After the loss at Red River, Texas quickly turns its attention to Georgia

DALLAS – A year after a devastating last-second loss in the Red River Rivalry, No. 1 Texas dominated No. 18 Oklahoma 34-3 on Saturday, but there wasn't much celebration afterward. Unlike coach Steve Sarkisian, who was excited about a State Fair of Texas favorite during his postgame interview.

“I have my corn dog, y’all,” Sarkisian said of the traditional fair fare as he entered the postgame press conference and attempted subtlety during his interview after the Longhorns improved to 6-0 for the first time since 2009 , to eat something secretly.

But with Texas taking on Georgia next weekend, that's about the extent of the celebration, Sarkisian said, a departure from its 49-0 win over OU in 2022, the first in that series since 2018.

“When we won the Golden Hat two years ago, you might have thought we won the Super Bowl,” Sarkisian said. “This year it was like, ‘Okay, we have the Golden Hat back. All right, let's put it in the trophy case and let's keep grinding, let's keep going.'”

The Longhorns got off to a slow start Saturday, having more penalty yards (15) than offensive yards (13) in the first quarter. Quinn Ewers, starting after injury for the first time since Sept. 14, was sacked on the first play of the game and intercepted on his first pass attempt two plays later.

Oklahoma's only point, a 42-yard field goal by Tyler Keltner, came with 10 seconds left in the first quarter, the first time Texas has trailed in a game this season. But the Longhorns' defense never let Oklahoma get into a rhythm, and Texas eventually began to wear down the Sooners.

OU freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. was pressured on 17 of his 38 dropbacks (45%) and went 19 of 30 for 148 yards, and the Longhorns held the Sooners to under seven points for the second time since 1998 (Texas' 49-0). Brent Venables' first-year collapse in 2022 was the other).

Ewers finished 20 of 29 for 199 yards and a touchdown, but was 3 of 9 for 8 yards and that interception when under pressure.

“Overall, I think I need to play better, but I think we did a good job overcoming some adversity,” Ewers said, adding that he was excited about the 2-1 win against the Sooners. “The overall experience and atmosphere can’t be beat, so it’s not hard to get up for this game.”

The Longhorns got a breakthrough from second-year running back Quintrevion Wisner, who had his first 100-yard game with 118, including a 43-yard touchdown run in the second quarter as Texas took control. The Longhorns averaged 5.9 yards per carry while Oklahoma only managed 2.3 yards per carry.

It was another disappointing offensive performance for Oklahoma. Venables has already made a change at quarterback this season, moving from Jackson Arnold to Hawkins. The Sooners have yet to have a quarterback with top-200 passing yards in a game this season.

“Obviously we haven’t been very good (on offense) this season,” Venables said. “We have to get better everywhere. I like the leadership, I like the will of this team. The hunger… we have to help them. We have some people who are inexperienced and we need to continue to help them.

But with another big game looming for Texas next weekend, senior defenseman Jahdae Barron said he was looking forward to getting a win over the Sooners in his final season and then moved on immediately.

“I’m ready for Georgia,” Barron said. “Let’s talk about Georgia. … I’m ready to watch a movie.”

Senior offensive lineman Jake Majors echoed his teammates’ thoughts.

“The good teams enjoy winning more than the great teams because the great teams advance, and that's what we want to be,” Majors said. “We want to be great, so we’re going to enjoy it for 24 hours and then get ready for next week.”

Sarkisian said he wanted to give the Cotton Bowl rivalry game the respect it deserves, corn dogs all over it.

“This is a big game at the University of Texas,” he said. “This game is important to us and I know it's important to Oklahoma too, of course. … In my opinion, this is the best atmosphere in college football.”

But, he said, he sees a focus on what this team can accomplish now that it has a win over the Sooners under its belt.

“We enjoyed the win, don’t get me wrong,” Sarkisian said. “The locker room was fun and all that, but it’s almost like our team knows there’s more work to do.”