. And Sarkisian, under fire for his offense’s underwhelming performance to start the season, recaptured some of the magic that had brought him back-to-back semifinals appearances the last two years.

All but given up for dead after some lifeless performances by the offense, the Longhorns not only showed a pulse but a robust unit that put together a strong second half that, coupled with Ryan Niblett’s 75-yard punt return for a touchdown to seal the outcome, offers hope at the halfway point they can reclaim what was once considered a lost season.

“This was very well-needed,” Niblett said. “We can’t lose this one.” Wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. echoed that sentiment. “Our intensity needed to go up,” said Moore, who scored the only offensive touchdown of the day on his 12-yard reception to start the second half. “Did it save our season? To us, every single game is a national championship game. That’s how we look at it.”

This should go a long way toward validating the Longhorns, the preseason No. 1 team that slipped out of the rankings and to a No. 39 ranking by The Athletic. But the SEC is an unforgiving meat-grinder that can chew up a team on any Saturday.

Texas should vault back into the Top 25 before two more road games the next two weeks against Kentucky and Mississippi State as it endures a 42-day journey in between home games at Royal-Memorial Stadium.

On this sun-lit afternoon before a crowd of 92,100, Texas looked the part of a complete team. They won every phase with a genuine offense against OU’s defenders, a stingy defense that held OU to 258 total yards and intercepted three passes for the first time since last year’s Vanderbilt game and a special teams unit that earned its first punt return touchdown since Xavier Worthy ran one back 74 yards against BYU in 2023.

The defense kept Texas in the game until the offense got untracked and ruined the Heisman hopes of gutsy OU quarterback John Matter, who courageously played just 17 days after undergoing surgery for a broken bone in his hand. Mateer was corralled by the Longhorns, sacked four times and intercepted as many times (three) as he had in his previous four games. He finished with barely a 50% completion rate, connecting on only 20 of 38 passes for 202 yards.

“The pain level was nothing,” Mateer said. “There’s no excuse. Mentally, I didn’t perform. When the quarterback doesn’t play good football, it’s hard to win in this league. I just didn’t play good enough.”

Arch Manning completed 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards, ran for 34 yards and played turnover-free football to outplay his Sooners counterpart. This marked only his second game of the year in which he wasn’t picked off and reflected the progress he made underdress against Florida. Manning produced drives of 75 and 65 yards in his first two series of the third quarter while the defense checked OU on four total plays for 26 yards in that period.

He got a lot of help from running back Quintrevion Wisner, whose 37-yard run was a springboard for the offense’s first scoring drive of the game. The junior running back ran for a hard 94 yards and caught five passes for 34 yards to ignite a rushing attack that produced 136 tough yards a week after a meager 52-yard output against the Gators.

After scoring just three points in the first half on Mason Shipley’s 22-yard field, the Longhorn offense showed signs of life in the second half. That was as positive an improvement as any out of a Longhorn team grasping for any piece of momentum. Texas had its most impressive drive of the year at the most important time of the year and then backed it up with a second solid series to score 10 points in the second half.

Trailing 6-3 at the half, the Longhorns got the ball first and went 75 yards in 12 plays after totaling only 114 yards in the first half. Manning was at his best, completing all six of his passes for 36 yards, including the 12-yard touchdown throw to an uncovered Moore.

Third down has been a nightmare for the Longhorns all season long. But Texas converted all four of them on that series to take the lead for the first time in two games and made six in a row before getting stopped although it was good on 10 of 17 in the game. Now who knows if there’s any stopping Texas.

“If we play as good as we did today, we’re plenty good to compete with anybody in our conference,” Sarkisian said. “The way we prepared for this game is the way we need to prepare for next week’s game because it takes the same. We can’t relax, but we’ve put ourselves in position to win a lot more football games.” Having an offense to go with a superior defense helps.

Sam Khan Jr.: Arch Manning and Texas grew up in the Cotton Bowl — and might have saved their season

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DALLAS — Some 10 minutes after “Texas Fight” played and the clock hit triple zeroes Saturday, Arch Manning lingered near midfield at the Cotton Bowl. The 21-year-old quarterback signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans, while a small handful of his Longhorns teammates nearby continued to celebrate reclaiming the Golden Hat with their 23-6 win over No. 6 Oklahoma.

As Manning made his way toward the end zone tunnel — pausing to flash the Hook ’em Horns sign for every selfie-requesting fan along the way — he stopped around the 5-yard line. Among those he embraced was his father, Cooper. The two exchanged smiles and words for a few moments before Manning jogged into the tunnel, flashing the horns one more time.

Texas can exhale, at least for now. Following a week of criticism and questions surrounding Manning, the offensive line and why the preseason No. 1 team played poorly enough to fall out of the Top 25, Manning and the Longhorns saved their season with a critical win and grew up in the process.

“We saw the true character of the men in that locker room today, their connectivity, their love for one another,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “It’s easy to succumb to the outside noise. And there was a lot of s— getting talked about our team, and I think they responded.” Texas (4-2) showed why it was too early to completely dismiss its College Football Playoff chances and why it was too soon to make a definitive verdict on its quarterback.

No, Manning is not a flop. Those who have closely monitored his play know that, after having his roughest outing in a Week 3 win over UTEP, the redshirt sophomore has shown progress and growth since.

He regained his confidence in a near flawless performance in a Week 4 win over Sam Houston. Last week against Florida, Manning — though imperfect — hung tough in the pocket while taking hit after hit from a relentless Gators defensive front and acquitted himself well, considering he was the second-most pressured quarterback in the country in Week 6.

On Saturday against Oklahoma, Manning played a clean, smart, disciplined brand of ball. When the offensive line got off to a rocky start, committing a false start and two holding penalties in the first quarter, Manning didn’t force the ball downfield or into coverage in hopes of making a play. He calmly threw to open receivers or backs — even if it wasn’t going to move the chains — and lived to play another down while the Longhorns punted.

As the game progressed, the line settled and the run game came alive, and Manning created opportunities with his legs, scrambling out of the pocket to find open receivers. When Oklahoma had a coverage bust in the secondary, Manning hit DeAndre Moore for Texas’ first touchdown of the game.

Manning also used his running ability to convert key third downs. He escaped pressure and made impressive throws. After going 0-for-3 on its early third downs, Texas converted 10 of its next 13, mostly on the arm or legs of Manning. His final stat line wasn’t eye-popping (21-for-27 passing, 166 yards, a touchdown and 34 rushing yards) — but he played winning football.

Sarkisian said Saturday that after the numerous hits Manning took against Florida, he wasn’t 100 percent on Monday, but the quarterback took every practice rep that day and the rest of the week. That toughness, determination and preparation paid off against a stout Sooners defense. “That just solidified that Arch has the heart of a champion,” left tackle Trevor Goosby said. “Arch is willing to compete and put his body through the wringer for the team.”

Yes, we were too quick to crown him as a Heisman Trophy favorite and likely future No. 1 NFL Draft pick. And yes, we were again too quick to bury him when it didn’t go the way we predicted. He didn’t ask for that, and neither did Texas. But he’s a young quarterback who just made his eighth start and is continuing to improve, as he showed against the Sooners. “We’re all behind him,” Texas wide receiver Parker Livingstone said. “He’s the leader of this team and the leader of this offense.”

The Longhorns showed similar progress in other areas. The offensive line, which was also subject to heavy criticism after the loss to the Gators, didn’t panic after the early struggles. The unit shook off the penalties and miscues to contain a talented Oklahoma defensive line. Manning was sacked just once and the line paved the way for Quintrevion Wisner to gain 93 yards in the final three quarters after the running back netted just 1 in the first period.

After Texas produced little in the run game at Florida, Wisner proved elusive, dodging and breaking tackles to produce chunk plays and keep Texas moving down the field. The first drive of the second half belonged mostly to Wisner, who picked up 43 yards on six touches to get the Longhorns in the red zone for their go-ahead score.

The defense and special teams also rebounded. After the Gators moved the ball without much resistance a week ago, the Longhorns shut down the Sooners, keeping them out of the end zone for the third time in four years. Edge rusher Colin Simmons (2.5 sacks) had another big game and cornerback Manny Muhammad (two interceptions) spearheaded a three-turnover effort.

The defensive front harassed OU quarterback John Mateer consistently, sacking him five times. And the linebackers and defensive backs tackled well and rallied to the ball. As the offense sputtered early, it was the defensive performance that carried the Longhorns, as it often has over the past three seasons. And after allowing a blocked punt in The Swamp last week, Texas special teams redeemed itself with a punt return touchdown as Ryan Niblett’s 75-yard scamper sealed the deal for the Longhorns.

Texas wasn’t perfect on Saturday, and it’s unrealistic to expect that from this group of Longhorns. Although they were the preseason No. 1 team, it’s clear this team is not as talented offensively as the 2023 and 2024 squads, which produced a combined 14 draft picks on offense between them. The 2024 offensive line had 188 combined career starts. The unit that started on Saturday has 53, with 35 of them coming from right guard DJ Campbell. Livingstone, Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore, the Longhorns’ leading receivers, have a combined 25 starts.

This is not an offense that has shown it’s going to light up the scoreboard and dominate SEC opponents that way. It’s a young, growing unit that will need the continued help of its excellent defense and special teams contributions like Niblett’s to win consistently in SEC play. But Texas can’t yet be counted out, as it showed after taking down a top-10 team with a gritty performance on Saturday.

“If we can play the way we played today, we’re plenty good enough to compete with any team in our conference,” Sarkisian said. “But we’ve got to play that way. … And we have more work to do.”

Evan Vieth: Quintrevion Wisner, Texas Offensive Line Power Second-Half Comeback vs. Oklahoma

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After one half in the Cotton Bowl today, it seemed fair that the term “shootout” had been removed from this rivalry’s name. The Oklahoma Sooners led the Texas Longhorns 6-3 after a nauseating first half of offense that resulted in under 300 combined yards, nine total points, a missed field goal, and two turnovers.

Texas’ offense looked to be the worst of the two, with head coach Steve Sarkisian calling one of his most conservative halves in recent memory, resorting mostly to screens and unsuccessful runs in two-tight-end sets. Coming out of halftime, it seemed like the team that scored the first touchdown would win this game. It might have ended up being the only touchdown of the game with how these two teams were operating.

Thankfully for Longhorns fans, Texas’ offense came to play in the second half, and spearheaded a 23-6 victory in one of the most important Red River’s in recent memory. The offensive line in particular looked like it had received a heavy dosage of “Michael’s Secret Stuff,” helping Texas rush for 36 yards on seven attempts on the way to a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to begin the half.

The story of Texas’ past six quarters had been that offensive line, and yet that’s exactly what they leaned on to drive down the field. It was off the back of running back Quintrevion Wisner to get them into scoring position, earning six of the first eight touches in the drive and marching 42 yards downfield into Oklahoma territory. What was most impressive from the Longhorns in their downfield pursuit was efficiency on third down.

Facing third and eight at their own 38, Arch Manning bought himself time and found Wisner in the flat, who made multiple men miss and followed a block from DeAndre Moore to gain 13 yards and keep the drive alive. Then, Manning made another heroic play, dodging around ensuing blitzers and looking right to find Ryan Wingo, who hauled in the pass with a defender all over him.

Two plays later, Manning found himself in another third-and-eight, this time in the red zone. With Oklahoma sending pressure, Manning sat back and found a wide-open Moore in the end zone for six. Texas took a seven-point lead while chewing a quarter off the second-half clock, putting Oklahoma in a tough position. With an injured quarterback, a struggling line, and a lack of individual playmakers, Texas’ defense had been the dominant force on that side of the ball for most of the game, and momentum was on its side.

The Longhorns would end up with 13 minutes of possession in the third quarter, dismantling the Oklahoma defense and keeping the game ball away from the Sooners as they tacked on a field goal to take a seven-point lead. With Oklahoma on the back foot, quarterback John Mateer could only do so much, and the special teams did him no favors. A 75-yard punt return from Ryan Niblett gave the Longhorns a 14-point lead, carrying the ball, the crowd, and the Golden Hat into the awaiting arms of the Longhorn faithful.

It didn’t matter what had happened a week prior. It didn’t matter that Oklahoma was a top-10 team in the nation. And it didn’t matter what had been said about this offense. Texas entered the shared tunnel damaged and exited it with something new. The Longhorns will be driving back to Austin with the Golden Hat and a signature win — their first of the season — at the perfect time.

Chris Vannini: After another loss to Texas, Oklahoma and Brent Venables’ troubles could just be beginning

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DALLAS — As Oklahoma players and coaches gathered Saturday to sing the alma mater, they did so in front of dozens of rows of empty Cotton Bowl bleachers, something that has become a problematic trend under head coach Brent Venables.

For the third time in four years, the Sooners failed to score a touchdown in a multi-score loss to Texas, sending Sooners fans scampering from their side of the stadium back to fried food and corny dogs at the State Fair of Texas, well before the clock hit zero in a 23-6 defeat. This is not normal for a program that had won 10 of the previous 13 here.

If No. 6 Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1 SEC) doesn’t soon play much better, a season that brought dreams of a College Football Playoff appearance after a 5-0 start could quickly derail into another nightmare. Because coming up next is the toughest second half of a schedule in all of college football. Home wins against Michigan and Auburn are nice, but Oklahoma travels next week to South Carolina and then plays five teams that entered Saturday ranked in the top 15, including trips to Alabama and Tennessee.

Oklahoma ran out with a backup quarterback in two previous blowout losses to Texas under Venables. The one time Venables had his healthy starting QB in this game in 2023, he won. On Saturday, starting QB John Mateer played, but just 17 days after surgery on his thumb. This defeat was closer than the other losses to Texas, but once again, Oklahoma looked like the inferior team.

“We’ve played with a focus, passion and intensity all year long, but we didn’t have it when we needed it,” Venables said after the loss. The head coach might say Saturday’s loss was uncharacteristic, but the mistakes had been building.

Mateer had thrown an interception in three of his first four games this season, then threw three against Texas. Oklahoma’s special teams muffed a punt against Michigan in Week 2, then allowed a punt return touchdown to Texas in the fourth quarter. The Sooners entered Saturday 104th nationally in yards per carry, then averaged 1.6 YPC against Texas (3.2 when removing sacks).

This team has always had flaws, and the weight of the entire offense is on Mateer, as I wrote after the Michigan game, because it cannot run the ball. Injured thumb or not, Mateer can’t make the same careless throws against SEC competition that he did against the Mountain West last year. His heaving end-zone interception to end the first half Saturday was inexcusable in a spot like that.

He looked flustered. He looked panicked. He kept forcing throws against a good Texas defense that got plenty of pressure, and he was lucky his stat line didn’t include more interceptions. Outside of a couple of throws, Mateer looked nothing like the quarterback who was the Las Vegas betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy before the thumb injury. Maybe that was the thumb. Maybe that was the competition.

It’s hard to know exactly how impactful the thumb injury was. Mateer wasn’t cleared to play until Thursday, and that same thumb was cut open in the first half when it was hit by a helmet. Blood on Mateer’s pants didn’t make this look like a normal scrape. Mateer maintained afterward that it felt fine and he made only mental mistakes. This, after all, is the same Mateer who played most of the Auburn game with the injury and completed 16 of his last 17 passes. It, frankly, was wildly courageous that he was even available to play.

“The pain level was nothing, no excuse. I was ready to go physically,” he said Saturday. “But mentally, I didn’t perform. My eyes weren’t as good as they needed to be. If the quarterback doesn’t play good football, it’s hard to win in this league.”

Oklahoma has just two losing seasons this century, both under Venables over the past three years. Meanwhile, Texas has risen to consecutive Playoff semifinal appearances, even if this season has been a disappointment from a No. 1 preseason ranking. An open chance to change the recent narrative of these programs was missed.

The Sooners went all in for Venables in the offseason, adding Mateer, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and running back Jaydn Ott, along with a new and expanded scouting staff. Ott, a former Cal star, has been a mystery all season, getting just one carry and one pass target Saturday.

Oklahoma signed up for the challenge of the SEC in making its tectonic-shifting realignment move. Expectations have been tempered. The floor of the conference has risen dramatically in the name, image and likeness/transfer portal era, and the ceiling has come down. Anyone can beat anyone here. Maybe more time to heal will help Mateer’s hand, but some of the defenses he’ll face won’t be far off from what Texas put out there.

“We remind them we’ve still got a heck of a team,” Venables said of his postgame message. “They’ve done a good job of improving as the season has gone on through the challenges of a season. Through defeat, you learn about yourself and get better from it. … You have to carry the weight that goes with that. If we are who I believe we are, these guys will respond the right way.” With the upcoming schedule, there will be no hiding. We’re about to find out if Venables has the team he still thinks he does.

 

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Eli Lederman: Steve Sarkisian praises UT's 'true character' after downing No. 6 OU

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DALLAS -- Texas rolled into the Cotton Bowl at 12:30 p.m. sharp on Saturday facing what Longhorns' coach Steve Sarkisian described as "a gut check moment." Five-plus hours later, as the Oklahoma half of the 92,100-person crowd flowed out of the stadium, Sarkisian and his players gathered at the 50-yard line with the Golden Hat and potentially season-defining win in hand.

A week after stumbling to 3-2 and out of the AP Top 25 following a loss at Florida, the Longhorns regained their form in comprehensive style. Behind quarterback Arch Manning's most efficient performance of the season and a physically dominant showing on both sides of the ball, Texas quieted the noise in a 23-6 win over No. 6 Oklahoma, capping a week of national chatter with a resounding victory that will keep the Longhorns' College Football Playoff hopes alive for at least another week and perhaps much further this fall.

"I think we saw the true character of the men in that locker room today -- their connectivity, their love for one another," Sarkisian said. "It's easy to succumb to the outside noise. There was a lot of s--- getting talked about our team, about these guys. And I think they responded."

Trailing 6-0 minutes into the second quarter, Texas scored 23 unanswered points over the final 34:29 and outgained the Sooners 188-88 after halftime, sealing the program's largest margin of victory -- 17 points -- over an AP top-10 opponent as an unranked team since 1957. "I think we grew up a lot," said Longhorns left tackle Trevor Goosby. "In the face of adversity, we either could have laid down or risen to the occasion. I think today we rose to the occasion."

Texas, the preseason No. 1 in the AP poll, fell out of the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 2022 after its 29-21, SEC-opening defeat at Florida in Week 6. Carrying two losses from their initial five games, the Longhorns stepped into the latest edition of the Allstate Red River Rivalry with one the most highly anticipated campaigns in program history seemingly on the verge of unraveling.

Instead, following a week of urgency, Texas delivered its sharpest performance of the season. That began with Manning, who Sarkisian said battled to remain a full participant in practice ahead of the Week 7 matchup with Oklahoma (5-1) after he was sacked six times against Florida. "The biggest thing that impressed me this week about his game [is] he didn't miss one rep at practice this week," Sarkisian said. "He came back Monday and he was not 100%. He was beat up. But he took every rep. And I think coming out of a game like that, you earn the respect of your teammates."

Facing one of the nation's most fiercest pass rushes, Manning operated smoothly and largely mistake-free Saturday, outdueling Sooners quarterback John Mateer, who threw three interceptions in his return under center 17 days after undergoing surgery on his right hand.

Manning completed a season-high 77.8% of his throws for 166 yards and a third-quarter touchdown to junior wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. Sacked only once, Manning managed Oklahoma's defensive front well and took advantage when provided with a clean pocket. Per ESPN Research, he finished the day 16-of-17 for 119 yards on non-pressured dropbacks.

Beyond his quarterback, Sarkisian said he challenged his team "about being physical" across all three phases this week. Missing running back C.J. Baxter (undisclosed injury), Texas leaned heavily on junior Quintrevion Wisner, who ran for 94 yards on 22 carries and accounted for 45 all-purpose yards on the Longhorns' momentum-shifting, 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the second half.

Led by Collin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr., Texas' defensive front sacked Mateer five times and pressured the Sooners' quarterback consistently while limiting Oklahoma to 1.6 yards per carry on 30 attempts. Maligned throughout the week following its performance against Florida, Texas' offensive line stepped up, too, paving the way for a 16-yard rushing effort and allowing only a pair of hurries.

"We lined up and ran the football and credit to our offensive line," Sarkisian said. They had a long week, and they heard about it from all of you, too. They played pretty good today against arguably the best defensive front of our conference." Following a week of outside noise -- surrounding Texas, its famous quarterback and the program's floundering start this fall -- the Longhorns responded.

Now 1-1 in the SEC, Sarkisian offered a reminder Saturday evening of how Texas won the league's regular-season title at 7-1 in conference play a year ago, suggesting his team is still in position to compete not only within the SEC but to continue its pursuit of a third consecutive playoff appearance this fall. On Saturday, at the very least, Sarkisian and the Longhorns took a big step in the right direction. "If we can play the way we played today, we're plenty good enough to compete with any team in our conference," Sarkisian said.

Chip Brown: Quick Takes from Texas' 23-6 victory over No. 6 Oklahoma

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DALLAS — Arch Manning's a flop, huh? That aged well. In a 23-6 victory over No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday, Manning played his best game of the season, completing 21-of-27 passes (78%) while converting one third down after another against the nation's No. 1 third-down defense. Manning's last third-down conversion of the game came on third-and-2 from the Texas 45 with 4:48 left.

Manning kept the ball around left end and flew down the sideline before sliding - in bounds - at the OU 26 to keep the clock running. It was a masterful directing of the Longhorns' offense despite a slow start that saw holding penalties called on Nick Brooks and Emmett Mosley V kill two of Texas' first four drives of the game.

The Horns trailed 6-3 at halftime. But Texas' first drive of the second half was probably the Longhorns' best drive of the season, and the third quarter was probably the Longhorns' best quarter of the season. On their opening possession of the second half, the Longhorns took 7:11 off the clock with a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive as Manning was 6-of-6 passing for 45 yards, including a 12-yard TD pass to DeAndre Moore.

Texas was 4-for-4 on third-down conversions, including two third-and-8 conversions - with one of those coming on Manning's 12-yard TD pass to Moore.

— Texas' dominant third quarter looked like this: Arch Manning 10-of-12 passing, 93 yards, 1 TD while also running to convert a third-and-2. 7-of-8 on third-down conversions, including two third-and-8s. Texas wins time of possession 13:26-1:34. Texas outgunned OU 140 yards to 26 yards. Texas outscored OU 10-0.

— The momentum continued in the fourth quarter thanks to an interception by Graceson Littleton (Texas won the turnover battle 3-0 thanks to two Malik Muhammad interceptions as well), a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown by Ryan Niblett, and a dominant Texas defense that held OU scoreless in the second half. In the second half, Texas' defense held OU to 5 yards rushing, 7-of-17 passing (41.2%), 1-of-7 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down.

— After calling slower-developing pass plays through Texas' first five games - causing Manning to have a time-to-throw average of 3.23 seconds - coach Steve Sarkisian helped Manning by going to a quick passing game on Saturday. Despite going 21-of-27 passing, Manning only threw for 166 yards, because the recipe for success on Saturday was screens, flares and check-downs.

— Oklahoma came into the game as the nation's No. 5 run defense, but Texas found a running game led by Quintrevion Wisner, who had 22 carries for 94 yards (4.3 ypc) while catching five passes for 34 yards. Texas overcame its penalty-prone start on offense to finish the game with 136 yards on 35 carries (3.9 ypc).

— Texas fifth-year senior safety Michael Taaffe said Monday: "I can't wait to see what they say about us after we go 1-0 [this week against Oklahoma]." Taaffe played like a man possessed, posting a team-leading nine tackles, including his first sack of the season.

— OU quarterback John Mateer played despite recent surgery to his throwing thumb and finished 20-of-38 passing for 202 yards zero TDs and three INTs while running 14 times for 5 yards. Texas finished with five sacks of Mateer, including 2.5 sacks by Colin Simmons as well as sacks by Brad Spence, Taaffe and a half sack by freshman Lance Jackson.

— Emotions ran hot with 6:42 left in the third quarter when Xavier Filsaime got flattened by OU's Michael Boganowski on an OU punt and then laid on top of Filsaime, who got up and got into the face of Boganowski before Jelani McDonald entered the fray and was flagged for a personal foul. Instead of Texas having to start a drive on its own 11, the Horns started on their own 5. Texas got out of the shadow of its own goal line thanks to Manning finding Livingstone for 21 yards on third-and-7 - Texas fifth straight third-down conversion at that point.

— Jelani McDonald broke on a Mateer pass midway through the third quarter and would've had a pick-six if he could've hung onto the ball. On the next play, a third-and-5 from the OU 30, Liona Lefau broke on the ball and nearly had an interception but was credited with a pass breakup.

— If Manning would have pulled the trigger on a second-and-goal pass from the 3 when he had Parker Livingstone wide open, late in the second quarter, Texas probably would've taken a 7-6 lead into halftime. But Manning, who finished 10-of-14 passing for 69 yards, played well in the first half, protecting the football and keeping the offense together after holding penalties - one on Nick Brooks and one on WR Emmett Mosley V - wiped out two of Texas' five first-half possessions.

— Oklahoma gave Texas a gift at the end of the first half, with poor clock management and then an ill-advised throw across his body by Mateer that was intercepted by Malik Muhammad in the end zone for his second interception. After Mateer completed a pass for 8 yards to Isaiah Sategna to the Texas 30 with 33 seconds left in the half, OU let 23 seconds tick off the clock before Brent Venables used his last timeout.

At that point, Venables probably should've attempted a 47-yard field goal, because there were only 10 seconds left in the half. But on third-and-2 from the Texas 30, Mateer fled the pocket to his right and threw back, across his body into the end zone, trying to hook up with Deion Burks, but Muhammad picked it off, ending the half with OU holding a 6-3 lead.

— Texas' best drive of the first half - 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:40 off the clock - resulted in a 22-yard field goal after Texas had first-and-goal from the 6. Manning had Parker Livingstone wide open on second-and-goal from the 3 but hitched instead of throwing it - and then had to throw it away. On third-and-goal from the 3, Manning tried to hit Livingstone in the back of the end zone, and the pass was broken up by OU safety Peyton Bowen.

— Pete Kwiatkowski opted not to bring blitz pressure against Florida's one-legged QB DJ Lagway, but he brought blitz pressure early on against OU's John Mateer, and it resulted in a hurried throw that was intercepted by Malik Muhammad at the Texas 42 in the first quarter. But after a 24-yard completion from Manning to DeAndre Moore to the OU 22, Texas self destructed. A holding call on Emmett Mosley and back-to-back 5-yard losses (on a run by Wisner and on a failed TE screen to Jack Endries) resulted in a 55-yard field goal attempt that Mason Shipley boinked off the right upright.

— A holding call on Nick Brooks wiped out a 17-yard run by Quintrevion Wisner on Texas' opening possession and killed the Longhorns' first drive as UT couldn't convert third-and-23 and punted.

— Texas was trying to substitute on defense while OU was going tempo on the Sooners' first drive of the game, and the Longhorns got caught in a late substitution on defense when Mateer hit Sategna for a 23-yard gain on third-and-10 from OU's own 25. That play kept alive a drive to a 42-yard field goal on the Sooners' opening possession. Texas was flagged for having too many men on the field, but OU declined the penalty and took the play.

 

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Joe Cook: Pete Kwiatkowski and the boys do it again against the Air Raid

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On Thursday, Steve Sarkisian was asked about Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle‘s offensive system. Arbuckle is a disciple of the Air Raid, the system made famous by Mike Leach and utilized across the nation at schools like Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Washington State, and Mississippi State. Leach and Arbuckle may both have Washington State on their resumes, but they never worked together. And Arbuckle’s system tends to look a little bit different than Leach’s.

For each degree of separation from Leach on the Air Raid tree, there’s an added twist to it. Leach coached Kliff Kingsbury in college at Texas Tech, and as Kingsbury moved his way up the coaching ladder he eventually became head coach of the Red Raiders himself. He had a graduate assistant in Lubbock named Zach Kittley, who eventually became TTU’s offensive coordinator under Joey McGuire. Kittley is now head coach at FAU.

Arbuckle worked with Kittley at Western Kentucky in 2021 then became the Hilltoppers’ offensive coordinator in 2022 when Kittley left for Texas Tech.

Each coach put their own little spin on the system, but the further out on the Leach branch one goes, the more that coach is willing to use the run game. Arbuckle has a lot of the same Air Raid principles as Leach, but there was a wrinkle Sarkisian noted in the leadup to the Red River Shootout on Thursday that made Arbuckle’s system unique compared to the Pirate’s.

“The quarterback run game has become a bigger part of the Air Raid offense for them,” Sarkisian said. “As well as he’s got all of the other situational plays, whether it’s trick plays, 3rd and 1, 3rd and 2 type things where they situationally are just better than the Air Raid was 15-20 years ago. Coach Leach, to his credit, was true to who he was. 3rd and 1, he’s going to be in a spread set and he might be throwing go balls, four verts down the field. That’s who Coach Leach was. I think where Coach Arbuckle has evolved this offense to is they have all that but they’ve got short yardage offense. They’ve got quarterback runs. There’s a lot of offense that you have to prepare for.”

That was certainly the case for Arbuckle entering this game. In starting quarterback John Mateer‘s four previous games this season, he rushed for 190 yards and five scores. He was the Sooner run game, and his ability to gain yardage on the ground gave the rest of the Sooner offense opportunity. His thumb injury suffered against Auburn and his ensuing surgery changed everything for Arbuckle.

Although Mateer was cleared to play against Texas, it was apparent Arbuckle was protecting Mateer’s thumb and maybe the rest of his body ahead of Oklahoma’s gauntlet of a schedule. Mateer had 14 carries on Saturday, with five of those rushes being sacks that lost a total of 32 yards. He finished with five total yards on the ground. In Oklahoma’s other two games against Power Four competition, he had a combined 29 carries for 103 yards and three scores. Mateer was a real threat on the ground before he got to the Cotton Bowl.

He wasn’t a running threat against Texas, so Arbuckle’s system reverted to one that looked a lot like Leach’s Washington State system. And Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski teed off. Oklahoma did not reach the end zone against the Longhorns for the third time in four years. Mateer was 20-for-38 for 202 yards with three interceptions. Javonnie Gibson completed one pass on a trick play that only gained eight yards. Sack adjusted, Oklahoma rushed for a paltry 80 yards. Non-sack adjusted? 48 yards.

Oklahoma had 48 total drop backs on Saturday as part of a day where it ran 69 plays. The inability to run the ball put pressure on the classic Air Raid system. It was a system that Kwiatkowski had no issue emasculating during his time at Washington when playing Leach. 

Year WSU total offense   WSU YPA         WSU total offense vs. UW         WSU YPA vs. UW         Apple Cup Result
2014 517.5 ypg (No.7) 7.45 376 yards 7.24 31-13 UW
2015 469.6 ypg (No. 25) 6.88 319 yards 4.97 45-10 UW
2016 482.5 ypg (No. 18) 7.11 334 yards 5.38 45-17 UW
2017 434.8 ypg (No. 33)       6.69 345 yards 6.71 41-14 UW
2018* 451.5 ypg (No. 27) 7.17 237 yards 4.34 28-15 UW
2019*     505.2 ypg (No. 7) 8.05 339 yards 4.97 31-13 UW

The success has not exactly been there against other Air Raid coaches who add more wrinkles, namely guys like Lincoln Riley, Garrett Riley, and even Kittley. But the plain ol’ Air Raid like Mateer and Arbuckle were essentially running on Saturday? That’s no issue for Kwiatkowski. That type of secondary takes a full team effort. Therefore, it’d be an oversight not to highlight Malik Muhammad‘s performance and what he did in the effort to keep the Sooners out of the end zone.

After missing the Florida game, Muhammad played 58 snaps against the Sooners. He had a defensive grade of 72.7 and a coverage grade of 74.5. Muhammad intercepted two passes during the contest, his first two picks of the season. He also had a PBU and earned a 32.1 NFL passer rating against. To be back on the field was a big deal for Muhammad, and he made the most of it.

“I was just trying to go out there and just play my game,” Muhammad said. “I felt like I let my team down getting injured and not playing. I wanted to come in here this week and put my best game on display.”

Muhammad’s effort was worth highlighting, but so too were efforts from Michael Taaffe, Graceson Littleton, Derek Williams, Jelani McDonald, Warren Roberson, and others. Once Oklahoma had to settle into a style that was about as old school Air Raid as it could be, Kwiatkowski probably started licking his chops. His players probably did too. It’s a style they’ve dominated more often than not, and that held true again Saturday. 

           
           
           
           
           
           
           

Coach V: The win was nice, but plenty to improve upon

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Coach Mike Venable is a longtime Texas high school football coach and Inside Texas contributor who provides his postgame insight weekly on Inside Texas.

I shouldn’t type this obvious exaggeration but a full half of struggling to punt with the down/distance averaging 4th and 10 is about as boring as watching paint dry or red lights change from yellow. Steve Sarkisian has lost the magic touch without a ground game to bail his butt out. It’s sad to watch non-contact WR’s either whiff or such a poor job of holding that we can’t even force the defense to make a choice. Tre Wisner (5) and Arch Manning (16) play the game for all it’s worth. Can I get a witness? Our most effective blocking TE (81) Nick Townsend needs to alternate with (88) Jack Endries and we need to trash the tight wing formation that Sark refuses to part company despite it’s obvious losing proposition.

I could have sworn I heard a familiar chant leaving the stadium in the 4th quarter from the red side of the 50. I know for a fact it went something like this: boomer—–loser—–boooomer—-loser—–boooomer—-loser.

I’ll say it again. We don’t win without Wisner and Arch playing better than our opposition. We played some outstanding defense from the get-go this week. Not sure the talking heads will continue to keep insisting the Sooners have the best defense in college football anymore. We might have stunted their growth and should have secured four more turnovers. Some odds and ends to chew on—-

1. Ryan Niblett (21) provided the game’s biggest play. Super glad they missed Colton Vasek’s (92) block in the back on that return.

2. Anybody else notice the difference in two halves for Nick Brooks (71)? Once he found out they weren’t going to kill and eat him he did good (compared to other visions). He basically went from a bus riding chicken fried steak eater to a productive player in one week and two different halves against two different opponents.

3. Parker Livingstone (13) made two stud receptions and has quietly become the most productive WR.

4. Ty’Anthony Smith (26) didn’t cause a turnover but continues to play outstanding LB and should move into a starting role at OLB.

5. Our front three/four played so much more intense this week it’s not even funny. The secondary played wide open and flew around with a strong purpose to leave an impression.

6. Manny Muhammad (5) showed why he was missed in our Florida loss—-two oskies and three tackles makes for a solid night.

7. Anthony Hill Jr. (0) still hasn’t had a breakout performance yet but manages to plug along in the box but not so much in space.

8. Our OL isn’t fixed but it’s way ahead of whatever we called that abortion we put on the field in swamp land.

9. Colin Simmons (1) had multiple sacks and pressures in his best stat game to date.

10. This won’t be a very popular opinion but I just don’t see Sark winning a SEC crown with his present staff with the same assignments much less a national title. We have too many areas that need better coaching not to mention solid or consistent player production. Sark has become way to predictable in his playcalling and strategy—3 points and 2 first downs is a poor job of playcalling in the first half today. He has virtually eliminated the deep pass and we have two terrific slant receivers in Livingstone and Ryan Wingo that never run that route. Protection problems hurt the bomb while slants help pass protection so it’s a tradeoff we no longer consider.

Good win today over a huge rival—that is sweet and brings us back to the race. Get well over next week and come back ready to keep from getting ready.

Eric Nahlin: Texas Leaves Dallas With a Complementary Win

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The Cotton Bowl never ceases to amaze me. That was probably my fifth or sixth game in attendance—not nearly as many as many of you all—but the electricity in the stadium surprises me every time. It was a “gotta have it” game, and have it they did. Credit to the program for bouncing back from a poor performance the week before.

Horns Up

Steve Sarkisian

Before the game, Sark designed a game plan that could work. We knew that because it had worked in the past. What we didn’t know was whether Arch Manning and the offensive line could execute it. Sark made a calculated risk and bet on his guys to execute much of what they’ve struggled with this year. Part of the reason they were able to pull off the game plan is Texas was the more physical team. Last week in Gainesville was a team-wide loss. Saturday was a team-wide win and a great exhibition of complementary football. Texas won all three phases and played with more intent and urgency. That was one of Sark’s best coaching jobs.

Tre Wisner

Wisner ran tough—but we knew he had that in him. What we haven’t seen frequently enough, at least since Clemson last year, was playmaking. There were a handful of plays Saturday where he created obvious value-add. Some of the cuts he made on the field were hard to imagine being possible, even from my elevated view. He ran with excellent vision and feel, and it was great to see his receiving ability showcased.

Arch Manning

The amount of progress Manning has made since Week 1 is astounding. I’m continually amazed by his ability to make the first rusher miss and then reset. He probably could have taken off and run more, but he was feeling it as a passer. The “out” to Parker Livingstone while rolling the pocket was NFL all day long. The deer-in-headlights look is gone as he settles into his skill set. We’ll get to a point—probably this season—where nobody will ever acknowledge he was going to be anything other than a stud. “Of course he was going to be good, he’s a Manning!” Shut. Up. I liked the reliability the receivers played with, including Ryan Wingo. As the offense put together some long drives, there were a number of important plays that moved the sticks.

Offensive Line

I’m going to watch the All-22 after I post this. Normally I’d prefer to watch it first, but I needed to get something out. As Drew K mentioned in the postgame show, the O-line played well enough because we didn’t notice too many screw-ups. The Sooners did record a number of TFLs, but I don’t recall many being the result of poor play up front. The narrative entering the game—that OU’s defensive line would dominate Texas—definitively fell apart in the second half through a confluence of factors, including solid OL play. Special shoutout to true freshman Nick Brooks. They probably need to get another year out of him at guard, but we could be looking at a 40+ game starter. I also want to focus on DJ Campbell on rewatch to see if he played as well as I think he did. He was very active and helped set the tone for the offense. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him sprint to the corner of the end zone to celebrate with fans as the clock struck zero.

3rd Downs

10-of-17 with some prolonged drives was strong work. The run game did its job, and they didn’t even attempt a 4th down. Usually you can bake in a couple of 4th-down attempts, but it didn’t come to that. Arch and the receivers were pretty damn clutch on 3rd down.

Lack of Penalties

Only four—and most came in the first quarter. That’s the discipline you hope to see from a program that emphasizes culture above all else.

Colin Simmons, Michael Taaffe, Manny Muhammad, et al.

Throw Brad Spence, Ty’Anthony Smith, and Hero Kanu in there too. PK had a smart, effective, and aggressive game plan. It was great to see Simmons break through. Taaffe is playing better than last year—which is certainly saying something. Muhammad had a good day beyond the interceptions. We’re starting to see the kind of breakout that leads to an early NFL departure.

Zebras

You really did it—you called holding on OU, and in a key situation. It was a justified call, as I was joined by about a hundred others in the stands calling for the handkerchief. And then you missed a block in the back on the Ryan Niblett punt return touchdown.

OU Media

I listened to everything I could find from the OU market on the drive home today, and there was zero excuse-making. They didn’t whine about the lack of calls or John Mateer’s injury. Texas made it pretty obvious who the better team was, and that’s pretty much what OU media said.

Horns Down

Defeatist Attitude

College football is wildly unpredictable, with October 11, 2025 serving as an excellent reminder of that fact. Fans definitively stating Texas was going to lose don’t really understand the sport—or the rivalry. Remember in 2015 when Texas got destroyed by TCU, 50–7? What happened the very next week? They controlled OU in similar fashion to yesterday.

Jelani McDonald

I love you, Jelani. I’m being a little selfish, but I wanted to hear the crowd on your would-be pick-six. We were all McDonald when he showed his frustration at dropping that touchdown. He had it read beautifully. Fortunately, we still got the crowd explosion on Niblett’s return.

Horns Neutral

Mason Shipley

He was put in a tough position a couple of times yesterday, and I thought he responded well. His 48-yarder was right down the pipe after a nice little draw. I thought the miss that went off the upright had fallen through initially. I didn’t really like Sark’s decision to attempt the bomb from damn near midfield.

Stewart Mandel: Texas gets its marquee win

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Texas quarterback Arch Manning has taken his share of heat in this column, so let me say emphatically: He was great in the Longhorns’ 23-6 Red River rout of No. 6 Oklahoma. Manning (21 of 27, 166 yards, one TD, no INT; plus a 29-yard rush) got the ball out quicker, got sacked just once by a defense that came in averaging 4.2 sacks per game and, most importantly, protected the ball. That said, the Horns scored only one offensive touchdown.

It was Texas’ (4-2, 1-1 SEC) defense that may have saved its season. Bouncing back from a brutal day at Florida last week, the Horns suffocated Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer (20 of 38 for 202 yards), sacking him five times and picking him thrice. Perhaps Mateer rushed back too soon from his September thumb surgery, though he said afterward, “The pain level was nothing, no excuse.” But this was the type of dominant defensive performance we’ve come to expect under Texas DC Pete Kwiatkowski, the kind that can keep Texas in every game while Manning (hopefully) keeps progressing. "There was a lot of sh— getting talked about our team, and I think they responded," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.

Technically, Texas was a slight favorite in Red River, but it’s still a disheartening result for Brent Venables’ Oklahoma team. As Mateer goes, so do the Sooners (5-1, 1-1), who have no rushing attack whatsoever. And the rest of their schedule is… rough. At South Carolina, Ole Miss, at Tennessee, at Alabama, Missouri, LSU. Oklahoma’s defense is strong enough to keep it in every game, but Mateer may need to be Herculean to get his team to the Playoff.

 

Posted

(Scipio Tex) 2025 Oklahoma Sooners Post Mortem: Offense

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Smart game planning paired with a disciplined effort, Tre Wisner’s Sooner slaying heroics, and Arch Manning’s excellent pocket management, yielded a surprising run-oriented Texas offense from 12 personnel and near formations that repeatedly nicked Brent Venables’ havoc-obsessed front and controlled the ball against a Sooner coverage scheme determined not to expose its liabilities.

Eventually, the Horns were the ones delivering the blow while the Sooners wilted. Texas out-played and out-coached the Sooners on both sides of the ball, but this offensive game plan surprised me as much as it surprised Oklahoma. Despite the fact that this is the 4th straight year that Sark has hurt Oklahoma with an offense built out from base zone running concepts and it’s the 4th straight year that the OU staff haven’t been willing or able to address it.

I didn’t think we were capable of pulling off more zone success given our philosophical shift to gap blocking, the various woes of the offensive line, and the play of our running backs, but Sark knew better and a strong performance from the Longhorn defense allowed the game plan’s slow burn to work. Once Texas got over a frustrating slew of early penalties that derailed the offense, the run game started to blossom and Arch kept making big throws on key 3rd downs.

Eventually, it turned into a physical and proficient ball control 2nd half whipping that would have made Kirk Ferentz proud. The box score is a lie. Or at least the parts that casual national analysts will want to draw conclusions from. Texas only had 302 yards of offense and had only one play over 30 yards, but the Horns converted 3rd down 10 of 17 times. The Sooners had allowed only 12 total 3rd down conversions in their previous five games combined.

They were allowing a 17.4% conversion rate. Texas converted 58.8%. Texas’ offense only scored 16 points, but it committed no turnovers, few penalties, and the Sooners never had a short field or a turnover mechanism by which to steal points. Given their offense’s hero ball blundering, what exactly was their path to a touchdown unless the Texas offense provided the paving?

More college football games are lost than won and Texas’ offensive refusal to offer turnover potential or short fields to aid a struggling Sooner offense meant that the final outcome of the game was almost fait accompli after Texas’ opening 3rd quarter touchdown drive. In that decisive 3rd quarter, Texas scored ten unanswered points on two drives that ate up the entire period. The Horns ran 25 plays. Oklahoma ran 4.

That ball domination would have continued in the 4th quarter but Niblett selfishly decided to bring a punt back for a touchdown. There was no Arch hero ball. The Manning run game was selective. Texas didn’t spread the field and try to isolate Oklahoma’s coverage liabilities, a game plan that would have yielded equal mayhem on both sides. The Horns had a near total absence of deep shots, with a 4.2 ADOT after last weeks 20.5.

Just patient, boring, winning offense. If I had told you before the game that our game plan was 12 personnel, outside zone heavy run game, and a patient short passing game built on chain moving ball control, you might have sold your tickets in the parking lot. But it was a winner. Sark left some very interesting bread crumbs for other staffs to follow in game planning this defense. I’m curious to see who picks them up.

QUARTERBACK

The box score continues its mendacity. Arch only threw for 166 yards at 6.1 yards per attempt, but his 21 of 27 effort included three throwaways that prevented sacks and #16 ate some negative check downs and screen passes that have to be tallied somewhere. Manning was 15 of 17 for 155 yards when throwing from straight drop back. He was 14 of 15 when kept clean.

On play action he was 6 of 10 for 11 yards. Why? Venables built an entire defensive game plan off of havoc up front and stifling our play action. He assumed Texas couldn’t run the ball and that Arch and Sark would make mistakes. Arch was only sacked once, but Oklahoma had two dozen pressures and he eluded free runners to throw the ball away or dump it off constantly. He also threw balls like this: 

That’s a great throw, but it’s an IMPORTANT throw. 3rd and 6 with Texas holding a four point lead and the tide of the game starting to turn, but Texas is backed up on the goal line. What does a sack, punt, or interception yield for the larger game state here? Manning’s pocket manipulation was first rate and we’re eager to show you some ALL 22 later this week showing how frequently he kept Texas ahead of the chains with smart and composed play.

#16 understood the assignment. In one of the craziest atmospheres in football, Manning struck the right balance between calculating deliberation and fiery competitor. If he carries that forward, it’s going to serve the Horns very well.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Six things that helped the larger offense and erased some friction:

  1. Protections paired to concept. More zone protection. Almost no pull protection. Slide protections were paired with quick game or as a head fake for zone runs.
  2. Heavy outside zone run game to punish Sooner overplay and replacement games.
  3. The more athletic and high motor Nick Brooks got the start at left guard. Outside zone with Stroh is a non-starter.
  4. Better effort across the board. Perhaps abetted by a different run structure better suited to their traits?
  5. Manning had a dump off receiver in the flat on most route concepts, which he used frequently, sparing Texas from more negative game script.
  6. Texas got its penalties out of the way early and then operated like a 5-6 yards per play machine in the second half.

Texas went to a heavy combo of outside zone and more zone-based protections. When Texas did slide protect, it was much less robotic, more realistic, and it was usually paired to a quick game concept. Which is what slide pro was originally invented for. Not four second play action deep shots. We didn’t really pull tight ends to pass block bigs.

Zone schemes favor Brooks and Goosby on the edge as it puts a premium on feet and motor over strength. DJ Campbell played really hard. Cole Hutson had a lot of tough moments, but he had less hesitancy. A moving DT still gives him fits in pass pro.

Nick Brooks is a terrific prospect. He just needs more reps and he’s playing catch up. The energy and edge is there. He had a great pancake on a Sooner LB looking for work on a zone run. Also, surprisingly good instincts for when to let a guy run out of the play and turn to the next threat. Pass pro was still an adventure (six pressures allowed, a QB hit), but he handled edges stunting C to A gap much better than last week.

Very proud of this group for battling and eventually wearing out a high quality Sooner front, but this is an entire unit still trying to catch up to a unproductive offseason. Oklahoma had periods of intense pressure on Arch, but that pressure was more predictable and Arch seemed to know where his outs were as the OL followed better rules.

Was Texas good at blocking outside zone? We did some good things, but we’re not proficient yet. It’s more likely that Oklahoma is poor at defending it from honest boxes and some of their most high profile defenders are actually liabilities against the concept.

RUNNING BACK

 

Tre Wisner was terrific. 22 carries for 94 yards and 5 catches for 34 yards may not blow anyone away but within the game context, he constantly fought through contact, converted some clutch 3rd downs, added yardage to several runs and catches, and ran in terrific rhythm with the scheme. There’s a lot of courage and trust required to plant your foot in outside zone from a lateral start and wade into the maelstrom, hoping that the wall you see in front of you will get washed out by the time you get there, but Tre did it repeatedly.

Wisner ran fearlessly and he’s the only Texas back this season to average over 4 yards after contact on a meaningful carry load. Very proud of #5. For me, his legacy in this game wasn’t built from last year’s big run performance (a lot of green grass there, honestly), but in this year’s gritty effort to keep answering the bell after taking some big shots and working hard through 27 touches when Texas had no other real options. We have to find other options at RB that we trust so we can spread the load or Wisner will wear down and lose his burst.

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END

Oklahoma refused to let us beat them deep and I thought they did a good job of disguise in the deep middle of the field, so the Horn pass catchers were patient and picked their spots to help move the chains. Zero drops. They all blocked willingly within a scheme that asked them to elongate the Sooner front and sometimes get a piece of bigger, stronger DL/LB or hunt down defenders in space.

Moore had 3-50-1 while Wingo chipped in 5-35. Livingston added 2-29. Solid job overall. Very unselfish.

FINAL

Great win. Very gratifying. It was important to see the team battle like that and deliver a complete team win. Historically, the Oklahoma game, whatever the result, has often been a poor predictor of season success. It can be a one off. Texas teams that pull off historic upsets while looking like world beaters regress back to the mean, and some Longhorn teams that lost in horrible fashion went on to have terrific years.

There’s something singular about this game that can have almost no translation to the following week or weeks. Taking the belt to your rival is its own reward, but we’d also like to see some of Saturday’s good work continue. It’s impossible to ignore some very positive changes on both sides of the ball. There’s concrete stuff that we can build on.

This was not just a few guys playing out of their minds. Texas coached better, played smarter, the players strained more, and we saw real growth from some key pieces in a pressure-packed environment. From an analytical perspective, it’s also important to reflect on the overwhelming data points that conclusively demonstrate that OU Sucks. 

 

  • Hook 'Em 4

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