-
eli lederman
Dallas– texas Saturday, exactly 12:30 p.m. rolled into the Cotton Bowl, facing what Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian called a “gut-checking moment.” More than five hours later, as oklahoma Half of the crowd of 92,100 walked out of the stadium, with Sarkisian and his players converging on the 50-yard line with the golden hat and a potentially season-defining victory.
A week after falling to 3–2 and falling out of the AP Top 25 following a loss at Florida, the Longhorns regained their form in sweeping fashion. behind the quarterback arch manning’s With its most efficient performance of the season and a physically imposing display on both sides of the ball, Texas silenced the noise win 23-6 Capping a week of national buzz with a stunning win, over No. 6 Oklahoma, that will keep the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff hopes alive for at least another week and perhaps longer this fall.
“I think we saw the true character of the men in that locker room today — their connectedness, their love for each other,” Sarkisian said. “It’s easy to succumb to outside noise. There was a lot of talk about our team, about these guys. And I think they responded.”
Trailing 6–0 minutes into the second quarter, Texas scored 23 unanswered points in the final 34:29 and outscored the Sooners 188–88 after halftime, sealing the program’s largest margin of victory – 17 points – over an AP top-10 opponent since 1957.
“I think we’ve grown too big,” Longhorns left tackle trevor goosby“In the face of adversity, we could either give up or stand up to the occasion. I think today we have stood up to the occasion.”
Texas, ranked preseason No. 1 in the AP poll, fell out of the top 25 for the first time since October 2022 after a 29-21, SEC-opening loss at Florida in Week 6. After two losses in their opening five games, the Longhorns head into the latest edition of the Allstate Red River Rivalry with one of the most anticipated campaigns in program history.
Instead, after a week of urgency, Texas produced its fastest performance of the season.
It started with Manning, who Sarkisian said struggled to remain a full participant in practice ahead of the Week 7 matchup with Oklahoma (5-1) after striking out six times against Florida.
“The biggest thing that impressed me this week was his game [is] He didn’t miss a single rep in practice this week,” Sarkisian said. “He came back on Monday and he wasn’t 100 percent. He was assaulted. But he took every rep. And I think coming out of a game like this, you earn the respect of your teammates.”
Facing one of the nation’s most grueling pass rushes, Manning operated smoothly and largely mistake-free on Saturday and outran the Sooners’ quarterback. john materWho threw three interceptions in his return under center 17 days after surgery on his right hand.
Manning completed a season-high 77.8% of his throws for 166 yards and a third-quarter touchdown for the junior wide receiver. deandre moore jrOnly sacked once, Manning managed Oklahoma’s defensive front well and took advantage when provided clean pockets. According to ESPN Research, he finished the day 16 of 17 for 119 yards on dropbacks without pressure.
Beyond his quarterback, Sarkisian said he challenged his team “to be physical” in all three phases this week.
Texas leans heavily on the junior with running back CJ Baxter missing (undisclosed injury) quintrevian wisnerWho rushed for 94 yards on 22 carries and 45 all-purpose yards on the Longhorns’ momentum-changing, 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive to start the second half.
Led by Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr.., Texas’ defensive front sacked Miter five times and put consistent pressure on the Sooners’ quarterback, while limiting Oklahoma to 1.6 yards per carry on 30 attempts. Infamous all week after their performance against Florida, Texas’ offensive line also stepped up, leading the way for a 16-yard rushing attempt and allowing only a pair of rushing yards.
“We lined up and ran the football and that’s a credit to our offensive line,” Sarkisian said. He had a long week and he heard about it from all of you too. “They played very well today against probably the best defensive front in our conference.”
After a week of outside noise — around Texas, its famous quarterback and the program’s wobble this fall — the Longhorns responded. Now 1-1 in the SEC, Sarkisian offered a reminder Saturday evening of how Texas won the league regular season title by going 7-1 in conference play a year ago, suggesting his team is still in position to not only compete within the SEC, but to continue its quest for a third consecutive playoff appearance this fall.
On Saturday, at least, Sarkisian and the Longhorns took a big step in the right direction.
“If we can play like we played today, we’re good enough to compete with any team in our conference,” Sarkisian said.
