DALLAS (KXAN) — As if the Red River Rivalry game itself wasn’t enough, Texas entered its annual meeting with Oklahoma unranked and reeling from a 29-21 loss to Florida in its Southeastern Conference opener. The Longhorns needed a win in the worst way, mostly to silence the haters, and they answered the bell.
Texas beat the sixth-ranked Sooners 23-6 in the Cotton Bowl at the Texas State Fair, and not only did the Longhorns play better than they did against the Gators, it was a reaction that needed to happen to right the ship and steer it back toward the conference title.
Texas outscored Oklahoma 20-0 in the second half, including a 75-yard touchdown run from Ryan Neblett and a stellar day from Arch Manning. He was not asked to make deep passes up the field, but rather to make quick, short passes, and the plan worked. He finished 21 of 27 for 166 yards with a touchdown to DeAndre Moore Jr., and completed 15 of his passes within five yards of the line of scrimmage.
MORE FROM THE SCORE: Stay up to date with sports stories like this, and sign up for our ‘More Than the Score’ sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters
The offensive line played a much better second half to open the game. Quintrevion Wisner rushed for 94 yards on 22 carries, a season-high, and the Longhorns recorded 136 yards overall.
Defensively, the Texans picked off quarterback John Matter three times and sacked him five times.
In the video above, Roger Wallace and Billy Gates discuss what a win means for the Longhorns moving forward, but how to temper their excitement and not get too caught up in the rivalry game victory.