In a college football season that feels as volatile as any before, don’t be surprised if Texas’ 23-6 victory over Oklahoma marks the moment where the Longhorns become something closer to what they were supposed to be all along.
DALLAS — Arch Manning took the final snap, touched his knee to the ground and bounced back up off the turf at the Cotton Bowl. He cradled the game ball in his right arm before handing it off to running back Quintrevion Wisner as a mass of burnt orange-and-crimson-clad bodies formed and Texas’ celebration began.
Then Manning emerged from the crowd, index finger pointed to the sky as he skipped toward Texas students, dove halfway into the crowd and exchanged his helmet for a black Stetson.
For a much-hyped quarterback and preseason No. 1 team that spent the first six weeks of the season embattled, belittled and dismissed as the championship contenders they were supposed to be, it is here amidst a little patch of chaos otherwise known as the Texas State Fair where the Longhorns seem to find an annual catharsis.
And in a college football season that feels as volatile as one of the thrill rides a few steps from this stadium, don’t be surprised if Texas’ 23-6 victory over previously unbeaten Oklahoma marks the moment where the Longhorns become something closer to what they were supposed to be all along.
“I think we learned how to fight today,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I think we saw the true character of the men in that locker room today, their connectivity, their love for one another, these guys continuing to grind with one another because it’s easy to succumb to the outside noise. There was a lot of (expletive) getting talked about this team and these guys and they responded.”
Even in eras when Texas hasn’t operated at the elite level they’ve established under Sarkisian, the national pleasure taken from their failures has always been a little bigger than most programs. When you have the best of everything and aren’t shy about showing your largesse — which in many ways is what makes Texas Texas — you’re going to get a lot of (expletive) talked about you when you take a second loss in the first week of October.
But the reality, of course, is that things weren’t as bad as they appeared. A seven-point loss on the road to Ohio State is nothing to sulk about. A 29-21 loss at Florida, while not ideal, isn’t a season-killer. After all, the Buckeyes lost twice last year — including to a 7-5 Michigan team — and emerged as the national champion.
Yes, Manning struggled the first month of the season. Nobody would deny that. But playing behind an inexperienced offensive line while getting real SEC-level reps for the first time in his career is no picnic for any quarterback.
The Florida loss may have erased Texas’ margin for error, but as Sarkisian noted, they were in the SEC championship game at 7-1 last year. Even with a loss to Florida, that opportunity was still in front of them.
“It really starts on Sundays,” said Texas receiver DeAndre Moore, who scored the Longhorns’ only offensive touchdown. “What’s the intent that we’re coming into the building with? What’s the intent that we’re coming into Tuesday practice, Wednesday practice with? I think we did a really great job of resetting and understanding that every week needs our best.”
Of course, when Texas’ season is on the line, it always helps to have Oklahoma next up. Though this rivalry has ebbed and flowed over 121 years, there’s little doubt that Texas has the upper hand right now in every way — coaching, recruiting and especially in this matchup.
When Sarkisian was asked after the game about being the second year in a row the Longhorns have kept Oklahoma out of the end zone, he immediately interjected: “Three of the last four!”
For much of the week, the pre-game speculation centered around Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer’s right hand. After breaking a bone against Auburn on Sept. 20 and undergoing a surgical procedure days later, the initial expectation was that he’d miss a month of time.
But Sarkisian didn’t want any excuses. He was glad that, as the week went on, it appeared more and more likely Mateer would play. He liked it even better Saturday when he saw the pressure his defense was able to get on the Sooners’ quarterback, forcing him into three interceptions, five sacks and other significant mistakes like an ill-conceived, drive-killing lateral early in the fourth quarter when Oklahoma only trailed by a touchdown.
A few moments later, Ryan Niblett broke a 75-yard punt return to expand Texas’ lead to 20-6 and the game was basically over.
“They flipped the script in the second half,” said Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, who is now 1-3 in this rivalry. “The pile went the wrong way too often and all year it’s been exactly opposite.”
Manning also flipped the script. For perhaps the first time all year against a quality opponent, he was the better quarterback. Though it didn’t look spectacular, it didn’t need to be: 21-of-27 passing for 166 yards while making good decisions, hitting quick rhythm throws, avoiding bad plays and converting a couple big third downs early in the third quarter to get Texas off and running.
“Being able to stay out of third-and-11,” was the key, Manning said. “We got a lot of talented playmakers and getting it to them quick and letting them go make plays. That’s the thought behind it.”
In many ways, it’s exactly the recipe for what Texas needs to be if Manning is not ready to be a dominant quarterback: Play defense like the Longhorns usually do, don’t make killer mistakes offensively, get the running game going a little bit and pounce on opportunities.
Though Manning struggled last week at Florida, Sarkisian raved about his ability to take hits and get back up, playing his best football late in that game even though it was out of reach. He came back to practice this week and competed in every rep despite nursing some nicks and bruises.
It set a tone for the kind of physicality Texas brought to the table at the Cotton Bowl.
“You earn the respect of your teammates,” Sarkisian said. “That’s the toughness you have to have.”
Now the question is whether it portends a Texas-sized turnaround. At 4-2, the Longhorns are still very much in the College Football Playoff race, especially as the schedule turns a touch more favorable over the next several weeks before closing with Georgia and resurgent Texas A&M in November.
“We’re 1-1 in the SEC,” Sarkisian said. “I said this last week and I don’t think people wanted to hear me, but we won the conference a year ago in the regular season by going 7-1 in conference play. If we can play the way we played today, we’re plenty good enough to compete with any team in our conference. But we have to play that way. We don’t have time to take a deep breath and relax. We have to go further, dig deeper, demand more as coaches and the players have to give more. That’s what it takes.”
And that’s what he saw Saturday. On Oklahoma’s last gasp, when the Longhorns got Mateer on the ground for one final humiliating sack, Sarkisian ripped off his headset, ran toward the field and shook both fists in the air.
That was the glimpse of what Texas could be, was it was supposed to be and what it was against the opponent it wants to beat the most. If this was the reveal rather than the exception, Manning will be at the center of plenty more celebrations before it’s all said and done.
Category: General Sports
