Special Teams Help Turn the Tide as Oklahoma Stuns Top-Ranked Texas

DALLAS — Oklahoma authored a stunning upset Saturday, beating top-ranked Texas 27-24 at the Cotton Bowl.

It was the Sooners' first-ever win over a No. 1 team as an unranked squad and their first win over any No. 1 team since knocking off Missouri in the 2007 Big 12 Championship Game.

Oklahoma's grades for the Red River Rivalry after the win reflect a still-flawed but more effective offense, and a defense and special teams that carried the day:

Quarterback: C

This is a big win for Oklahoma.

John Mateer certainly wasn't great — he finished 18-of-26 for 155 yards with no touchdowns, but also didn't have any interceptions or lost fumbles.

His day got off to a rough start with a fumble after a hard sack by Colin Simmons on the third play of the game, though Ryan Fodje was there to recover the drop.

Mateer still had plenty of missed throws, throwing behind tight end Rocky Beers and receiver Isaiah Sategna on critical plays, and earned a head-scratching intentional grounding penalty late with Colin Simmons closing in on him in the backfield.

But after that early fumble, Mateer avoided putting the ball in harm's way.

Part of that was the Sooners' game plan, which largely relied on short throws, but Mateer's decision-making was marginally better as well.

Oklahoma didn't need Mateer to win this game, the Sooners just needed him not to lose it.

Then in the final seconds, Mateer connected with Sategna on back-to-back completions to put Oklahoma in field goal range for Tate Sandell.

Running Backs: B-

The Sooners weren't great running the ball — they finished with just 83 yards on the ground — but turned things around after netting just one rushing yard at halftime and actually looked like a team with an occasional chance to break off a run.

Lloyd Avant turned in the run of the day, a 42-yarder early in the third that helped set up Sandell for a 53-yard field goal to pull the Sooners within a touchdown.

Avant's run was the longest of the season for Oklahoma. He later scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, the Sooners' first ground touchdown since the season opener.

Avant finished with 10 carries for 72 yards and two catches for 16 yards.

Wide Receivers: B-

The receivers were relatively quiet until Sategna's big catches on the final drive.

Sategna finished with five catches for 64 yards while no other wide receiver had more than two catches or 11 yards.

Manny Choice finished with two catches for 10 yards and Elijah Thomas had one catch for 11 yards.

That was it for the position group.

But Sategna's late heroics saved the day.

Tight Ends: C+

Late in the game, Oklahoma tight ends coach Jason Witten lit into his group after a play went awry.

The blocking wasn't perfect for the group but Rocky Beers continued his excellent production with four catches for 29 yards while Hayden Hansen had a 10-yard catch as well.

Beers gave Mateer a strong safety valve in a game where the quarterback didn't have a lot of time to work.

Offensive Line: C+

It seemed like a recipe for disaster.

Not only were the Sooners without tackle Michael Fasusi for the fourth consecutive game, but guard Eddy Pierre-Louis was out with injury and guard Health Ozaeta was hurt in pregame warmups.

Ozaeta played but was spelled by Payton Joseph as well.

Texas' defense sacked Mateer thrice, but the line also did a much better job in run blocking than they'd done at any point this season.

The Sooners had seven three-and-outs, but the offensive line played a major role in Oklahoma's two sustained drives.

Defensive Line: A

David Stone made himself some money Saturday.

The defensive tackle finished with five tackles, just one solo as the Sooners swarmed Texas ball carriers.

Trent Wilson and Taylor Wein had massive sacks during a three-play stretch that preceded the blocked punt touchdown that turned the tide Oklahoma's way.

Wilson's sack in particular was a great sign for the Sooners building depth that could help during the remainder of the season.

Linebackers: B+

After being injured two weeks ago against Georgia, Owen Heinecke bounced back to lead the Sooners with nine tackles in his final Red River Rivalry game.

Kip Lewis was solid yet again, and Cole Sullivan returned for the first time since the Michigan loss to make some solid plays as well.

The linebackers teamed with the defensive front to limit Texas to just 122 yards on the ground.

Secondary: A-

Courtland Guillory looked like he'd made a major gaffe in the final minute, drawing a pass interference flag.

But two plays later, Guillory stepped in front of Manning's pass for the Sooners' second interception of the day.

Guillory's ups and downs on the final defensive drives were indicative of the boom-or-bust nature of the day for the secondary.

But there were plenty more wins than losses.

Texas had eight passing plays of 15 or more yards, but the Longhorns also had seven three-and-outs.

Peyton Bowen made one of the game's biggest plays, with his 42-yard interception return for a touchdown with just more than 10 minutes remaining.

It didn't take long for the Longhorns to challenge redshirt freshman Trystan Haynes, who was making his first career start due to the injury to Eli Bowen.

On Texas' second offensive play, Manning targeted Ryan Wingo but Haynes was all over it, breaking up the pass and helping the Sooners force a punt. But it was also Haynes who trailed Cam Coleman in coverage on a 42-yard TD pass from Arch Manning.

Coleman finished with five catches for 110 yards, but the Sooners' back end still held up fairly well.

Haynes made his share of plays. He and Peyton Bowen finished with seven tackles each while Reggie Powers III had six tackles and a quarterback hurry.

Guillory's penalty was the only defensive penalty of the game for the Sooners (though Adepoju Adebawore was called for a penalty on special teams).

Special Teams: A-

The minus is just there because of Tate Sandell's missed 53-yarder in the first half, but the special teams won the game (along with the defense).

The Sooners got their big special teams play early when Danny Okoye broke through and blocked a punt into the end zone and Dakoda Fields was there to recover it in the back of the end zone.

Fields' touchdown was Oklahoma's first against Texas since 2023, and boosted the Sooners' morale after a barren start offensively.

Sandell then made a 53-yard field goal early in the third quarter to keep that momentum Oklahoma's way then of course hit the 47-yarder to win the game.

Jacob Ulrich averaged 41.6 yards on nine punts, pinning the Longhorns inside the 20 twice.

Isaiah Sategna fair caught the majority of Texas' punts.

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