The Texas Longhorns (5-1, 3-0) lost their last two games to rival Oklahoma (5-1, 2-1) by a combined 10 points. Determined to not let today be another close one that got away, Texas defeated its north of the border rival 48-45, thanks to Cameron Dicker’s 40 yard field goal with :09 left in the game. The Longhorns survived a furious comeback by Kyler Murray and the Sooners, who trailed Texas by as many as three touchdowns after three quarters of play.
Sam Ehlinger threw for 314 yards, including two touchdowns and no interceptions. Ehlinger also ran for three scores, sealing #19 Texas’ win and improving to to 5-1 on the season. The Longhorns haven’t won five straight since 2009, and now have a legitimate path to a Big 12 Championship and possibly more.
Are they back?
There is still half a season left, but as Tom Herman says, his team has made “tremendous progress.”
While the win wasn’t resounding, it was a win. And it was an important one. Texas goes 1-0 again this week, meeting Herman’s goal for the 5th straight week after losing the season opener to Maryland.
Texas won the coin toss and opted to defer to the second half. Oklahoma and Kyler Murray wasted no time in getting things started. Murray marched the Sooners downfield in 4 plays before finding Tight End Grant Calcaterra in the end zone. The play was ruled incomplete as officials ruled Calcaterra did not maintain possession when hitting the turf. It didn’t matter much – Murray found Trey Sermon for 24 yards and followed that up with a 4 yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown from four yards out. At the 12:20 mark, Texas trailed Oklahoma 7-0.
Sam Ehlinger orchestrated a 5 play, 75 yard scoring drive on the Longhorns’ first possession to answer the Oklahoma score. After consecutive deep passes to LJ Humphrey and Collin Johnson, Humphrey found Johnson from 2 yards out for the touchdown. With 10:14 left the score was tied at 7-7.
The Longhorns would quickly get the ball back on Oklahoma’s next possession, courtesy of junior safety Brandon Jones. Jones intercepted Murray and returned it to the Sooner 29 yard line. The officials would tack on an additional 15 yards after a personal foul on the return. Texas wouldn’t find the end zone but managed to capitalize on the turnover and take a 10-7 lead on Cameron Dicker’s 44 yard field goal.
Oklahoma responded with a field goal of their own to start the 2nd quarter after the Texas defense held the Sooners. Austin Siebert’s 32 yard kick split the uprights and tied the score at 10-10 with 14:56 left.
Texas would account for the next two scores, putting a pair touchdowns on the board to take a 24-10 lead. Tre Watson hauled in a Sam Ehlinger pass for 28 yards and the score to put the Longhorns up 17-10. On Oklahoma’s next possession the Texas defense forced a three and out, setting up the the next scoring drive.
After a heavy dose of Keaontay Ingram who barreled forward for 25 yards on 3 carries, the Longhorns employed a bit of trickery. Lil’Jordan Humphrey found Sam Ehlinger for 8 yards to the Oklahoma 9 yard line. Ehlinger would reach the end zone on the following play on a keeper. Texas led 24-10 with 5:12 remaining in the half.
With :28 left in the half, Oklahoma wideout CeeDee Lamb would cut the Texas lead to 24-17, finding the end zone from 5 yards out on a short pass from Murray.
On the first drive of the second half the Longhorns would strike again after converting a key 4th down to keep the drive going. Ehlinger would barrel in from 5 yards out to make the score 31-17 with 10:26 left in the quarter.
As expected, Murray answered. This time on a 77 yard pass to Marquise Brown which ended a 3-play, 83 yard scoring drive.
After punting to the Sooners, the Texas defense forced a fumble on Murray, his second turnover of the day, recovering the ball at the Oklahoma 23 yard line. Sam Ehlinger would convert the turnover into a rushing touchdown from the Sooner 2 yard line, good for his third rushing score of the day. With 6:21 left in the third quarter, Texas led 38-24.
Ehlinger extended the Texas lead to 45-24 on a 24 yard touchdown pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey with :56 left in the quarter.
Oklahoma immediately began their comeback, scoring three consecutive touchdowns on three offensive possessions. With 2:38 remaining in the game, Texas saw a three touchdown lead evaporate and the game tied at 45-45.
The Longhorns held the last possession of the game, eventually setting up true freshman kicker Cameron Dicker for a game-winning 40 yard field goal.
Dicker delivered, splitting the uprights and sending the Longhorns to a 48-45 win over the Sooners.
Texas running back Keaontay Ingram led the Longhorns in rushing with 86 yards on 13 carries. Lil’Jordan Humphrey scored one touchdown and racked up 133 receiving yards to lead his team in receiving.
Kyler Murray finished with 304 yards passing and four touchdowns for Oklahoma. He also added a rushing touchdown and 92 yards on the ground. Sooner wide receiver Marquise Brown tallied 9 receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns to lead Oklahoma in receiving.
Texas will host Baylor at Darrel K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin next Saturday at 2:30 PM.
Game Notes
- Texas improved to 5-1 overall for the first time since the 2009 season
- The Longhorns are 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference for the first time since 2013
- 48 points is the most points Texas has ever scored against Oklahoma
- Texas improves its record to 62-46-5 all-time against the Sooners
- Sam Ehlinger’s 314 passing yards are the fourth-most in school history against Oklahoma
- Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s 133 receiving yards were the fourth-most against the Sooners in school history
Stats
