No. 1 Texas beats No. 18 Oklahoma 34-3 in 1st Red River Rivalry game as SEC members
DALLAS – Quinn Ewers returned from injury to lead No. 1 Texas to a 34-3 win over 18th-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday, throwing for 199 yards with the go-ahead touchdown and running for another score in the teams' first Red River Rivalry matchup as Southeastern Conference members.
Quintrevion Wisner ran for 118 yards and a touchdown for the Longhorns (6-0, 2-0 SEC), and his fumble at the end of another long run was recovered in the end zone by teammate Silas Bolden for a TD.
Ewers overcame a sluggish start and finished 20-of-29 passing in his first game since an abdomen strain four weeks ago. He was sacked for the only time on the game's first play and threw an interception on his first pass.
"Definitely good to be back," said Ewers, who is from nearby Southlake. "It was a rough start, but overall I think we did a good job of overcoming some adversity early."
The first meeting under their new conference logo was the 120th in the series that dates to 1900 and has been played annually during the State Fair of Texas since 1929. Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2) won five of the last six times they played while together in the Big 12, but the Longhorns have a 64-51-5 series advantage.
Texas went ahead to stay when Ewers rolled to his right, then threw back left to Gunnar Helm for a 7-yard TD early in the second quarter for a 7-3 lead. That was after the Longhorns trailed in a game for the first time this season.
"We played well in all three phases. We don't ever want to be one-dimensional," Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said. "When the offense was struggling early, we had the defense. ... We felt like we built a team to do that."
Michael Hawkins Jr., the first true freshman quarterback to start for Oklahoma against the Longhorns, was 16 of 24 for 120 yards. He ran 20 times for 27 yards, including being sacked five times, while the Sooners had only 225 total yards.
Bolden's heads-up recovery in the back corner of the end zone with 2:21 left in the first half came at the end of a 36-yard run by Wisner, who had the ball knocked out by Robert Spears-Jennings inside the 5.
"It was a total effort play for him to make that play," Sarkisian said.
Hawkins fumbled on the first play after the 2-minute timeout, stripped by Anthony Hill Jr., and Wisner had a 43-yard TD on the next snap for a 21-3 lead in one of the hottest Red River games. It was 92 degrees at kickoff at the Cotton Bowl, one below the record.
Texas missed the chance to add to its halftime lead after Oklahoma lost another fumble on its next play, but missed a field goal. The Longhorns finished with 406 total yards.
"What I was most disappointed in was the defensive side of the ball," Sooners coach Brent Venables said. "We're capable of playing in a more consistent, precise way."
Texas: Arch Manning won both of his starts while Ewers was out, but Sarkisian was clear throughout that there was no quarterback controversy. Ewers got his second Red River victory coming off multiple missed games. The Longhorns won 49-0 two years ago when he threw four TD passes after missing the previous three games with a collarbone injury.
Oklahoma: With their receiving corps decimated by injuries — five receivers were out — and the rushing game non-existent, the Sooners put a heavy load on the freshman quarterback starting the rivalry game in his hometown. They won his first start at Auburn, but their only score Saturday was Tyler Keltner's 42-yard field goal on their first possession, after Billy Bowman's interception at the UT 45.
The Longhorns have fallen out of the No. 1 spot after winning a game this season, and finished before No. 2 Ohio State played at No. 3 Oregon on Saturday night. But Texas should be in the top spot for the fourth poll this season, which would be their most since the final six of the 1977 regular season. The Sooners could fall out of the Top 25 for the first time this year.
Texas: With a win already this season over defending national champion Michigan, the Longhorns are home next Saturday night against No. 5 Georgia, which won the 2021 and 2022 national titles.
Oklahoma: Home for the first time in four weeks to play South Carolina next Saturday.
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