The Texas Longhorns entered the 2024 edition of the Red River Rivalry looking to avenge last season’s heartbreaking loss to the Sooners. After a sluggish first quarter the Longhorns were able to not only extract revenge, but do so in dominating fashion. It was a far from perfect game but Texas players and coaches will never apologize for a 31 point win over their arch rivals. Let’s dive into the grades for the 120th edition of the Red River Rivalry.
Offense: B
It’s not hard to see why the offense only gets a B. In the 31 point victory, they left points on the field. Starting with Quinn Ewers, who had his worst game in well over a year, he overthrew a wide open Matthew Golden leading to an Oklahoma Interception. Ewers then missed wide receiver Isaiah Bond on a play that would have likely resulted in a 60-yard touchdown. He adjusted fine after the first quarter but still had throws he would like back.
The good on the offensive side was that the run game finally got going. Quintrevion Wisner had 13 carries for 118 yards and a touchdwn. Wisner did have a long run in the second quarter before fumbling but luckily wide receiver Silas Bolden ran past everyone to recover it in the endzone. You could tell after the fubmle that Wisner was running with two hands on the ball to prevent further fumbles. He may have earned the starter role after his performance against the Sooners. Wisner and Blue as a tandom could be just what the Texas offense has been missing.
Defense: A+
The Sooners had just 237 yards of total offense and some of that was Texas givingup underneath plays in the second half when the game was well in-hand. With turnovers and lack of the offense moving the ball early on, the defense was put in bad spots. The Sooners started their first few drives around midfield but it did not matter. The Longhorns defense simply overwhelmed the Sooners offense from the start and did not let up all game.
Texas had a season high 30 pressures on Saturday. That is an amazing number. To put in perspective the next highest highest they had was 19 against Michigan (H/T CJ Vogel, On Texas Football). Beyond the pressures, the defense forced two fumbles which put the nail in the Sooners’ coffin. The Oklahoma offense is not what it has been for the last 20 years but it was a dominant performance by the Longhorn defense regardless. The Texas defense should largely be considered the best in the nation through six games. Allowing just 3 touchdowns to-date is nothing short of remarkable.
Special Teams: A
Special teams had their best all around game of the year. Starting punter Michael Kern was out with an injury which led to walk-on Ian Ratliff handling punting duties. Ratliff did a tremendous job in a big rivalry game given the circumstances. He averaged over 44 yards a punt. Silas Bolden had his best day returning punts, including a 55 yard return which set up a Texas field goal to make it a four possession game.
Kicker Bert Auburn was 2/3 on the day in field goals but did not look his sharpest. Auburn missed a 44-yarder before halftime and due to an Oklahoma timeout was given 2 tries. He missed them both. At some point this season Texas will need Auburn for a big kick. He needs to make sure he doesn’t get in his own head and stays ready as the games get bigger.
