Despite Texas defeating Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry 34-3 and advancing its lead on the all-time leaderboard against the Sooners to 64–51–5, the Longhorns have once again showed a pattern this season with their first quarter jitters.
Texas finished the game with 406 total yards and four touchdowns; however, after the first quarter, Texas held a mere 13 total yards, 0 first downs and were 0-3 on third down attempts, which is something they have excelled at up to this point in the season.
“First quarter was tough,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We just were a little off, offensively, they got the lead, but I don’t think anybody panicked and that’s the sign of a really good team.”
It was apparent that there were some nerves coming from the Texas offense due to the intense pressure from the Oklahoma interior. Junior quarterback Quinn Ewers, in his first game and start back from his injury, did not have ample time in the pocket, completing three of five passes the entire quarter and tossing one interception. However, this is nothing new for Texas who has had a first quarter interception in every game this season besides Michigan and Mississippi State.
While the defense was able to prevent an Oklahoma touchdown the entire game, the Sooners managed to get in field goal range, leading the first quarter 3-0, with 54 yards, six first down conversions and dominated possession time for the first 15 minutes.
Despite the setbacks, the beginning of the second quarter sparked the transformation of Texas back to what’s supposed to be the No. 1 ranked team in the country.
Texas held 222 yards in the second quarter alone, with 113 rush yards, going 3-5 on third down completions and three touchdowns. Despite the offense’s turnaround, it was obvious that Ewers struggled with the intense transition from sideline to a big rivalry game. Luckily, the rest of the team showed they were just fine without the quarterback performing at his best.
“I’m not going to tell you I was rusty, because I’ve practiced the last two weeks, and it’s just solely on me,” Ewers said about his performance.
Texas was able to excel offensively in their run game with rushing touchdowns from sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner and Ewers.
On top of that, the defense contributed to offensive success by recovering two turnovers that resulted in one Texas touchdown and a lot of intensity on the Texas side of the Cotton Bowl Stadium. The Texas team expressed after the game that while they are excited about the win, they have much they can improve on and must keep looking forward.
“Our best ball is yet to come,” junior defensive back Michael Taaffe said.
