The first play of the game was a hint of things to come. A deep pass from Landry Jones to Ryan Broyles for a 40-yard gain.
The Sooners kept pounding from there, turning what some expected to be another tight Red River Rivalry into what can only be described as a 55-17 Oklahoma ‘butt whipping’ of their rivals, Texas.
It may be forgotten this Sunday morning, but this game was somewhat of a defensive battle in the first quarter. That opening drive for Oklahoma stalled because of a stingy Longhorn defense in the red zone. Oklahoma settled for Mike Hunnicutt field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
After exchanging field goals, the teams finished the first quarter with OU on top, 6-3.
After that, Oklahoma’s offense started clicking. Jones finished the game 31-for-50 with 367 yards and three touchdowns, and the Longhorns never found an answer for OU’s passing attack.
Jones said offensive production like Saturday’s game is because he has extremely talented receivers to throw to.
“It just makes my job a lot easier,” Jones said. “I don’t have to be as accurate as I need to be. I can miss a throw every once in a while, and they’re going to make the play on it. So it just takes a lot of pressure off me knowing that I have receivers that I can put the ball up to in tight coverage, and they’re going to make a play.”
OU opened the second quarter with a 19-yard touchdown toss to sophomore receiver Kenny Stills to take a 13-3 lead.
Then the Sooners poured it on.
Sophomore Tony Jefferson picked up where he left off after last week’s three-interception game against Ball State by picking off freshman quarterback David Ash on Texas’ fourth play of the ensuing drive.
OU then capped an eight-play drive with a five-yard touchdown reception by Broyles. The score was 20-3, and the rout was officially on.
A few series later, junior cornerback Demontre Hurst gave the Sooners all the momentum by taking an interception 55 yards to the end zone.
Then it was all Oklahoma, largely due to the Sooners’ stifling defense. Oklahoma forced five Texas turnovers, three of which were returned for defensive touchdowns, an OU program record.
In addition to Hurst’s interception return, junior defensive end David King returned a fumble forced by senior Frank Alexander for a score in the third quarter, and senior cornerback Jamell Fleming ran 56 yards to the end zone after stripping the ball from a Texas receiver in the fourth quarter.
The Oklahoma defenders said the scores were just what the unit, which still feels it has something to prove, needed.
“It was so awesome to see the guys out there creating turnovers and getting in the end zone,” sophomore linebacker Tom Wort said. “That’s what we look for on defense is tying to make plays and get the ball back to our offense. For us to actually get in the endzone is really exciting. We just have to keep improving.”
For a defense that says it needs to keep improving, Oklahoma looked like a team on a mission Saturday. The offense put up close to 400 yards, but the defense beat Texas on its own by scoring 21 points to the Longhorns’ 17.
It was clear from the first quarter this would be an emotional, intense game. After all, it is the Red River Rivalry.
Jefferson said that mentality is the reason the defense was so dominating.
“We knew this whole week going into the game we couldn’t be sitting back quietly,” Jefferson said. “We had to go up there and be in their face. Coaches let us go out and run our mouths a little bit, and it worked out.”
Texas coach Mack Brown played two quarterbacks Saturday, Ash and sophomore Case McCoy. Neither of the two young quarterbacks found sustainable rhythm against Oklahoma. In fact, both spent a good portion of the game scrambling away from pressure.
In addition to the five turnovers, Oklahoma also recorded eight sacks, which tied an OU program record. Alexander led the team with three solo sacks.
Jefferson said the defense knew the two quarterbacks are inexperienced and thought the team could use that to its advantage.
“We knew they had a talented freshman back there at running back,” Jefferson said. “Our plan was to, at the same time, rattle him and the quarterbacks. They’ve got very, very young quarterbacks, and they have never played in this type of game and this atmosphere. So, we knew we could get in their heads and make some plays.”
Texas found the end zone compliments of a Fozzy Whittaker kickoff return for a touchdown. However, the OU defense did not allow Texas to make a return trip until late in the fourth quarter, when the game was already out of hand.
Wort said the players are very happy with the way they played overall, especially in a game of this magnitude on a national stage. However, the Sooners do not want to dwell on the win for too long.
“It’s OU-Texas,” Wort said. “It’s a game we have circled every year. It’s like a bowl game in the middle of the season. To have a big win like that is absolutely awesome. I loved every second of it. That being said, really happy with this win, but we’re just going to look forward to next week.”
Next up on the schedule for OU are the Kansas Jayhawks. The Sooners, now 5-0, will try to move to 3-0 in Big 12 conference play when they travel to Lawrence to take on the Jayhawks on Saturday.
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