DALLAS- Texas football blew the doors off Oklahoma two years ago, but Saturday’s 34-3 bombardment at the Cotton Bowl it was different.
The Horns haven’t arrived yet, but expectations are much higher than at any time during the Steve Sarkisian era.
Backed by the program’s stingiest defense in nearly 50 years, the first Longhorns feasted on a tasty piece of Sooner, but they’re aiming for bigger game in 2024. A victory over the Oklahoma Early It’s cause for celebration, but the Horns, to a man, wore the look of a team with history on their minds.
They want everything.
Winning a Nerdy Dog
In many ways, this loss was even more impressive than the 49-0 victory two seasons ago, as the Horns spoke like a team that expected to don the Oklahoma hat again and wear the Golden Hat to the 512.
Speaking of mouthfuls, coach Steve Sarkisian entered the interview room with a State Fair staple held in his mouth.
“I have my Corny Dog, y’all!” » he shouted to journalists.
So how was it?
“It’s incredible,” he replied.
But that was in no way sweeter than the victory he was the author of. That said, the postgame celebration, while joyful, lacked the visible outpouring we saw after the beating Texas administered in 2022 — a season after blowing a 28-point lead -7 and lost 55-48 as OU freshman quarterback Caleb Williams showed up. the nation.
“Two years ago when we won the Golden Hat, you would have thought we won the Super Bowl,” Sarkisian said. “This year it was like, ‘OK, we got the Golden Hat back. Alright, let’s put it in the trophy case. Let’s continue. So I think that’s the mentality of our team.
Quinn Ewers is the first to say he hasn’t played his best after missing the last two games with an abdominal strain. He threw for 199 yards and a touchdown — he rushed for another — but threw a pick and missed throws he can normally make during REM sleep. It didn’t matter because the boys on the other side of the ball had his back and then some.
They made promising quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. the true freshman he is and forced two turnovers. The Horns actually showed they were human by trailing for the first time this season, but no one on the east sideline believed there was any danger. This is a veteran ball club born from past struggles and eager to convert those hard lessons into a championship title in its SEC debut and perhaps even more given the current state of things.
Texas crushed Oklahoma.
Then Texas crushed Oklahoma again.
The scariest part for future opponents, including Georgia, which cruised past Mississippi State 41-31 to set up the first UT-UGA meeting since Bevo nearly crushed the Bulldogs in the 2019 Sugar Bowl.
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The defense made the plays that counted
Coaches always talk about sudden changes on defense, and Texas got its taste after Ewers threw an interception on the first drive of the second straight game against Oklahoma.
THE Earlier missed a field goal and missed its opportunity to take the lead as Texas totaled just 15 yards in the first quarter, by far the offense’s worst 15 minutes of the season.
Undaunted, the defense played the type of ball we’re used to watching.
The Sooners recorded just 237 yards compared to a tough 11 led by second-year sensation Anthony Hill, Jr. The middle linebacker showed he clearly listened to his mentor Derrick Johnson, as evidenced by his punch on the ball after Hawkins struggled to get positive mileage in the last two. minutes of the first half.
In a span of 19 seconds, the Longhorns stopped two drives with two recovered fumbles — Vernon Broughton recovered Hill’s punt while Derrick Williams Jr. had the other out of his own field — and turned one into seven points.
The 21-0 lead in the second quarter made the second half a mere formality.
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The Longhorns have allowed 38 points in six games, which is the stingiest defense to start a season since defensive coordinator Leon Fuller’s team in 1977, which allowed 44 points during its 6-0 start. This team, which was first under Fred Akers, who took over from the legendary Darrell Royal, allowed 114 points behind stalwarts Steve McMichael and Brad Shearer. The Horns won the Southwest Conference and beat Oklahoma 13-6 en route to an 11-0 regular season before losing 38-10 to Joe Montana and Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl.
Sark’s train rolls downhill, at full steam and without brakes. After going 11-11 in their first 22 games, the Horns improved to 20-3 in their last 22.
If the college football world wants further proof that the Longhorns are the team to beat midway through the season, just ask the Sooners. Oklahoma was drilled into the Cotton Bowl box by a Texas defense that invoked the past dominance of Longhorn ancestors McMichael, Tommy Nobis, Kenneth Sims, Derrick Johnson, Michael Huff and many others smiling from home and above.
“I’m trying to be legendary”
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables called the Longhorns a complete team in a kind understatement. Sarkisian is at the helm of the deepest, most balanced team in college football. The most compelling evidence came on a day when Ewers was not at his best.
“What I like about our defense is it’s not about one or two guys. There are 11 guys,” said Sarkisian, who added that communication has been a key force in improving this group compared to the 2023 unit that ranked ninth in the country but is not as solid than the current No. 7 group in the country.
The final score was identical to Texas’ 1998 victory when future Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams took center stage with 139 yards and two touchdowns – but the defense not-so-quietly held the Sooners to 197 offensive yards and just one field goal.
Spring fast forward 26 years to the final seconds of a match where the outcome was almost decided but there was little work left on the field. Most Sooners fans were hastily retreating toward the exit, but the orange sections were still packed and cheering as the Sooners were six yards away from their first touchdown of the day.
With several starters still on the line, including defensive back Jahdae Barron and linebacker David Gbenda, the Horns forced Hawkins into three incompletions to keep the Sooners out of the zone for the second time in the last three games.
“We always talk about the standard, this is the standard,” said safety Michael Taaffe, who had one of his team’s five sacks. “We have one standard and that is to keep our opponent out of the paint and that’s what we preach every day. This is how we live. It feels good as a defense to know they never scored a touchdown. And so it doesn’t matter if it’s 50-0 or 34-3, the standard is the standard and that’s how we’re going to play.
The Sooners were an important notch in the Texas belt, but there’s a sense that bigger things await the most complete team since the 2008 squad that was arguably Mack Brown’s second-best at Texas.
“We’re on a mission,” defensive end Barryn Sorrell said. “We preach it every week. It’s not just one match that will get us to our goal. We try to be legendary.
They certainly looked that way on Saturday.
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This article was originally published on Austin American-Statesman: Golden: Texas smokes Oklahoma behind the best defense in almost 50 years
