Texas vs. Oklahoma State: Game Grades, Analysis for Longhorns and Cowboys

Charlie Strong's Longhorns are now bowl-eligible after crushing Oklahoma State 28-7 on the road.

Quarterback Tyrone Swoopes led the way for the Longhorns offense, throwing for 305 yards and two long touchdowns in a bounce-back performance. The defense did the rest, holding the Pokes to one touchdown and just 192 yards of offense.

They took their foot off the gas in the second half, but it's tough to complain about the vastly improved Longhorns.

Positional Unit	1st Half	2nd Half
Passing Offense	F	D+
Rushing Offense	F	D
Passing Defense	D	D
Rushing Defense	D	A
Special Teams	C	C
Coaching	D	D+

Game Grades for the Cowboys

Passing Offense

Hard to give Daxx Garman much credit for his 158-yard performance, especially since it took 29 attempts for him to get there. He missed a ton of throws on the night, and his receivers did him no favors.

The Oklahoma State offensive line allowed seven sacks, and it's a miracle Garman survived the whole game.

Rushing Offense

Outside of Desmond Roland's 15-yard run in the third quarter, the Cowboys ran 22 times for 19 yards. Even if you remove Garman's sack totals, the running back numbers come out to 44 yards on 15 carries.

Texas never had any reason to respect the passing game, and the ground numbers show that.

Passing Defense

Swoopes felt pressure for most of the night, but this was one of those games in which he was able to shake it off. Even in obvious passing situations, the Longhorns receivers had no trouble getting open.

Rushing Defense

The Longhorns only rushed for 11 yards in the second half but were dominant in the first half with 114. Texas ran when it committed to doing so, and the Longhorns should have had a bigger day on the ground.

Special Teams

The Cowboys needed a big game from Tyreek Hill in this phase of the game, and it never happened. Other than a couple of nice punts by Kip Smith and a blocked extra point, there wasn't much to write home about.

Coaching

Other than force-feeding Hill, Mike Gundy and his staff never made much of an effort to manufacture offense. They continued to line up against the Longhorns defense and hope that either Garman could complete a pass under pressure or the Horns would start missing tackles.

Neither happened, so the outcome was hardly ever in doubt.

Positional Unit	1st Half	2nd Half
Passing Offense	A-	B+
Rushing Offense	A	D
Passing Defense	A	B+
Rushing Defense	A	A
Special Teams	C+	C+
Coaching	A	C+

Game Grades for the Longhorns

Passing Offense

Swoopes rebounded from a tough three-game stretch to play a nice game from the pocket. He was consistent on third down, and his ball placement was as good as it's been all year.

John Harris continues to march toward a 1,000-yard season with another big game, but the real story here is Armanti Foreman. The freshman reeled in two catches for 74 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown that sealed the win. He has officially earned the right to be Texas' third wideout behind Harris and Jaxon Shipley.

Rushing Offense

The Longhorns slowed down on the ground as the Cowboys loaded the box, but Johnathan Gray turned in another big performance, with 116 yards and a score on 19 total touches. He looks likes he finally trusts his legs again, and it's been fun to watch.

Malcolm Brown was stuffed in the second half, and we never saw Daje Johnson after his first two carries went for 16 yards.

Rushing Defense

Other than Roland's 15-yarder, this group was outstanding. There were three Longhorns there to meet every Cowboys ball-carrier, especially when it was Hill. Oklahoma State's electric playmaker managed only 16 yards on his eight totes.

Passing Offense

The Longhorns dared Garman to beat them, and he couldn't do it. Texas finished with seven sacks on the night, knocking the Cowboys quarterback around to the point where he was just chucking it before he could take another lick.

Malcom Brown and Hassan Ridgeway are stellar on passing downs. They might be the best duo in the country in terms of pushing pressure into the face of the quarterback.

Special Teams

The roller-coaster ride continues with these guys. We saw Nick Rose drive home field goals of 51 and 44 yards but clang a 21-yarder off the goal post. The Horns also botched an extra point in each half.

On the bright side, the nation's worst kick coverage unit never let Hill make a game-changing play. That's the most important takeaway for this group.

Coaching

Texas took its foot off the gas in the second half, failing once again to score a touchdown in the third quarter and totaling just 167 yards over the final two frames. The Longhorns did answer the Pokes' lone touchdown with one of their own to Foreman, but you have to put teams away in this conference.