Turnovers doom Sooners in 23-6 loss to Texas

Heading into Saturday’s Red River Rivalry, all eyes were on the status of star quarterback John Mateer as No. 6 Oklahoma faced unranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns were coming off a loss on the road to Florida.

If you glanced at the 23-6 final score, you might assume Mateer was sidelined — but that wasn’t the case. The Sooners’ quarterback played, yet Oklahoma’s offense sputtered from start to finish. Mateer threw three interceptions, and Texas handed OU its first loss of the season.

Here’s how it unfolded.

First Quarter

Oklahoma opened the game with the ball and came out hot, hitting two chunk plays: a 23-yard pass to Isaiah Sategna and an 18-yard pass to Deion Burks. The drive stalled shortly after, but Tate Sandell knocked through a 42-yard field goal to give the Sooners a 3-0 lead.

Texas showed some life on its opening drive, but a penalty pushed the Longhorns back to 1st and 20. From there, Oklahoma’s defense took control and forced a punt on 4th and 24. On the Sooners’ next drive, John Mateer connected with Keontez Lewis for a big third-down conversion, but the offense couldn’t build on it and had to punt.

The OU defense stayed sharp, forcing a quick three-and-out sparked by a David Stone tackle for loss. However, Mateer threw his first interception of the game on the following possession, picked off by Texas corner Malik Muhammad on a pass intended for Jaren Kanak.

Arch Manning then hit DeAndre Moore for 24 yards, but Oklahoma’s defense tightened up. Taylor Wein made two key tackles for loss, helping force a 55-yard field goal attempt that missed wide.

One noteworthy injury as the quarter ended: the Sooners were already down Logan Howland, Jacob Sexton, and Jake Taylor, making their offensive line depth thin. Things got worse when Derek Simmons limped off the field, with Luke Baklenko stepping in as his replacement.

Second quarter

Oklahoma’s run game continued to struggle after a slow first quarter, managing just 10 yards on seven carries through the opening period. That trend carried over, leaving the Sooners in several third-and-long situations. On one of those, Carson Kent came up clutch with a 13-yard reception to move the chains.

The Sooners looked to gain momentum, but a sack by Texas edge rusher Collin Simmons set them back. Sandell came through again, this time from 41 yards out, to extend Oklahoma’s lead to 6-0.

Texas responded with a spark from a 37-yard run by Quintrevion Wisner, followed by a few nice throws from Manning. The Longhorns reached third and goal from the OU three-yard line, but Peyton Bowen broke up a pass to force a field goal, trimming the lead to 6-3.

Oklahoma had a chance to add points before halftime but made some puzzling clock management choices. The Sooners let the clock run down to 10 seconds before calling their final timeout, setting up a third and two with no timeouts left. Instead of taking the field goal to go up 9-3, Mateer threw his second interception of the half, ending the drive and the quarter.

At halftime, Oklahoma led 6-3. Mateer was 13-of-21 for 119 yards and two interceptions. Deion Burks and Isaiah Sategna each topped 40 receiving yards, while Tory Blaylock led the ground game with six carries for 23 yards.

Third quarter

Texas came out and controlled the start of the second half. Wisner ripped off multiple big runs, Manning scrambled and found Ryan Wingo for 11 yards, then hit Moore for a 12-yard touchdown. Moore was wide open in the end zone, and Texas took a 10-6 lead.

Up to this point in the season, Oklahoma had only trailed for two minutes and fourteen seconds. The question became how Mateer and the Sooners’ offense would respond.

The answer wasn’t encouraging. Mateer nearly threw two interceptions on the opening drive of the half. One was dropped by a Texas defender, and the other was knocked down by Sategna, saving what likely would’ve been a pick.

Oklahoma did manage to flip field position with a solid punt from Grayson Miller, aided by a penalty that pinned Texas deep. Even so, the Longhorns strung together a long drive that started with a 21-yard completion to Parker Livingstone on an impressive throw from Manning.

A 19-yard reception by Wisner on third down moved Texas into field goal range, and the Longhorns capped off a 13-play, 65-yard drive with a field goal to make it 13-6. Tackles for loss by Wein and Reggie Powers kept OU within striking distance.

Through most of the third quarter, Oklahoma had just five total yards of offense. Mateer finally connected with Burks for a 21-yard completion to close the quarter, with Texas leading 13-6.

Fourth quarter

Just when it looked like things couldn’t get worse for Oklahoma, Mateer broke loose for a long run that was called back on a holding penalty against Kent. On the very next play, Mateer threw his third interception of the game. The pass was behind Sategna, who couldn’t haul it in, and Texas came up with the pick.

The Longhorns took over at the OU 44-yard line, but the Sooners defense held firm, forcing a three and out and a 56-yard field goal attempt from Mason Shipley that missed wide. It was a huge break for Oklahoma, which still trailed by just seven despite the offensive struggles.

That momentum didn’t last long. The Sooners offense once again stalled and had to punt, and Texas’ Ryan Niblett made them pay with a 75-yard punt return touchdown to stretch the lead to 20-6.

Oklahoma tried to respond with a quick drive that included a 17-yard reception from Javonnie Gibson, a 12-yard catch from Xavier Robinson, and a 9-yard rush from Blaylock. But back-to-back sacks ended the possession, setting up a 4th and 22 that resulted in an incompletion. Texas took over with 5:36 remaining.

On the next drive, Oklahoma’s defense had a chance to get off the field on 3rd and 2, but Manning broke loose for a 29-yard run that all but sealed the game. Texas capped the drive with a 39-yard field goal to make it 23-6, putting the finishing touches on an impressive showing from the Longhorns and a rough outing for the Sooners in Dallas.

Stats

— John Mateer: 20-of-38 for 202 yards and three interceptions; 14 rush attempts for 5 yards

— Deion Burks: 5 receptions for 64 yards

— Isaiah Sategna: 4 receptions for 61 yards

— Jaren Kanak: 3 receptions for 20 yards

— Tory Blaylock: 11 rushes for 33 yards

— Kendal Daniels: 6 tackles and 2 tackles for loss

— Taylor Wein: 4 tackles and 3 tackles for loss

— Team totals: Oklahoma finished with 258 yards of offense compared to 302 for Texas

Oklahoma (5-1) will look to bounce back on Saturday, October 18, when the Sooners travel to Columbia to face the 3-2 South Carolina Gamecocks.