Winners, Losers from Red River Rivalry: Oklahoma Sooners Stun Texas Longhorns in 27-24 Clash

Te top-ranked Texas Longhorns took the field on Saturday afternoon in the Cotton Bowl as a heavy favorite in the Red River Rivalry. That’s the thing about rivalry games in college football, though, the intensity typically makes them more competitive and we saw that today in Dallas thanks to the Oklahoma Sooners‘ defense and special teams.

Let’s dive into our winners and losers from the Red River Rivalry, with the Sooners pulling off a stunning upset that will haunt the folks in Austin for years to come.

Loser: Steve Sarkisian, Texas Longhorns HC

Holding the title of both Longhorns’ offensive play-caller and head coach, Steve Sarkisian is on the hook for this team’s two biggest problems. First, continuing to employ special teams coordinator Jeff Banks feels astounding considering it is this program’s most glaring weakness, and the mistakes being made by this unit continue to gift-wrap points to opponents. We also haven’t been impressed by Sarkisian’s offense this season, with very little success found on the ground in this one while Arch Manning’s big moments largely came on pinpoint throws downfield that are a credit to Manning, Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo. Sarkisian might be great at finding talent, but making it all work and surrounding his players with the best coaching staff possible are real issues.

Winner: Cam Coleman, WR, Texas Longhorns

Sometimes it just takes one or two plays to stand out. It’s been a relatively quiet year in Austin for Longhorns wide receiver Cam Coleman. The 6-foot-3 offensive weapon made one of his receptions count on Saturday, beating the Sooners’ secondary deep for a 41-yard score that put Texas up early. After Coleman beat them deep, Oklahoma gave him a bit of extra attention defensively, and that seemed to help Ryan Wingo get free for his 34-yard touchdown. Coleman then came through again to give the Longhorns’ offense the spark it needed, pulling down another clutch grab downfield for a 42-yard gain. It gave Coleman his first 100-yard performance of the year and Texas scored the game-tying touchdown two plays later.

Loser: Arch Manning, QB, Texas Longhorns

The excuses can’t be made anymore that Arch Manning is a first-year starter who needs to learn from his mistakes. He’s been developed by the Manning family to reach the NFL, years poured into the best coaching money can buy with the unmatched opportunity to learn from several legendary quarterbacks in his family. Arch’s physical talent? It’s undeniable, and you saw it on the throws today to Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo. However, Manning’s pick-six happened because of a reckless decision he made under pressure with a wildly off-platform throw that was easily picked off. With a chance to win it later in the fourth quarter, Manning was late on his throw that would’ve put Texas in field-goal range, and it was picked off. Manning’s decision-making and how he reacts to pressure around him continue to be inexplicably awful.

Winner: Danny Okoye, DL, Oklahoma Sooners

It became pretty apparent early in the Red River Rivalry that Oklahoma’s offense wasn’t going to have much success. Fortunately for Brent Venables, after his defense forced a three-and-out inside the Longhorns’ 10-yard line, defensive lineman Danny Okoye came through with a blocked punt in the end zone. Dakoda Fields got his hands on the loose football just in time, finally getting the Sooners on the board.

Winner: Brent Venables, Oklahoma Sooners HC

Redemption. Oklahoma received a ton of mockery from the college football world after Brent Venables’ contract extension became official amid an ugly start to the season for the Sooners. Saturday’s victory in the Red River Rivalry was all about Venbales’ defense. Oklahoma got its first-ever victory against a top-tanked Texas team because this defense won the turnover battle and held the Longhorns offense to 3-of-14 on third down, with a defensive clinic put on in the second half. Venables clearly already had job security, but winning this game will earn him some love from the fan base that the players already felt for their head coach.