Texas Longhorns wide receiver Emmett Mosley V. (3) bobbles the ball as he is pursued by Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Peyton Bowen (22) during the first half of the Red River Rivalry, on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Chris Swann/The Dallas Morning News
If anything could be discerned from the first half of a Red River Rivalry that was beset by missing pylons from the start and missing offense the rest of the way, it was this: The only way Oklahoma had a chance in this game was if Texas gave it one.
Oklahoma’s only score came via Texas’ porous punt protection that led to a blocked kick. Other than that, John Mateer ran for his life. And was barely hanging on. Only Texas stood in Texas’ way.
And Texas cast a huge shadow.
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Over the final 19 minutes of perhaps the most shocking – if not the most exciting – upset in the game’s history, the Longhorns melted right into the turf. Too many penalties. Too many interceptions. Maybe even too much thinking. And when it was finally done, Oklahoma’s diminutive kicker Tate Sandell was wearing the Golden Hat, planting the flag at midfield and flashing a Horns Down sign after his 47-yard field goal gave the Sooners a 27-24 win over the No. 1-ranked Longhorns.
“You give people chances to hang around in games, and they take advantage of it,” Steve Sarkisian said. “There’s obviously a level of disappointment. There’s a level of anger and frustration because we know we have issues that need to be fixed, and we’re working on those trying to get them fixed. But they reared their rugged head today against a quality team, and that’s what happens in this conference.”
Texas’ issues spread across the midway in a glaring manner over the stretch that cost them the game. Texas couldn’t run the ball in the third quarter. It put more pressure on Arch Manning to make something happen, which led to two critical interceptions, including the first pick-six of his career. And in the game’s waning moments, needing to gain 2 yards to control the clock, the issue may have even rattled Sarkisian’s confidence in his offense.
It all hinges on the running game. The Longhorns had a 10-point lead and received the ball to start the second half. Control the ball. Control the clock. Control the outcome.
Instead, Texas’ five third-quarter rushes produced a total of 9 yards and no first downs. That included a run for no gain by Derek Copper on third-and-1 from the Longhorns 18 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
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From there, the game changed. Thanks to a short punt – Texas’ special teams have been decidedly unspecial lately – Oklahoma had good field position for the first time in the game. Then Texas committed a pair of fouls, accounting for 22 yards and two drive-extending first downs ahead of a game-tying touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter. During the drive, an interception was nullified by a roughing-the-passer call and a third-and-goal became a first-and-goal on a pass interference call. It took all that for Oklahoma to score its first offensive touchdown in 11 quarters of the rivalry. Texas committed six of its eight penalties in the second half.
“My frustration with the penalties is exactly that,” Sarkisian said. “I’m frustrated, because we’re working at it. It’s not for lack of effort. It’s not for teachable moments and coaching and all those things. But clearly, it hasn’t been good enough, and so we’ve got to continue to strive for better. I’m not saying perfection. I’m just striving for better.”
With the touchdown, you could feel momentum shift in the stands. The Sooner fans, which numbered about 35% of the 92,100 at the Cotton Bowl, were loud. The players surged.
And that was before Manning threw the first of two fourth-quarter interceptions. It went nuts after Denton Guyer’s Peyton Bowen picked off a wobbly floater at the Texas 42 and ran it all the way back to give Oklahoma the lead.
“We’ve got to continue to run the ball better, so it’s not all on [Manning’s] shoulders of what he’s got to throw to make all these plays for us to go,” Sarkisian said.
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All of that led to perhaps Sarkisian’s most critical call of the day: To have Gianni Spetic kick a career-long 53-yard field goal with two minutes remaining instead of going for a first down in a tie game on fourth-and-2 from the Oklahoma 41. The kick was wide right. Even if it had been good, it would have given Oklahoma a ton of time to work with.
Sarkisian all but acknowledged a lack of confidence in the Longhorns’ ability to pick up the 2 yards necessary to control the rest of the game. Sarkisian said he went “round and round,” on the decision to kick.
“So, it was like, well, do we have enough confidence in what we had up that I felt like we were going to call to get the first down,” Sarkisian said.
Ultimately, he didn’t have the confidence. And Texas gave Oklahoma another chance.
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Finally, Oklahoma did enough with one to burn the Longhorns. But the burns were mostly self-inflicted.