Arch Manning, Texas drop undefeated Oklahoma in Red River Rivalry

DALLAS – John Mateer had the chance to become an Oklahoma legend against Texas on Saturday after miraculously returning from injury only 17 days post-surgery.

But it was all Texas at the Cotton Bowl, as the 19th-ranked Longhorns spoiled No. 6 Oklahoma and Mateer’s return en route to a 23-6 win.

Oklahoma got out to a quick 6-0 lead in the first quarter but was held scoreless the rest of the game by a defense that was dominant in the final three periods. Texas outgained Oklahoma with 188 yards to the Sooners’ 88 in the second half, and the Longhorns held the ball for all but 1 minutes, 34 seconds of game clock in the third quarter, taking control of the game as the Sooners’ offense sputtered.

It marked the third time in four seasons Texas held the Sooners without an offensive touchdown at the Cotton Bowl.

A week after quarterback Arch Manning threw two interceptions and was sacked six times in a 29-21 upset loss to Florida, he led a Texas offense that went 10 of 17 on third-down attempts and, most importantly, made no glaring mistakes.

The preseason No. 1-ranked Longhorns punched back and showed they’re a team that can still contend for a College Football Playoff spot in 2025.

“I think that we learned how to fight today,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said after the game. “And I think that we don’t have to wait until the 12th to try to knock somebody out to win a game. We can win rounds, and we can continue to fight for four quarters. … There was a lot of (expletive) getting talked about our team, about these guys.

“And I think they responded.”

Mateer, one of the Heisman Trophy favorites before missing a game because of injury, was intercepted three times, twice by Texas defensive back Malik Muhammed, who missed the Longhorns’ game against Florida in Week 6.

There was much noise about Mateer and his status coming into the game, as he underwent surgery to repair a hand injury only 17 days ago. Texas, which Sarkisian said was preparing for Mateer to play earlier in the week, gave the Washington State transfer fits all throughout the final three quarters, sacking him five times.

“I was ready to go physically, but mentally, I just didn’t perform,” Mateer said. “My eyes weren’t as good as they needed to be. When a quarterback doesn’t play good football it’s hard to win in this league. And that’s what happened.”

Texas came out of halftime facing a 6-3 deficit but scored on its opening drive of the second half after Manning hit Deandre Moore Jr. for a 12-yard touchdown to cap off a 14-play, 75-yard drive that burned 7:11 of clock. The Longhorns extended their lead to 13-6 after forcing a three-and-out and tacking on another field goal.

Texas put the nail in the coffin early in the fourth quarter after Ryan Niblett returned an Oklahoma punt 75 yards for a touchdown to extend the Longhorns’ lead to 20-6.

Oklahoma, which entered the game leading the country with 4.2 sacks per game, was held to one against Texas in a matchup that seemed to benefit the Sooners after Texas’ offensive line was dominated against Florida last week.

And when Oklahoma was able to generate pressure, Manning evaded defenders and avoided negative plays, setting up third-and-manageable situations for Texas rather than placing the offense behind the chains.

“Being able to stay out of third-and-11-plus and getting more reasonable third downs (was huge),” Manning said. “O-line did a hell of a job, and playmakers made plays. That’s what it’s all about.”

Mateer finished 20 of 38 passing for 202 yards with three interceptions against Texas’ stout defense, whereas Oklahoma averaged just 1.6 yards per carry. The path forward for the Sooners doesn’t get any easier, with an upcoming road matchup against South Carolina before ending the season with five consecutive meetings against top-20-ranked opponents.

Coach Brent Venables, who fell to 1-3 against Texas as Oklahoma’s head coach, said after the game he reminded his team it has plenty left to play for, despite dropping an emotional game against its archrival.

“If we are who I know and believe we are, these guys will respond the right way,” Venables said. “And we’ll learn from some of the mistakes that we made today, and again, gotta learn through a loss, which is tough, but I know these guys are very invested.”

The Longhorns were clearly the better team Saturday, and despite the struggles at times through half the season so far, they proved to be capable of contending in a wide-open SEC.

It won’t be easy, but Sarkisian believes Texas is capable of winning the conference again after setting the tone for the second half of the season with a huge Red River Rivalry win.

“If we can play the way we play today, we’re plenty good enough to compete with any team in our conference,” he said. “But we got to play that way.

“And just as I told the team in the locker room, we have more work to do.”