Position-by-Position Grades for Oklahoma After Red River Rivalry Loss to Texas

Oklahoma had plenty of reasons for optimism going into Saturday’s Red River Rivalry.

But even with the return of John Mateer and facing a scuffling Texas offense that had issues up front and with its quarterback, the Longhorns dominated the second half to win 23-6 at the Cotton Bowl.

Texas outgained the Sooners 188-88 after halftime, outscoring OU 20-0 after the break.

OU’s position-by-position grades reflect the disappointment, though the defense was certainly better than the offense.

Here’s a look at the Sooners’ positional grades in their first loss of the season:

Quarterback: C-

John Mateer started the game steadily, completing 13 of his first 20 passes, though he had one interception.

But from then on, Mateer was just 7 of 18 with two interceptions.

Mateer was also sacked five times, including four times in the fourth quarter.

Mateer’s thumb clearly bothered him as the game progressed, though the Sooners stuck with him the rest of the way.

Mateer finished 20-of-38 for 202 yards and three interceptions, and had 14 carries for five yards. He didn’t have a run longer than 10 yards.

The Sooners were in position to stretch their lead just before halftime when Mateer made an ill-advised throw into the end zone, where it was intercepted by Malik Muhammad.

Running Backs: D

Oklahoma’s run-game struggles continued.

Tory Blaylock carried the load with 11 carries for 33 yards. His longest runs were a pair of 11-yard gains in the first half.

Xavier Robinson, who came into the game with just 13 carries all season, finished 3 of 7 for 7 yards.

Jaydn Ott, who had a small breakout in last week’s win over Kent State, had one two-yard carry.

Robinson had two catches for 12 yards, and Blaylock one for four yards.

The Sooners must be able to run the ball effectively outside of the quarterback position to have success the rest of the way.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: C

The biggest problems with the passing game laid in Mateer’s hands, but the Sooners didn’t exactly do themselves any favors.

Deion Burks led the way with five catches for 74 yards on seven targets.

Isaiah Sategna, who had been OU’s leading receiver in each of the last three games, had just four catches for 61 yards on 10 targets.

One of the biggest positives from the game was Keontez Lewis’ two catches for 16 yards. Lewis was a game-time decision after suffering a scary injury colliding with a brick wall in last week’s win.

Tight ends Carson Kent and Jaren Kanak were each called for holding penalties in the fourth quarter, with Kent’s wiping out what was a 33-yard run by Mateer.

Burks was called for a false start on an early third-down that helped keep the Sooners from moving into field-goal territory.

Offensive Line: C

The group appeared to show that last week’s improvement in run blocking was a fluke stemming from Kent State’s inability to generate any type of push.

Oklahoma lost Derek Simmons to an injury early after the tackle got rolled up on an early play.

He was replaced by Stanford transfer Luke Baklenko.

The Sooners’ tackle depth has been hit hard with the injured to Jacob Sexton and Logan Howland limiting what they were able to do at the position.

Only one of OU’s penalties was called on the offensive line, with Febechi Nwaiwu being called for a false start.

The group allowed just one sack on Mateer through the first three quarters before the Longhorns got to Mateer four times in the fourth.

Defensive Line: B

Oklahoma’s defensive line came in as one of the top position groups in the country and were solid early, though the playmaking that had characterized the season to this point was largely missing.

The Sooners had 12 tackles for loss, with three coming from Taylor Wein and seven overall from the defensive line, but sacked Arch Manning just once.

Linebackers: B

In his Red River Rivalry debut, Oklahoma State transfer Kendal Daniels led the Sooners with six tackles, including two for loss.

Kobie McKinzie, who was briefly committed to Texas, added four tackles and two tackles for loss.

Kip Lewis had four tackles as well, though was flagged for an offsides.

Texas also managed rushing plays of 37 and 29 yards, the latter on a keeper by Manning.

Arch Manning, Texas — Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) runs for a first down against Oklahoma during the second half at the Cotton Bowl. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Defensive Backs: B-

Manning picked apart the Sooners’ defense plenty, finishing 21 of 27 for 166 yards.

Manning was 2 for 2 on deep passes, with passes of 24 and 21 yards.

The Sooners had just three pass breakups, with two coming from defensive backs (Courtland Guillory, Peyton Bowen).

Oklahoma once again didn’t record an interception and has just one this season.

Special Teams: C-

Let’ get the good out of the way first.

Tate Sandell made both of his field goals, hitting from 42 and 41 yards out in the first half to help the Sooners jump out to a lead.

Texas was forced to punt just twice, with Isaiah Sategna returning just one of those for 13 yards.

Grayson Miller wasn’t his best self, averaging 43.3 yards on three punts, but the backbreaker came early in the fourth quarter when Texas’ Ryan Niblett returned Miller’s 48-yard punt 75 yards for a touchdown to put the Longhorns up 20-6.

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