Red River Rivalry: Texas Longhorns vs Oklahoma Sooners Game Review

After having suffered a stinging loss to the UCLA Bruins the week before, the Longhorns went into the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas and failed to beat the Sooners losing 28-20 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate. 

The Longhorns got off to slow start which prevented them from keeping pace with the Sooners who started off the game strong and eventually kept the game out of the Longhorn’s reach.

This is Texas’ second loss in a row and will surely take them out of the top 25 for the first time in a very long time.  The Sooners, No. 8 in the polls heading into this game, may move up just a little bit in the rankings this week.  

Scoring Summary

The Sooners started out the game with the first score in the first quarter after running back DeMarco Murray burst into the end zone from 18 yards out to put the Sooners up early.  They would add another seven points when wide receiver Kenny Stills caught a 16 yard pass from quarterback Landry Jones to put the Sooners up 14-0 in the first.

The Longhorns would get their first score of the game towards the end of the first quarter after wide receiver D.J. Monroe ran 60 yards into the end zone for a touchdown.  The score was 14-7 heading into second quarter.

Oklahoma would get the only score of the second quarter following a two yard touchdown pass from Jones to tight end James Hanna to put the Sooners up 21-7.  Texas would bring it to 20-10 after a 22 yard Justin Tucker field goal.

In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma padded their lead with another touchdown after Murray ran 20 yards into the end zone to put Oklahoma up 28-10.  The Longhorns did attempt to mount a comeback however and it began with a five yard touchdown run from running back Cody Johnson to make it 28-17.  The Longhorns would add a field goal to get to within eight but their comeback fell short and the game ended in a Sooner 28-20 win.

Analysis

The Longhorns came into this game fired up and apparently ready to play after getting embarrassed at home by the UCLA Bruins the weekend before.  When this game started, the Longhorns looked like as if they weren’t prepared at all for the game, especially on offense and couldn’t stop the Sooners or get anything going (on offense).

The Longhorn’s defense did manage to hold the Sooners back as the game went on but the offense, led by quarterback Garrett Gilbert, could still not move the ball down the field. 

Overall, the Longhorns had more yards passing than the Sooners did (266-236) and there wasn’t that much of a difference in rushing (Texas 107 Oklahoma 124) but the key to this game was field position and turnovers (the Longhorns had two while the Sooners had none.

The ineptitude of the Longhorn’s offense goes beyond Gilbert’s struggles.  They also have problems with their running game and their offensive line is not keeping Gilbert protected as well as they should (he was sacked three times in this game and hurried on several other plays) and they aren’t run blocking well.  

Slow starts sometimes end up in losses for some teams and it’s been evident in the Longhorn’s last two games that their slow starts are hurting them.  They have to do something about getting a quick lead and thus allowing their defense to hold opposing offenses back.  Their defense is good enough to protect leads so they should let them do their work.

Mistakes by Texas at key moments helped Oklahoma win this game.  The biggest mistake came when Aaron Williams failed to handle a punt and lost it as the game came to a close causing Texas to lose any chance to get a tying score.  

The Longhorn’s defense also committed penalties at key points on Oklahoma offensive drives that allowed the drive to continue and Oklahoma to score.  Throw in a shanked punt by punter John Gold and it was definitely not the Longhorn’s day.  

Texas hasn’t lost two games since 2007 and as mentioned, will probably drop out of the top 25 for the first time in 10 years.  Currently, Texas has been ranked in the top 25 for 162 consecutive weeks which is the longest streak going.  

Next Up

Texas will have a much-needed bye this week before they travel to Lincoln to take on the Cornhuskers.  At the time of this writing, Nebraska is ranked seventh in the top 25 poll.

Stay tuned for a full preview of the Texas versus Nebraska game coming in two weeks.

UPDATE: The Longhorns fell out of the top 25 poll as of Sunday afternoon.