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5 thoughts from Texas-Oklahoma: Quinn Ewers shakes off rust, Longhorns down Sooners

Ewers returned from an abdominal strain and led the Longhorns to Red River win over Oklahoma.

Here are five thoughts from No. 1 Texas’ 34-3 win over No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.

Early Ewers rust

Texas’ starting quarterback looked like a signal caller who hadn’t played in nearly a month.

Naturally.

Quinn Ewers — who’d missed the Longhorns’ last two-and-a-half games with an abdominal strain — completed three of his five first-quarter pass attempts for 13 yards and an interception. Ewers, a Southlake Carroll alum, was intercepted by Oklahoma defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. on his first pass attempt when he overthrew Matthew Golden near midfield on Texas’ opening drive. The Longhorns went three-and-out on their next drive, which included a Ewers misfire on third down, and gained just 5 yards on the third possession of the first quarter.

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“Coming back after two weeks of being injured and whatnot, you sure hope that stuff like that doesn’t happen,” Ewers said. “I should have definitely made those throws. I’m not going to tell you it was rust because I’ve practiced the last two weeks; it was solely on me.”

Texas averaged 0.9 yards per play in its first three drives and finished the first quarter with just 13 total yards of offense on 10 plays. The Longhorns (6-0) didn’t cross midfield until a 10-play, 75-yard drive to begin the second quarter that ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Ewers to tight end Gunnar Helm. Ewers completed five throws of 20 yards or longer, including a 44-yarder to freshman Ryan Wingo in the second quarter to set up Texas’ second touchdown.

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Ewers completed 10 of his 13 attempts for 109 yards and a touchdown in Texas’ 21-point, runaway second quarter. He finished with 199 yards on 20-for-29 passing, one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown and one interception.

Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (26) outraces Oklahoma Sooners defensive...
Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (26) outraces Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. (2) and defensive back Eli Bowen (23) to a second quarter touchdown as quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) throws his fingers up in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, October 12, 2024.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

Texas’ run game

Texas’ run game — led by DeSoto native Quintrevion Wisner (118 yards on 13 attempts) — rushed for 177 yards all in the game’s final three quarters and allowed Ewers to settle in. Oklahoma’s defense pitched a rushing-yard shutout in the first quarter but the Longhorns ran for 133 yards in the second quarter and 59 more in the third quarter to extend their lead.

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“We found a niche there running the ball,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said, “which I think opened some things up in the passing game.”

The game-changing Texas fumble

Texas — up 7-3 with 4:19 left in the second quarter — crossed midfield on three plays (including a 44-yard pass from Ewers to freshman Ryan Wingo) to set up a 36-yard run from Wisner. The kicker: Wisner, toward the end of his run and within five yards of a touchdown, was chased down by Oklahoma defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings. Spears-Jennings clubbed the ball out of Wisner’s hands and it bounced into the far left corner of the endzone.

Oklahoma’s Danny Stutsman tried to run it down. Texas’ Silas Bolden ran faster. Bolden, an Oregon State wide receiver transfer who was back up field at the time of the fumble, bolted into the end zone, out-ran a host of Oklahoma defenders and fell onto the ball for a touchdown that gave the Longhorns a 14-3 lead and a whole heap of momentum.

“It was a total effort play for him to make that play in the endzone,” Sarkisian said.

Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) fumbles as he is brought down by Texas...
Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) fumbles as he is brought down by Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (0) during the first half of an NCAA college football game at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Dallas. Texas defensive lineman Vernon Broughton (45) recovered the fumble.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

The game-changing Oklahoma fumble(s)

Oklahoma’s miscues weren’t as fortuitous. Texas forced and recovered a fumble on consecutive Oklahoma offensive plays to close the second quarter and take a three-score lead into halftime.

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The first: Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.who hardly had an open wide receiver downfield all game and struggled to find time in the pocket — bolted up the middle on 1st and 10 from the Sooners’ 43-yard line with just under two minutes left in the second quarter. Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., a Denton Ryan alum, chased Hawkins down and forced a fumble. Wisner ran for a 43-yard touchdown to give Texas a 21-3 lead on the very next play.

The second: The Sooners (4-2) started the following drive at their own 25-yard-line. They ended it a play later when Texas defensive back forced Oklahoma running back Taylor Tatum to fumble at the end of a 13-yard run. The Longhorns weren’t able to capitalize on the turnover; they ended a 6-play, 12-yard drive with a missed Bert Auburn field goal.

“You create your own breaks,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “By effort, by toughness, by being in the right place, by putting in the right call. That’s just the way it rolls sometimes.”

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Oklahoma’s offensive woes

More like woahs. Because, woah, it wasn’t great. The Sooners offense scored just three points and totaled 107 yards of offense — on 3.2 yards per play — in the first half and gave Texas’ an opportunity to sort itself out.

Oklahoma started true freshman Mike Hawkins Jr., a Frisco Emerson alum, for the second-straight game since it benched Denton Guyer’s Jackson Arnold midway through its loss to nationally-ranked Tennessee. Hawkins is a mobile quarterback but was largely bottled up by Texas. He struggled to move the ball downfield through the air with five wide receivers — including top pass catcher Deion Burks — sidelined with injuries.

Texas’ veteran defense made matters worse for the young signal caller. Safety Michael Taaffe sacked Hawkins to blow up a drive and bring up 3rd and 23 on Oklahoma’s second possession. Hill hurried Hawkins on a third down throw and forced an errant pass on the Sooners’ third possession, and Barryn Sorrell sacked Hawkins on third down to force a punt on Oklahoma’s fourth possession at the start of the second quarter.

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Hawkins completed 19 of his 30 passes for 148 yards and rushed for 27 yards on 20 attempts. Venables said postgame that he did not consider making a quarterback change during the game. Only one Oklahoma running back (Javontae Barnes, 38 yards) rushed for more than 30 yards as the Sooners punted on six of their first 11 drives.

“We couldn’t get anything sustained,” Venables said. “We had our opportunities in the first quarter, first half ... they got up, and they put a lot of pressure on us.”

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