Texas spent weeks surviving its own mess. Oklahoma made sure all of it came due in the Red River game.
For a month, the Longhorns kept finding ways to win while leaving plenty on the table. There were flashes of brilliance, then stretches of sloppiness.
The defense covered for mistakes. Special teams blinked.
Penalties piled up. Still, Texas walked into the State Fair of Texas at 4-0 and No. 1 in the country, fresh off a dramatic win over Ohio State.
That cushion disappeared fast in a 27-24 loss to a struggling Oklahoma team at the Cotton Bowl.
The Sooners came in scuffling on offense, with just 23 combined points across two Power Four games. Against Texas, they barely needed a full attack. The Longhorns helped hand them the game.
Texas gave up a first-half touchdown when a punt was blocked in the end zone. Later, Arch Manning’s interception turned into a pick-six. Oklahoma also got its first offensive touchdown in three years of Red River after Texas defenders committed multiple penalties that kept drives alive.
There was more self-inflicted damage. Oklahoma showed Texas an apparent fake-punt look that forced the Longhorns to burn a timeout, then settled for a 53-yard field goal that became a major swing in the closing minutes. Sarkisian and special teams coach Jeff Banks took another hit there.
Then came the dagger. With 19 seconds left, Manning threw a brutal interception, and Oklahoma finally put together its first positive passing sequence of the day to get into field goal range. Tate Sandell finished it with a 47-yard game-winner, giving the Sooners their first rivalry win since 2023.
It was the same Texas story, just with a harsher ending: not four complete quarters, not against a lesser opponent, and not this time.
"We've got to find a level of consistency," Sarkisian said. "And I know I've been using that word here recently.
Again, that's my job. That's my job to try to figure that out, to make sure we're putting our guys on offense in the best position to have that confidence, that belief, so we can play a more consistent brand of football."
The offensive problems have been building even with Texas pouring money into the portal. Wide receiver Cam Coleman was the No. 2 player in the class.
Running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown, along with tackle Melvin Siani, were all ranked in the top 60. Texas also kept future NFL tackle Trevor Goosby and receiver Ryan Wingo.
But all that talent has only produced the No. 12 total offense and No. 11 scoring offense in the SEC heading into Red River.
Wingo was asked whether the playbook was too complicated. He was slow to answer, then said he believes the group can handle it.
"We've got to be more consistent as an offense," Wingo said. "I feel like Sark makes it as simple as he can for us. I think it'll come."
Manning has taken plenty of the heat, and with reason. He threw three huge touchdowns against Oklahoma, but his two interceptions were costly. Over his last three games against Power Four opponents, he has six touchdown passes and four picks.
Still, Sarkisian pointed to the run game failing at the moments Texas needed it most.
"We've got to find the right schemes and the right ability to run the ball consistently," Sarkisian said. "We pride ourselves on running the ball, but I know we can be better. We've got to stay committed to it."
But that commitment never really showed up. No Texas running back finished with more than 12 carries.
Freshman Derrek Cooper was the best answer they had, bulldozing his way for 41 yards on the final drive of the first half to help set up a field goal. He got only two more touches the rest of the game.
Afterward, Sarkisian was asked if he would re-evaluate his role as playcaller after the offensive struggles.
"Not a chance. We need to play better."
He was also asked whether special teams coordinator Jeff Banks, one of his close friends, would be under evaluation after allowing two touchdowns in two games.
"No."
Sarkisian brought Banks, offensive line coach Kyle Flood and quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee with him from Alabama to Austin. They are the only members of his original staff still untouched, and the sense of accountability stops there.
Texas now drops from No. 1 and could slide several spots. The Longhorns are heading into a brutal stretch of five straight games against ranked opponents, with little time to sort through the damage as the SEC schedule tightens.
Manning, the face of Texas’s rise and now its fall from No. 1, sat quietly at the podium after the game and mostly pointed questions toward teammate Hero Kanu. He did let one message land.
"We have to figure out how to be better," Manning said.
In Other News...
Kentucky Has A Real Week 6 AP Poll Respect Case
The Week 6 Associated Press poll once again turned into a reminder that rankings are about more than just what happened on the field last Saturday. Texas fell from No. 1 to No. 7 after a close loss, while Kentucky stayed buried lower than several other SEC teams with similar records, and James Madison still could not crack the top 25 despite being unbeaten. For Oklahoma fans, the most glaring wrinkle was familiar in a different way: the Sooners remained unranked even after beating the No. 1 team.
The bigger issue is what the poll seems to reward, and what it seems willing to overlook. Preseason expectations and strength of schedule appear to matter as much as recent results, if not more, which is why some teams get the benefit of the doubt while others do not. For Oklahoma, that leaves a clear opening to keep stacking wins and force the voters to eventually catch up, even if the respect does not arrive as quickly as the on-field resume would suggest. [Read more 🡒]
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The matchup carries an extra layer because Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby will see Oklahoma and Brent Venables for the first time since leaving his job as the Sooners offensive coordinator. With both programs coming off recent on-field ups and downs and more games looming before then, this one already has the feel of a late-October game that could mean more than just another SEC date on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Turned Red River Into An SEC Statement Fans Will Love
The Red River Rivalry already carries enough weight on its own, but Oklahoma turned this years meeting at the Cotton Bowl into the kind of result that can linger well beyond October. Peyton Bowen gave the Sooners a huge lift on defense with an interception returned for a touchdown, and Tate Sandell finished the job with a 47-yard walk-off field goal that sent Oklahoma home with a win over the No. 1 Texas Longhorns.
It was the sort of performance that gets noticed well beyond the rivalry itself, and both players were rewarded for it when the SEC handed out its weekly honors. Bowen was named the leagues defensive player of the week, while Sandell earned special teams recognition, a fitting nod for a game Oklahoma turned into a statement in front of a national audience. [Read more 🡒]