DALLAS, TX – A dominant third quarter led Texas past rival Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry and saved the Longhorns 2025 championship aspirations. The Horns trailed 6-3 at halftime as the offense continued to struggle through the first two quarters. 

Something clicked out of halftime, however, as Arch Manning & Co. went on a 14-play. 75-yard drive that took 7:11 off the clock and culminated in a touchdown pass from Manning to DeAndre Moore Jr.  Manning was 4-for-4 on third down during the scoring drive, including the strike to Moore. The touchdown gave Texas a 10-6 lead and the Horns never trailed again. 

The third quarter dominance continued on the next Texas drive when the Longhorns went on a 13-play, 65-yard drive that began in the shadow of their own end zone. It ended with a field goal. Texas ran 25 plays in the third quarter compared to Oklahoma’s four. Texas outscored the Sooners 10-0 in the quarter and outgained them 140 to 26 while holding onto the football for 13:26 of the 15 minutes. 

A 75-yard punt return touchdown by Ryan Niblett with 9:59 left in the game sealed it as the Oklahoma offense never threatened to make it a game after halftime. Texas added a late field goal to win 23-6. 

This was a must-win game for a Texas team that would’ve fallen to 3-3 and out of the SEC and College Football Playoff discussion with a loss to Oklahoma. Instead, the Horns launched themselves back into the AP Poll and into the national picture with a dominant win over their rivals. Upcoming games against Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt give Texas a chance to build momentum and a resumé before heading to Georgia on Nov. 15. 

THREE THINGS 

Arch Manning Emerges: Manning sure didn’t play like a flop in his first start against Oklahoma. The much-maligned first-year starter finished 21-of-27 for 166 yards and a touchdown, adding 34 yards on the ground. Nine different Longhorns caught passes from Manning in the win. Ryan Wingo and Tre Wisner tied for the team lead with five each. 

Those aren’t video game numbers and maybe box score watchers won’t give the former five-star any credit, but anyone who has watched this Texas offense through the first five games of the season could see the improvements, especially in the second half. Manning was picture perfect for the Horns, orchestrating a season-defining type of drive to start the third quarter. 

Manning received an outsized amount of preseason hype and that’s been overcorrected to an outsized amount of criticism. He hasn’t been great through five games, but he was by no means the biggest problem with the Texas offense, especially last week against Florida. The truth is in the middle. He’s a young, inexperienced quarterback with a ton of potential and he’s seemingly improving with each successive start. That’s how quarterback maturation typically goes. 

Tre Wisner Game: Wisner’s coming out party in a surprising 2024 was against Oklahoma when he topped 100 yards rushing for the first time in his career. He ended that game with 130 total yards and a touchdown on 17 touches. He ended up as Texas’ leading rusher on the year, closing the campaign with 1,064 rushing yards and 311 receiving yards. 

The start of the 2025 season was frustrating for Wisner and the Texas running game as he and C.J. Baxter struggled with injuries. With Baxter out again against Oklahoma and the Horns requiring some balance in the run game to take pressure off Manning, Wisner once again delivered in the Cotton Bowl. His 94 rushing yards on 22 attempts were more than every other rusher on both teams combined. He outrushed Oklahoma 94-48 by himself. His five catches were tied for a team high, as well. 

Defense Dominates: This was never going to be the stereotypical shootout in the Cotton Bowl. Both defenses held advantages over the opposing offense and that put pressure on the Longhorns to bounce back from an uncharacteristic performance on the road last week in the loss to Florida. 

And bounce back they did. Oklahoma finished the game with 258 yards while averaging 3.7 yards per play. John Mateer finished 20-of-38 for 202 yards and three interceptions. The Sooners managed just 48 rushing yards on 30 carries. Texas accounted for five sacks and seven tackles for loss. 

Colin Simmons had his first breakout performance of 2025 with 2.5 sacks. Malik Muhammad, who missed the Florida game with an injury, recorded two picks. Michael Taaffe, who led the defense with nine tackles, also added an interception and a sack. Jelani McDonald had eight tackles two pass breakups. Anthony Hill finished with seven stops. Those are the players Texas counts on and they all played big in a must-win game.