Going into biggest rivalry weekend of the year for Oklahoma football, I don’t think even head coach Lincoln Riley knew what to expect out of his team when it stepped on the field on Saturday.
Becoming one of the most exciting OU vs. Texas games ever, the Sooners definitely still have some work to do but at the same time exceeded expectations. Specifically, the Sooners exceeded what everyone was expecting on the defensive side.
Coming out much more fired up than we have seen the last two conference matchups, the Sooners were looking ready to get the job done. For the defense, it seemed like that fire never went away. However, for the first time in a long time, OU’s offense was what did not look up to par in the Cotton Bowl.
With so much expectation being placed on Spencer Rattler, it has become increasingly more noticeable the pressure is weighing heavy on the QB1. After throwing an interception in the first half and what appeared to be a major lack of communication within the offense, Riley for the first time since he has been the head coach of Oklahoma football, pulled his starting quarterback because Rattler just wasn’t getting the job done.
Going in at a halftime with the game at 17, the Sooners came back out looking fired up and ready to play including Rattler himself. Starting out super strong in the second half, the Sooner defense held Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger and his offense off, and Rattler completed for two more TDs making the game 31-17 with the Sooners on top.
At this point in the game with only eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, most people figured the game was over. That was until the Sooners quickly fell back into their typical too comfortable ways. Ehlinger rushed for two more touchdowns, and it seemed like OU’s defense didn’t really have much of a care after performing so much better than it usually does for the rest of the game.
Overtime
Heading into overtime, both teams absolutely turned it on giving everything they had, scoring in the first two overtimes. In the third overtime, Longhorns kicked a field on fourth down, and it seemed like the end was near for the Sooners. That was until Texas’ field goal was blocked, and all the Sooners needed to do at this point was to kick its own.
In Oklahoma’s possession in the third overtime, everyone was expecting a routine field goal from OU’s kicker Gabe Brkic. However, he missed the field goal as well taking the two teams into a fourth overtime.
Finally, in the last and fourth overtime, both teams were required to go for a two-point conversion to win the game. The Sooners had the ball first, quickly scoring and completing the two-point conversion. The Sooners knew from the first three overtimes just because they scored doesn’t necessarily mean the game is over. Luckily for Sooner nation it was. With Ehlinger looking for a pass into the end zone, OU defender Tre Brown, intercepted it to win the game, finally, for the Sooners.
This year’s Red River Showdown was the highest-scoring Oklahoma-Texas game ever. However, this does not mean that both teams are on top of their game, as it is quite actually the opposite.
The Oklahoma Sooners certainly looked better this weekend than they have the last two in many different aspects. But, it is still very clear Oklahoma football has more work to do if it wants to end its season with a winning record.
