Despite one-two-punch running back duo Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson carving through the Oklahoma State defense, penalties and route running confusion purged Texas on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium.

After a first-half shootout, the Longhorns found themselves in familiar second-half meltdown territory, ultimately losing to the No. 11 Cowboys 34-41.

“It’s very frustrating because somewhere in there, we lose focus, mental intensity,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We didn’t operate very good. A lot of it was self-inflicted wounds.”

Following a first half in which both teams combined for 55 points, neither team managed a score until three minutes left in the third quarter. Starting deep in Oklahoma State’s territory after sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy returned a punt for 29 yards, Ewers attempted to use his running back room as a crutch, feeding Robinson two handoffs up the middle before failing to hit him on a short pass on a 3rd-and-5, forcing a field goal from sophomore Bert Auburn that put Texas up by 10.

However, Oklahoma State quickly responded with a field goal of its own and a 12-minute, 66-yard touchdown drive to tie the ballgame at 34-34 in the fourth quarter. 

Trying to rekindle momentum, Ewers continued feeding the ball to Robinson and relied on his tight ends, picking up 50 yards before failing to hit junior running back Keilan Robinson and Worthy on passes to bring up a 4th-and-7 on the Cowboys’ 28-yard line. On the field goal attempt, Auburn kicked against the wind and missed the goalposts wide left.

After Oklahoma State scored another touchdown on the following drive, Ewers found himself frantic and in a 7-point deficit, but seemingly got the ball rolling when he hit senior tight end Jahleel Billingsley for a first down to get in a groove. However, another flag brought up a daunting 3rd-and-22, prompting Ewers to sling it to sophomore tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders for a completion that brought up a 4th-and-3 situation. 

With a little less than a minute and a half left in the game, Ewers threw an interception into traffic. While the Longhorns had one more possession after the defense forced the Cowboys off the field, it was characterized by the same erratic gameplay. The game ended on another interception from Ewers, this time after a pass bounced out of Sanders’ hands for an easy interception by freshman Cowboys safety Kendal Daniels.

Ewers struggled to hit his receivers on deep passes due to presumed miscommunications and varying wind speeds from 15 to 30 miles per hour during the game, prompting Texas’ running back duo to take on much of the offensive load, accumulating two rushing touchdowns in the first half. However, the running backs saw less action in the second half of the game.

“The thing with the run game for us today was, we had 100 yards on two carries for us,” Sarkisian said. “Then we had 30 more carries for about 100 yards. I would have liked to have been a little more efficient in the run game.”

In a 3-point deficit early in the first quarter, Billingsley and Sanders lined up along the offensive line for extra run blocking. After the snap, Robinson took the handoff on Ewers’ left side, darting through a running lane made by Billingsley’s and Sanders’ blocking. Robinson gunned it to open field and found the end zone for Texas’ first score of the game. 

However, every time Texas seemed to grasp some momentum, penalties seemed to halt it right away.

Texas was flagged with 14 penalties for 119 yards while Oklahoma State was not flagged for a single penalty the whole game.

“We’ve got to clean up the self-inflicted wounds and that aspect of the ballgame,” Sarkisian said.

Following the loss, Texas will head into the bye week at 5–3. Another tough road game looms for the Longhorns, as the team prepares to visit No. 17 Kansas State on Nov. 5. After his 20th game as Texas’ head coach, Sarkisian sports a 10–10 record with a 1–6 mark on the road. Of Sarkisian’s 10 losses, the Longhorns have lost to second-half comebacks in seven.  

“It’s very deflating, but at the same time, the only thing I know how to do is work,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, you can either hang your head low and mope about it, or go back to work and see what you did wrong.”