Oklahoma’s offense may have taken its first real step forward in the 27-24 upset of top-ranked Texas.
The Sooners still needed help from special teams and the defense to win at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, and the numbers from the full game are hardly flashy: 234 total yards. But the second half told a different story. After managing just 69 yards and no offensive points before halftime, Oklahoma came out and produced 169 yards and 13 offensive points against one of the nation’s best defenses.
That matters because the Sooners didn’t just stumble into it. They changed the shape of the game by doing the thing they’ve been reluctant to do all season: lean on the run and feature Lloyd Avant. Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle doesn’t seem eager to become a ground-and-pound team, but Oklahoma’s best stretch came when it went against that instinct.
On the opening drive of the second half, Avant touched the ball on the first play with a short catch that gained eight yards. Two snaps later, he broke loose for a 42-yard run. That series ended in a field goal, and the game felt different from there.
The run game did more than move the chains. It forced Texas to respect it, which took some heat off John Mateer and made the quarterback’s job easier. When Mateer isn’t dancing, he’s solid.
Avant finished with 72 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, plus two receptions for eight yards. He didn’t suddenly become a different player.
He simply kept doing what he’s shown all year when Oklahoma gives him enough of a chance. The Colorado State transfer looked like a real weapon from the start of the season against UTEP, and that early impression looks a lot more legitimate now.
The usage numbers say plenty. Avant has 52 carries for 236 yards this season.
The rest of the team has 114 carries for 243 yards. Xavier Robinson is averaging 3.8 yards per carry.
Jonathan Hatton is at 2.9. Tory Blaylock is at 2.2.
Avant is averaging 4.5.
He’s the guy.
And the schedule seems to support the idea that Oklahoma’s offense could keep climbing. Here are the current national rankings in yards allowed per game for the defenses the Sooners have already faced, out of 138 FBS schools: UTEP 110, Michigan 3, New Mexico 10, Georgia 11 and Texas 13.
The defenses left on the schedule look a lot friendlier: Kentucky 100, Mississippi State 96, South Carolina 58, Florida 109, Ole Miss 108, Texas A&M 43 and Missouri 29.
There’s more good news for Oklahoma, too. The Sooners beat Texas without injured offensive linemen Michael Fasusi and Eddy Pierre-Louis. If both return, the line gets more talent and more depth, which should help Mateer feel more comfortable and cut down on mistakes.
This isn’t about Oklahoma suddenly looking like 2017 with Baker Mayfield. It is about a team that may finally understand its offensive identity, with Avant at the center of it. If that holds and the defense keeps playing at a high level, the Sooners still have a path to a memorable season.
In Other News...
Texas Just Learned How Costly That Red River Loss Really Was
The Red River loss to Oklahoma did more than just knock Texas out of the win column. A 47-yard kick by Tate Sandell sealed the 27-24 defeat and ended the Longhorns four-week run at No. 1 in the AP Poll, a stretch that had given the program some early-season breathing room at the top.
The fallout was just as jarring as the finish. Texas dropped to No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 6 in the Coaches Poll, and with several other top-25 teams also stumbling over the week, the rankings shuffled around the Longhorns in a way that makes the defeat look even costlier in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Has A Coaching Question Fans Cant Ignore
Texas left the Red River Rivalry with more than a frustrating 27-24 loss to unranked Oklahoma. The Longhorns were undone by a messy special teams performance, highlighted by a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and a missed late field goal, while the offense also had trouble sustaining drives and converting on third down.
Steve Sarkisian was asked afterward whether the special teams operation needs to be re-evaluated, a question that can linger when a game turns on hidden-yardage mistakes. For a Texas team with bigger goals, the concern now is not just the loss itself, but whether one phase of the game has become too costly to keep overlooking. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Is Now At Center Of Texas' Biggest Debate
Texas left the Red River Rivalry with the kind of loss that lingers, a late field goal handing Oklahoma the win and putting Arch Manning right in the middle of the conversation. Manning was sharp enough in the first half and showed comfort on throws inside the numbers, but the finish turned on a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions that helped swing the game and reopened questions about how the Longhorns are putting him in position to succeed.
For Texas, the larger issue is no longer just one bad stretch in one rivalry game. Mannings decision-making is under the microscope, but so is the play-calling around him, with the debate centering on whether the offense is asking too much at the wrong moments or not enough to keep him on the right track. As the Longhorns try to move past a painful loss, those questions are only going to get louder. [Read more 🡒]