Three Takeaways From Oklahoma's Loss to Texas in the Red River Rivalry

The No. 6-ranked Sooners' undefeated season came to an end at the hands of Texas at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.

Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Deion Burks (4) looks on after an interception by Texas defensive back Malik Muhammad. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

DALLAS — Brent Venables officially has a Texas problem. 

The OU coach was embarrassed by the Longhorns in two of his first three trips to the Cotton Bowl as head coach, defeats that were broken up by a dramatic 34-30 win. 

Texas entered the 2025 Red River Rivalry unranked, 3-2 overall and reeling from a loss to Florida, but the Longhorns ended Oklahoma’s unbeaten season. 

Quarterback John Mateer returned for the contest, though he looked far from his typical self.

He threw three interceptions and the Longhorns returned a punt for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to fuel a 23-6 win on Saturday. 

End of First Half Proves Costly 

Texas defensive back Malik Muhammad celebrates an interception at the end of the first half. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma got caught between two minds at the end of the first half. 

The Sooners had the ball on their own 45-yard line with one timeout coming out of the two-minute timeout, but offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle couldn’t seem to decide if he wanted to coach aggressively or settle for the field goal. 

He called three straight rushing plays after the stoppage, then, facing third-and-2 with 28 seconds left, Arbuckle subbed. 

Texas milked the clock, and eventually the Sooners called their final timeout with 10 seconds before halftime. 

Arbuckle took a shot, and though Mateer had Deion Burks open, he missed his receiver and instead threw an interception. 

Kicker Tate Sandell wasn’t even given a chance to extend the lead to 9-3 before half, then Texas seized momentum. 

Sark Outwits Venables After Halftime

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables looks on during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Steve Sarkisian’s Texas offense appeared to get into a groove before halftime. Though the drive stalled out and the Longhorns had to settle for a field goal, Texas marched 75 yards on 12 plays to cut OU’s lead to 6-3.

After the intermission, Texas played keepaway. 

The Longhorns took the opening drive of the second half 75 yards on 14 plays for a touchdown, then they built on their lead with a 13-play drive that resulted in a field goal. 

Entering the contest, Texas ranked 115th in the FBS in third-down offense, while the Sooners led the country in third-down defense. 

But Arch Manning was the difference. 

He helped the Longhorns pick up first downs on 7-of-8 third-down attempts in the third quarter alone, resulting in the Sooners running just four plays in the quarter. 

Manning strung together completions to move the chains on third-and-8, third-and-4 and twice on third-and-7 to help the Longhorns put up 10 points after halftime to take control of the game. 

The Texas quarterback completed 21-of-27 passes for 166 yards and a score. 

He also carried the ball four times for 34 yards before taking a knee, and he only ate one sack. 

Texas finished 9-of-16 overall on third downs.

Running Game is a Fatal Flaw

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer got sacked five times against Texas. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Sooners ran the ball just enough against Michigan and Auburn to notch wins, but the one-dimensional nature of OU’s offense required perfection from Mateer in the Cotton Bowl. 

Oklahoma rushed the ball 30 times for 48 yards, averaging a dismal 1.6 yards per carry.

An offensive line that struggles to generate movement along the line of scrimmage was dealt another blow at the end of the first quarter when starting right tackle Derek Simmons got rolled up on. With Logan Howland unavailable due to an injury, Stanford transfer Luke Baklenko was thrust into action. 

Arbuckle was forced to air it out in the fourth quarter with his team trailing, but OU offered little in the first three quarters on the ground for Texas to ever truly be concerned about anything but Mateer’s arm. 

With only one avenue back into the game, Texas pinned its ears back and dialed up pressure on Mateer. 

Mateer was sacked five times, and Mateer completed 20-of-38 passes for 202 yards. 

Venables fell to 1-3 against Texas, and the Sooners have failed to score a touchdown in all three defeats to the Longhorns in the Venables era.