The Road Warrior Report - Texas Review - October 12, 2019

DALLAS, TEXAS – They said the Cotton Bowl would show whether Oklahoma’s defense was really improved or whether they had been feasting on inferior opponents. Nine sacks, 15 total tackles for loss, and a defensively dominating 34-27 win later, it can safely be said that the Sooner defense is much improved. The score doesn’t really reflect the domination the Sooners displayed in this game, particularly in the first half. If not for a pair of red zone turnovers in the first half that denied the Sooners points, this game would have been a blowout at halftime.

Jalen Hurts was responsible for both of the turnovers, one a fumble and the other a bad interception. However, he had a very good game otherwise, going 16-28 for 235 yards and three TDs and leading all rushers with 131 yards and a TD on 17 carries. That represented the most rushing yards ever for an Oklahoma QB against Texas.

Kennedy Brooks had 105 yards on 10 carries, while Rhamondre Stevenson had 37 yards on six carries. CeeDee Lamb had a monster day, with 10 catches for 171 yards and three TDs. Charleston Rambo had three for 23 yards, while Brayden Willis had one for 25 and Nick Basquine had one for 17.

The first flag of the game was thrown well before the opening kickoff, as the teams came together jawing at the end of warmups. Unsportsmanlike conduct fouls were assessed to every player on both teams, meaning that any player that got an unsportsmanlike penalty during the game would be ejected for their second offense on the day. As it happened, nobody got ejected, at least not for that.



The Sooners took the opening kickoff and T.J. Pledger ran it out to the 34. Brooks swept right end on the first play of the game for 23 yards, then carried for four more. A false start pushed the Sooners back, then Hurts carried for six, then 11 and a first down at the Texas 27. Two plays later, Hurts hit Basquine for 17 yards to the 10. An incomplete pass was followed by a one-yard run from Hurts and an eight-yard catch and run from Lamb. The Sooners went for it on fourth and goal and scored easily on a pass to Lamb, and they led 7-0 with 9:54 to play in the first quarter.

Texas went backwards on their first possession, with Delarrin Turner-Yell dropping Devin Duvernay for a yard loss on first down and Neville Gallimore sacking Sam Ehlinger on third down. The Sooners took over on their own 44 after the punt.



The Sooners moved to the Texas 34 in only three plays. Facing third and five from there, Hurts scrambled left and rumbled for 27 yards, but fumbled the ball to Texas at the UT seven-yard line as he went down, squandering a golden opportunity for points.

Texas picked up a couple of first downs on the ensuing possession, but OU’s defense stiffened and forced a punt that was downed at the Sooner five-yard line. The Sooners moved to the Texas 11-yard line behind a 14-yard run by Brooks, a 22-yard run by Hurts, and a 26-yard completion from Hurts to Lamb. However, on third and eight from the 11, Hurts forced a pass late across the middle that was picked off in the end zone by Brandon Jones, again squandering points.



After two Texas punts sandwiched around the only OU punt of the first half, the Sooners took the ball at their own 45. Hurts hit Lamb for 22 yards on second down, then Stevenson ran for 14 and Hurts for 13 more, and the Sooners had a first and goal at the Texas four. The drive stalled at the two, however, and the Sooners had to settle for a Gabe Brkic field goal from 19 yards out that made it 10-0 with 1:49 to play in the first half. Texas managed an eight-play, 48-yard field goal drive to close out the half, and the Sooners led 10-3 at the half.

Texas picked up a first down on the first possession of the second half, but a Kenneth Murray third-down sack ended the Texas drive. The Sooners went three-and-out on the next series. On the third down play, Texas brought the house, and the Sooners had a screen pass called that might have gone for a TD, but Hurts was pressured and couldn’t find his receiver.



After the Sooner punt, Texas finally got into the end zone. The big play was a 57-yard run from Roschon Johnson that set UT up with a first down at the Sooner four-yard line. Johnson took it in on the next play, and the game was tied at 10 with 8:48 to play in the third quarter.

The Sooners would answer quickly. After a touchback, Hurts hit Lamb for nine yards. Lamb gave himself up but got speared in the helmet by Texas’ Malcolm Roach in a textbook targeting foul. Roach was ejected, and the penalty put the ball at the OU 49. Two plays later, Hurts took a pitch back from Stevenson on a flea flicker and hit a wide-open Lamb down the numbers on the right side. Lamb went inside, then back outside, dodging five Texas defenders in the process of scoring the go-ahead TD. The Sooners led 17-10 with 7:45 to play in the third quarter.



Texas had a special teams blunder on the ensuing kickoff, as they called for a fair catch at the five but dropped the ball. Once the receiver recovered it the ball was dead right there, and Texas had to start from their own five. Two false starts pushed it back to the one, and Texas went three-and-out from there and a short punt gave the Sooners excellent field position at the Texas 38. That led to another Brkic field goal to extend the lead to 20-10 with 4:44 to play in the third quarter.

After another Texas three-and-out where they went backwards on the drive, OU took over at the UT 48. Brooks lost two, then Hurts threw incomplete. On third and 12 from the 50, Hurts was pressured and scrambled left, put the ball all the way around his back, passing it from one hand to the other, then scrambled back right and hit Lamb across the middle for 11 yards. The Sooners went for it on fourth and one from the UT 39, but Hurts’ pass for Lamb was deflected and the ball went over on downs.

Texas would take advantage of the good field position. A 23-yard run by Johnson and a nonsense pass interference penalty were the key plays in getting Texas to the Sooner two-yard line. Ehlinger ran it in from there on an untimed down at the end of the third quarter, and the Sooner lead was cut to 20-17 with 15 minutes to play in the game.

On the ensuing possession, Hurts hit Willis on the first play for 25 yards to the 50. Hurts than ran for nine and two, and Brooks carried for eight and four, and it was first down at the UT 27. On the next play, Hurts hit Lamb at the 10, and he broke a tackle and somehow stayed in bounds and scooted down the right sideline for a TD that made it 27-17 with 11:56 to play in the game.

Texas drove 61 yards in 13 plays on the ensuing possession for a field goal that made it 27-20 with 6:53 to play in the game. The Sooners rolled down the field on the ensuing possession, with Brooks opening it up with a 42-yard run on the first play. Stevenson then ran for 24, and it was first and goal at the UT nine. Brooks then ran for six and Hurts was stopped for no gain. On third and goal from the three, Hurts carried it in, and the Sooners had what looked to be an insurmountable 34-20 lead with 4:19 to play in the game.

Texas went down the field in 2:30 for a TD, helped along by an utterly bogus personal foul penalty for roughing the passer, and it was 34-27 with 1:49 to play in the game. The Texas onside kick bounced over everyone and went out of bounds. Texas had only two times out and the Sooners needed only one first down to seal the game. They got it two plays later on a 10-yard Hurts run and went to victory formation and ran out the clock.

The Sooners now stand at 6-0, with West Virginia coming to Norman for yet another 11:00 a.m. kickoff on Saturday.