In a game where the anticipation surrounding the return of Quinn Ewers added to the fuel of pregame expectations, the junior quarterback was overshadowed by the talents of his right-hand men.
No. 1 Texas’ 34-3 victory over No. 18 Oklahoma wouldn’t have been possible without the determination seen in the rest of the Longhorn offense. The trifecta of senior tight end Gunnar Helm, sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner and senior wide receiver Silas Bolden turned the Red River Rivalry into a burnt-orange blowout.
The scenes of a stagnant first quarter might have said otherwise, as Oklahoma was able to generate 54 offensive yards in contrast to Texas’ 13 off three completed passes from Ewers. The Longhorns allowed the Sooners to get within field goal range twice, but they were only successful the second time around, putting a 3-0 lead on the board to end the quarter.
Ewers’ first pass on the opening drive of the second quarter came as redemption, sending a 26-yarder to sophomore wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr.
Enter Helm, who caught a pass four plays later and rushed for 21 yards, which featured a hurdle-flip maneuver after making contact with a defender. He eventually stumbled into the endzone on a separate seven-yard reception to give Texas its first score.
“It was a rough start, but I think overall we did a good job of when adversity striked, we overcame it,” Ewers said.
With less than five minutes left in the first half, Wisner rushed for 36 yards and crossed into the endzone, but junior defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings from Oklahoma forced a fumble. Bolden was hot on Wisner’s tail, diving for the ball to seal another Texas touchdown.
“That’s the effort,” Moore Jr. said. “I think that really just goes to show who Silas is as a person. He was trailing Tre that entire play, and he was just there to go and get on that ball.”
On the following drive, Texas would recover another fumble, this one forced out of the hands of Oklahoma freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. With the clock now in the Longhorns’ favor, Wisner wasted no time, rushing for 43 yards and a touchdown to put Texas up 21-3 at halftime.
Wisner ended up rushing for a season-best 118 yards on 13 carries, averaging nearly 10 yards per carry, and had a career-long rush of 43 yards.
Sarkisian mentioned that Wisner wasn’t initially supposed to be the frontman, but his performance spoke volumes that couldn’t be ignored.
“Tre wasn’t planning on coming in and being the future back, but you could feel his presence on the field,” Sarkisian said. “That was the hand that we went with to try to go solidify the win.”
Ewers was unable to find success from deep passes into the endzone in the second half, and Texas was stuck with two field goal attempts, one in each quarter, to put the score up 27-3 with just over six minutes left in the game.
On Texas’ final drive, junior wide receiver Matthew Golden found Helm for a gain of 30 yards that would ultimately set up a rushing touchdown from Ewers himself. Helm ended with a total of 91 yards and a touchdown on five receptions, averaging 18.2 yards per catch.
The Longhorns didn’t allow a single touchdown from the Sooners, finishing out at 34-3 and received the Golden Hat to bring back home to the Forty Acres.
