Texas had the game in hand at halftime. Then the Red River Rivalry turned, and so did the conversation around Arch Manning and the Longhorns’ offense.
The No. 1-ranked Longhorns took a 17-7 lead into the break, but the second half belonged to Oklahoma. Texas managed only seven points after halftime, and when the game tightened, the offense again came up empty in the biggest spots.
Manning had been steady through three quarters, taking care of the football and giving Texas a chance to control the night. That changed in the fourth. He threw two interceptions, and both came with immediate consequences for the Longhorns.
The first was a pick six that put Oklahoma ahead 24-17 for its first lead of the game. Then, with Texas still in striking distance late, Manning was picked off again with 24 seconds left as the Longhorns tried to move down the field and set up a walk-off field goal. Manning added another interception with 19 seconds left, and Oklahoma used that opening to march toward the winning kick and pull off the upset.
Afterward, Steve Sarkisian didn’t hide how the loss landed.
"You know for us, there is obviously a level of disappointment. There's a level of anger and frustration because we know we have issues that need to be fixed, and we're working on those issues and trying to get them fixed. But they reared their ugly head today against a quality team," Sarkisian said after the loss.
The defeat knocked Texas from the unbeaten ranks and cost the Longhorns their No. 1 spot. It also revived the same blunt question that has followed this offense: can it deliver when the game is on the line? The unit looked sharp enough early, and Texas’ comeback over Ohio State had pushed the team to the top of the rankings, but Saturday brought a much harsher reminder.
Even so, the season is far from over. Texas’ ranking did not crash, and the playoff path remains open. With a difficult schedule still ahead, a strong finish could leave the Longhorns with a resume the committee will have to seriously consider.
Next up is Florida at home on Saturday, October 17 at 12 p.m. ET, the first game in a three-game homestand.
In Other News...
Oklahoma May Have Finally Found Its Answer At Running Back
For much of the first half against Texas, Oklahomas rushing attack was stuck in neutral, managing only one yard on 13 carries and leaving the Sooners searching for any kind of rhythm on the ground. The adjustment came after halftime, when Lloyd Avant started to look like the kind of back the offense had been waiting for, giving the running game a much-needed lift with a series of productive runs that changed the feel of the matchup.
Avant finished with 10 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown, and his second-half surge was enough to put him at the front of the discussion at running back. Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle both pointed to persistence and execution as the difference, and after that performance, Avant appears to have taken a meaningful step toward becoming the answer Oklahoma has been looking for in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma's Bowl Outlook Looks Very Different After Stunning Texas Win
A last-second field goal from Tate Sandell changed the feel around Oklahoma football in an instant, flipping a matchup with the top-ranked Texas Longhorns into one of the seasons most satisfying wins. Beyond the celebration, the result matters because it gives the Sooners a much better footing in the race for a postseason bowl berth, with the kind of momentum that can reshape how the rest of the year is viewed.
It also makes the postseason picture a lot more interesting, since different media outlets are already floating a range of possible bowl destinations for Oklahoma in 2026. The specific matchups can still move around depending on how the next few weeks play out, but this much is clear: after a win that big, the Sooners are no longer looking at bowl season from the same spot they were before the kick sailed through. [Read more 🡒]
Isaiah Sategna's Red River Heroics Changed Everything For Oklahoma
Late in the Red River showdown, Isaiah Sategna III turned a tense finish into the kind of moment Oklahoma can build around. He made two critical catches in the final seconds against Texas, helping set up the game-winning field goal and giving the Sooners a lift when the game was hanging in the balance. Sategna finished with five receptions for 64 yards, tying for the game-high.
Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle both praised Sategna during that decisive drive, a sign of how quickly he has become part of Oklahomas most important moments. For a team that needed somebody to make a play when it mattered most, Sategna delivered exactly that, and his late-game work added a new layer to what the Sooners can count on down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]