5 overreactions after Texas's dominant win vs. OU

Once No. 1 Texas football was clicking on all cylinders in the second quarter in the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Oct. 12, there was no turning back in a dominant 34-3 victory over the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables.

Texas football is undefeated after six games for the first time since the 2009 season after the double-digit victory vs. OU

In a matter of just minutes, head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns seized a multiple-score lead before halftime. Texas got on the board with the game's first touchdown around the halfway mark of the second quarter on a nice screen touchdown pass from quarterback Quinn Ewers to senior tight end Gunnar Helm.

Then, the Longhorns converted a couple of nice explosive plays on offense, along with a turnover generated by the suffocating Texas defense to extend the lead to a comfortable 21-3 score heading into the locker room at halftime.

Texas's defense completely locked down on a bad Oklahoma offense that couldn't even muster a touchdown and barely had over 200 total yards of offense in Red River yesterday in the second half.

Sarkisian has proven that the talent gap is very marked between the Longhorns compared to the Sooners. In two of the last three meetings between the Longhorns and Sooners in Red River, Texas has emerged victorious by a combined margin of over 70 points.

Here are five overreactions following the Longhorns' 31-point dismantling of Oklahoma in Red River in Week 7.

Gunnar Helm will be picked no later than Day 2 in the 2025 NFL Draft

Helm had another huge performance for the Longhorns against a ranked opponent in the regular season's first half for Texas's offense. He sparked the Texas offense, with a couple of big catch and runs to get the Longhorns on the board in the second quarter. Texas never gave the lead back after Helm's touchdown catch in the first half.

The versatile senior tight end was Ewers' most consistent target in the receiving corps against the Sooners in Red River yesterday. Helm also proved to be a good target downfield in the passing game for junior wide receiver Matthew Golden, who completed an explosive reverse pass play to the tight end late in the fourth quarter.

Helm came down with an incredible highlight reel contested catch over the Oklahoma defensive back to set Texas up for its final score of the game within the Sooners' 10 yardline in the red zone.

He finished up Red River with game highs in catches (five), receiving yards (91), and receiving touchdowns (one). Helm was actually the only player for either squad that caught a touchdown pass in Red River this weekend.

This is the second game this season where Helm has emerged as a top target and crucial impact player for the Longhorns on offense against a ranked opponent. He also caught multiple passes for over 90 receiving yards and a touchdown in Texas's Week 2 win on the road in Ann Arbor over the defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines, 31-12.