Takeaways from OU's 23-6 loss to Texas
DALLAS, Texas — What started out as a good day for Oklahoma on Saturday soon turned into a disaster.
The Sooners fell to the Longhorns, 23-6, at Cotton Bowl Stadium, dropping their first game of the season. The Sooners (5-1, 1-1 SEC) scored the first six points of the game and went into halftime with a 6-3 lead, before the Longhorns ripped off 17 unanswered points in the second half.
Despite John Mateer returning from injury, the offense struggled to generate any momentum after the first quarter. The defense wore down in the second half, and special teams gave up a 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that essentially sealed the loss.
Here’s a look at the takeaways from the Sooners’ first loss of the season:
John Mateer struggles in return from injury
After all of the speculation about Mateer’s availability for the game, the Sooner quarterback indeed got the start.
It turned out to be a rough day for Mateer, who played just 17 days after undergoing thumb surgery.
Mateer started out well, completing back-to-back passes of 23 and 18 yards, respectively, as the Sooners drove down and kicked a field goal to open the game. But from there, the results were middling. After that opening drive, Mateer completed just 17 of 33 passing attempts for 158 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions, and he was sacked five times.
The Sooners tried to get him going in the running game, but it just didn’t work. Mateer turned 14 carries into 5 yards, with 32 yards losses due to sacks. One of his big plays — a 33-yard run in the fourth quarter — was negated by a holding penalty, and he threw his third interception on the next play. Whether it was his thumb, the rust or the offensive line struggles, it just wasn’t a good day for Mateer.
The offense finished with 259 yards on 3.7 yards per carry.
OU’s rushing attack again proves ineffective
The Sooners asked a lot of Mateer because the rushing attack was nowhere to be found.
The Sooners finished with 48 yards on 30 carries while averaging just 1.6 yards per carry. Tory Blaylock turned 11 carries into 33 yards. Xavier Robinson carried the ball three times for seven yards. Jaydn Ott had one carry for two yards.
The offensive line simply struggled to generate push against Texas’ defensive line. Starting right tackle Derek Simmons going down with an injury in the second quarter certainly didn’t help things. But the Sooners came into the game ranked 97th in rushing offense, and it showed up against the Longhorns.
Arch Manning, Texas offense wears down OU’s defense
The Sooners’ defense got off to a great start. The Longhorns gained just 20 yards on their first three drives, as OU’s defense swarmed Manning and the running backs in the backfield.
But starting late in the second quarter, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian appeared to find something against OU’s defense. The Longhorns marched on a 12-play, 75-yard drive midway through the second quarter to cut OU’s lead to 6-3. On the opening drive of the second half, the Longhorns capped off a 14-play, 75-yard drive with a touchdown to take a 10-6 lead — which they never surrendered.
Over their final five drives, the Longhorns totaled 20 points and 264 yards on 50 plays, scoring on four of those drives.
Manning was efficient and consistently made plays outside the pocket, finishing with 166 yards and a touchdown on 21/27 passing. Most notably, the Longhorns finished with 137 rushing yards while averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
Poor clock management proves costly
The situation were still in a good spot late in the second quarter.
The Sooners’ offense had possession with a 6-3 lead and over four minutes left on the clock. But there was no sense of urgency for the offense, which eventually got down to the Texas 38-yard line.
From there, the Sooners ran the ball on two consecutive plays before eventually calling a timeout with 10 seconds to go. On the next play, Mateer attempted to find Deion Burks in the end zone, but instead threw an interception to end the half. The lack of urgency cost the Sooners three points, and possibly more.
The Longhorns got the ball to start the second half and scored to take the lead. It was brutal sequence for the Sooners to end the first half and open the second.
Not a subscriber? Join OUInsider now and get your first week for just $1. No, this deal is NOT too good to be true! Take advantage today and get the market’s best Oklahoma football and recruiting intel!
Click HERE to subscribe today!