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Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff Writer
DALLAS – A year after losing the last two games in the Red River Rivalry, No. Other than the coach Steve Sarkisian like the State Fair Texas favorite during his postgame interview.
“Gole my corn dog, y’all,” Sarkisian said of the traditional fare as he entered the postgame press conference and subtly tried to steal it during an interview after the Longhorns improved to 6-0 for the first time since 2009.
But with Texas facing Georgia next weekend, that’s what the celebration is about, Sarkisian said, coming off a 49-0 win over OU in 2022, the first in the series since 2018.
“Two years ago when we won the Golden Hat, you might have thought we were winning the Super Bowl,” Sarkisian said. “This year, it’s like, ‘OK, we’ve got the Golden Cap again. OK, let’s put it in the trophy case and let’s keep grinding, let’s keep going.'”
The Longhorns got off to a slow start with more penalty yards (15) than offensive yards (13) in the first quarter. Quinn Ewers, who returned from injury to make his first start since September 14, was sacked on the first play, then intercepted two plays later on his first pass attempt.
Oklahoma’s only points, a 42-yard field goal from Tyler Keltner, came with 10 seconds left in the opening quarter, the first time Texas had trailed in a game this season. But the Longhorns’ defense never let Oklahoma get into a rhythm, and Texas finally started to wear down the Sooners.
OU freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. pressed on 17 of 38 dropbacks (45%), going 19 of 30 for 148 yards, and the Longhorns held the Sooners to under seven points for the second time since 1998 (Texas’ 49-0 blowout in Brent Venables’ first year in 2022 was the other).
Ewers finished 20 of 29 for 199 yards and a touchdown but was 3 of 9 for 8 yards and an interception when under pressure.
“Overall, I think I should have played better, but I think we did a good job overcoming adversity,” said Ewers, adding that he was happy to go 2-1 against the Sooners. “The overall experience and atmosphere can’t be beat, so it’s not hard to get up for this game.”
The Longhorns got a breakout game from sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner, who had his first 100-yard game with 118, including a 43-yard touchdown run in the second quarter when Texas took control. The Longhorns averaged 5.9 yards per rush, while holding Oklahoma to just 2.3 yards.
It was another disappointing offensive performance for Oklahoma. Venables has made a change at quarterback this season, switching from Jackson Arnold to Hawkins. The Sooners have not had a quarterback top 200 yards passing in a game this season.
“Obviously, we haven’t been very good this season (offense),” Venables said. “We have to be better everywhere. I like the leadership, I like the will of this team. keep helping them.”
But with another big game coming up in Texas next weekend, senior defensive end Jahdae Barron said he was excited to get a win over the Sooners last season, and then move on.
“I’m ready for Georgia,” Barron said. “Let’s talk about Georgia… I’m ready to watch a movie.”
Senior offensive lineman Jake Majors echoed his teammates’ thoughts.
“Good teams are more likely to win than good teams because good teams keep going, and that’s what we want,” Majors said. “We want to be big, so we’ll be happy for 24 hours and then we’ll be ready for next week.”
Sarkisian said he wants to give the rival game in the Cotton Bowl the respect it deserves, corn dogs and all.
“This is a big game at the University of Texas,” he said. “This game is important to us and I know it’s important in Oklahoma. … In my opinion, it’s the best atmosphere in college football.”
But, he said, he sees the focus on what this team can do now that it has a win over the Sooners under its belt.
“We like to win, make no mistake about it,” Sarkisian said. “The locker room is fun and everything, but it’s almost like our team knows there’s more to do.”
