4 takeaways from Texas's dismantling of OU

No. 1 Texas football faced the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners for the first time ever as SEC foes for the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl at the Texas State Fairgrounds in Dallas on Oct. 12.

A slow start doesn't bog down No. 1 Texas football in a decisive victory over OU

Oklahoma got on the board first in this game, after a slow start for Texas's offense, getting a first-quarter field goal to take a 3-0 lead early on in the first half. Texas got going in the second quarter, though, to start pulling away with the lead.

In his first start coming back from an abdominal strain injury against the Sooners, quarterback Quinn Ewers found his rhythm in the second quarter for Texas's offense. The Longhorns had a game-changing stretch at the end of the second quarter, including a wild recovered fumble for a touchdown in the end zone

Texas's defense came up huge in the second half, holding Oklahoma's offense at bay when it mattered to keep momentum on their side coming out of the locker room at halftime.

The Longhorns came up with their second double-digit win over Oklahoma in the last three years in Red River. Sarkisian and the Longhorns' two victories in Red River have came by incredibly decisive margins since 2022, by a margin of over 70 points combined between 2022 and 2024.

The game went until the very end, where the Longhorns' defense held on to keep Oklahoma's offense out of the end zone for the entire game. Texas came away with the decisive 34-3 win over Oklahoma to stay undefeated.

Here are four takeaways from the Longhorns' dismantling of OU in Red River on Oct. 12.

Explosive plays spark Texas's offense

Texas's offense found a huge spark in the first half, thanks to nicely-timed explosive plays from a couple of underclassmen. Freshman wide receiver Ryan Wingo and sophomore running back Tre Wisner were huge to Texas's scoring explosion late in the first half.

A long run by Wisner nearly turned into a bad play for the Longhorns in the second quarter. When Texas was up by four points, Wisner exploded for a long run. But he fumbled the ball near the end zone, which was recovered on a tremendous effort play by senior wide receiver Silas Bolden.

Thanks to a couple of explosive runs, Wisner finished up the first half with five carries for an insane 94 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Wisner scored the 43-yard touchdown run that extended the Longhorns' lead to three scores before halftime, late in the second quarter.

Wingo had a couple of huge plays of his own in the second and third quarters. Wingo's first big play of the game came in the second quarter, to help the Longhorns convert on a third-and-medium to take a double-digit lead before halftime. Ewers found Wingo on a short route that resulted in a long catch-and-run. Texas scored on the following play.

This was Wingo's second game this season where he had over 50 combined yards after the catch and after contact combined. His explosiveness has earned Sarkisian and Ewers' trust, which was evident again in this win over the Sooners.