Oklahoma walked into the 2026 Red River Rivalry carrying a rough résumé against Power Four opponents, with losses to Michigan and Georgia already on the board. By the end of the afternoon, none of that mattered.
The Sooners found a way to knock off No. 1 Texas 27-24 on a field goal as time expired, a result that sent the Cotton Bowl into chaos and shook up the SEC.
It was the kind of win Oklahoma had to earn in every phase. The offense never really found a groove, but the defense and special teams kept bailing it out until the whole thing came together. That balance gave the Sooners something they hadn’t pulled off in a decade: touchdowns from offense, defense and special teams in the same game.
The early signs weren’t promising. Oklahoma opened with five straight three-and-outs in the first quarter, and Texas jumped ahead when Arch Manning connected with Cam Coleman on a long touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead. For a team that has spent much of the season fighting through offensive issues, that could have been the start of another long day.
Instead, special teams flipped the script. Oklahoma blocked a punt for a touchdown to tie the game early in the second quarter.
Later, in the fourth, Peyton Bowen took an interception back for a touchdown to put the Sooners in front and ignite the crowd. Then came the offensive score that had been waiting to show up: Lloyd Avant’s touchdown run in the third quarter, Oklahoma’s first offensive touchdown since 2023.
That combination put the Sooners in some rare company. This was Oklahoma’s eighth all-time win over a top-ranked opponent, but only its third this century, joining victories over Missouri in 2007 and Nebraska in 2000. For a team that has struggled so much on offense, landing its first win over a No. 1 opponent in nearly 20 years made the result even stranger.
The numbers on offense were still ugly. Oklahoma finished with 238 yards, and John Mateer had a shaky day, looking hesitant when it came time to throw downfield.
But the Sooners didn’t need a clean offensive performance to win because the defense and special teams did the heavy lifting. In fact, only one team had won a game against a No. 1 opponent with fewer yards: Ohio State last year against Texas.
Texas, meanwhile, leaves the game with a season full of extremes. The Longhorns have already shown they can rally from deep holes, as they did against then-No.
1 Ohio State. They also just blew a lead as the nation’s top-ranked team, and that’s a brutal turn for a team that had looked far from dominant even while sitting at No.
That combination puts Texas in a strange slice of AP poll history. The Longhorns are now just the second team in the AP poll era, which dates to 1936, to erase a double-digit deficit against an AP No. 1 team and also squander a double-digit lead as the AP No. 1 team in the same season.
The only other team to do it was 2007 LSU. Texas beat No.
1 Ohio State 24-23 and then lost 27-24 to Oklahoma.
The road ahead is no friendlier. Texas faces ranked opponents in five straight games: Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri and LSU.
Florida likely drops out of the poll after losing to South Carolina on Saturday, but the stretch still leaves little room for error. If the Longhorns want to stay in the playoff conversation as a three-loss team, they’ll have to sort out the offense fast.
For Steve Sarkisian, the pressure only rises if that doesn’t happen. For Brent Venables, Saturday was the kind of win that changes the mood in Norman in a hurry.
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Texas Volleyball May Have Found Its SEC Identity In Arkansas Rally
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Gary finished with 33 digs, setting a Texas rally-scoring era record and giving the Longhorns the kind of back-line steadiness that can travel in conference play. For a team still trying to define itself in a new league, the rally against Arkansas offered a useful glimpse of what Texas wants to be: stubborn, balanced and capable of turning a tense night into a decisive finish once the match starts to bend its way. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Opens Red River With Early Drama Beyond The Score
The Red River Rivalry brought its usual edge at the Cotton Bowl, and Texas wasted little time making an early statement. Arch Manning connected with Cam Coleman for a first-quarter touchdown, giving the Longhorns a quick spark in a game that already felt charged before either side settled in.
Even before the scoring play, the opening quarter carried plenty for Texas fans to track beyond the scoreboard, from the pregame warmups to the injury situation that shaped the tone of the afternoon. With key plays coming fast and both teams absorbing the atmosphere of one of college footballs most watched rivalries, the Longhorns had plenty of drama to navigate right away. [Read more 🡒]