Texas Defense Delivers in Upset of No. 6 Oklahoma

DALLAS, TX — With their backs against the wall, the Texas Longhorns stepped up Saturday with the type of performance that might just save their season.

The Longhorns’ defense was absolutely superb in locking down the No. 6-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in a 23-6 rout at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Texas forced four turnovers, including three interceptions off of Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer.

Meanwhile, Texas QB Arch Manning was an efficient 21-of-27 passing for 166 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.

The Longhorns’ offense struggled to do much early, however, and Texas trailed 6-3 at halftime.

Manning finally led a touchdown drive midway through the third quarter to give Texas the lead, which they extended to 13-6 with a field goal late in the third quarter.

It was a special teams play that ultimately broke the game open when Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards down the sideline to push the Longhorns’ lead to 20-6 with 11:33 remaining.

The Texas defense continued to stonewall the Sooners, and a late 29-yard run by Manning all but finished them off as he waved goodbye to the crowd.

Mason Shipley’s 39-yard field goal with 2:59 left sealed it.

Texas was all but written off after last week’s upset loss to Florida completed their fall from preseason No. 1 to out of the Top 25 rankings.

Yet the Longhorns are still very much alive after this win over their biggest rival. Texas improved to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the SEC standings, while Oklahoma fell to 5-1 and 1-1.

Expect Texas to be back in the rankings next week when the Longhorns travel to play Kentucky.