The Red River Rivalry, every year without fail, is nothing short of magical.
Season after season, fans in burnt orange and crimson make the pilgrimage to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, hoping to experience something surreal and completely out of the ordinary.
In a way, they create that surrealness themselves, filling the stadium for all four quarters and making the energy almost occultish. But in another way, the rivalry carries a sort of magic itself. There’s something about stepping onto the hallowed grass of the Cotton Bowl, knowing how many legendary games have occurred there and how many Texas and Oklahoma heroes have set foot on the same field.
Maybe it was the atmosphere. Maybe it was the frustration of a pivotal Southeastern Conference opener last week that didn’t quite go Texas’ way, and the humiliation of being named a ‘flop’ team in the days since. Maybe it was simply Red River Rivalry magic.
Whatever that “it factor” was, unranked Texas had it on its side in the upset of No. 6 Oklahoma, exiting the field with the scoreboard reading 23-6 and head coach Steve Sarkisian wearing the Golden Hat.
“There was a lot of shit getting talked about our team, about these guys, and I think they responded,” Sarkisian said postgame.
The Longhorns have a lot to account for in this win. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning takes credit for 166 yards and one touchdown, completing 78% of his passes and playing a much better game than Oklahoma’s redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer, who was a Heisman contender before a hand injury sidelined him for three weeks. Mateer threw for 202 yards and three interceptions.
Defensively, Texas played much better than in the last week against Florida, allowing just a pair of field goals and sacking Mateer twice in a row at one point in the fourth quarter with five minutes left on the clock.
“We created three turnovers, we got five sacks. When you look at our defense, there were a lot of great playmakers today, and a lot of guys did some different things,” Sarkisian said.
Some moments, however, were just plain uncanny.
Like junior corner Malik Muhammad’s two interceptions in the first half after his return from an injury that sidelined him against Florida.
Or Manning’s first touchdown to junior receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. for 12 yards after defensive miscommunication in the Sooners’ endzone.
Even more supernatural was a recalled 33-yard run from Mateer, with Oklahoma receiving a holding call and going back to the 44-yard line. Right after, Mateer was picked off by freshman star Graceson Littleton for Littleton’s second pick of the season.
And five minutes later, sophomore kick returner Ryan Niblett returned a Sooner punt straight into the endzone for a 75-yard Texas touchdown, the first special teams touchdown this season.
Something about the Longhorns’ win against Oklahoma felt just effortless — as if luck, as well as grit, set Texas on a straight enough path to sail on through head coach Brent Venables’ top-rated defense and send Sooners flooding the exits with five minutes left of the game.
“I think we learned how to fight today. And I think that we don’t have to wait until the 12th round to try to knock somebody out to win a game,” Sarkisian said. “We can win rounds, and we can continue to fight for four quarters. I think we saw the true character of the men in that locker room today, their connectivity, their love for one another.”
Maybe it’s a team that’s finally learned to play together. Maybe it’s a newfound hunger in the wake of the backlash after Florida.
Or maybe it’s just the supernatural of the Red River Rivalry.
