The Longhorns had a halftime lead against Oklahoma. Turnovers and a special-teams breakdown helped turn it into a 27–24 loss.
Monday Hangover: Texas Will Be Watching Those Red River Mistakes Again.
Texas will not need anyone to explain why this one stings. The Longhorns entered Red River ranked No. 1, led at halftime and lost to Oklahoma 27–24. The film review will include an interception returned for a touchdown, a blocked punt returned for another and two fourth-quarter interceptions from Arch Manning. Some losses leave a team searching for the difference. This one supplied several places to start.
Oklahoma Cashed In When Texas Made Mistakes
Texas led 17–10 at the break. Oklahoma outscored the Longhorns 17–7 in the fourth quarter and won on a field goal. Peyton Bowen’s 42-yard interception return and the blocked-punt touchdown supplied points without requiring Oklahoma’s offense to put together sustained drives.
That is expensive football. A team can overcome an empty possession. Recovering from a possession that puts points on the other side of the scoreboard is another matter, particularly when the damage comes in more than one phase.
Give Oklahoma credit. The Sooners created opportunities and took advantage of them. Texas still has to examine its part in those plays. The rivalry atmosphere is real, but it cannot become the explanation for every missed assignment or poor decision.
The Longhorns had enough of the game in hand to make the ending difficult to dismiss. They were not trying to salvage an afternoon that had gone wrong from the opening minutes. They were trying to finish one they led.
Manning’s Afternoon Belongs in a Wider Review
Manning’s fourth-quarter interceptions will receive considerable attention, as they should. They helped decide the game. But a quarterback’s prominence can make the review too convenient. Put every failure on the most recognizable player and other problems receive less scrutiny than they deserve.
The blocked punt needs its own accounting. So does the broader sequence that allowed Oklahoma to turn the fourth quarter in its favor.
There is no need to soften Manning’s mistakes. There is also no reason to turn them into a judgment about every game he will play from here. Texas needs answers about this performance first.
Which errors were isolated? Which revealed something opponents may be able to exploit again? How did the Longhorns respond once the game began moving away from them? The final score raises those questions. The review has to supply the answers.
The Next Game Will Say More Than the Next Explanation
The temptation after a loss like this is to choose an extreme. Either Texas was overrated all along, or the rivalry produced a strange afternoon that should quickly be forgotten. Neither response does much useful work.
The Longhorns remain the team that earned the No. 1 ranking entering Saturday. They are also the team Oklahoma beat after Texas held a halftime lead. Both belong in the assessment.
Texas cannot retrieve this game, but it can address the mistakes that helped decide it. That response will be easier to evaluate than any reassurance offered afterward. Confidence should make an honest review easier, not make it unnecessary.
Red River gave the Longhorns a hard afternoon and plenty to study. What they do with it matters more than how they explain it.
