3 Biggest Takeaways from Texas Longhorns' Decisive Victory vs. No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners

The Texas Longhorns will be coming back from Dallas with the golden hat and a huge victory over their arch rivals, No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners, after a big bounce back performance, winning the 121st edition of the Red River Rivalry 23-6.

Many questions and concerns arose about the Longhorns, quarterback Arch Manning, and everybody involved after the loss to the Florida Gators. Last week's ugly defeat was a reality check for Steve Sarkisian and company.

While the Longhorns started out looking like the same shell-shocked team that showed up in Gainesville, the Longhorns were able to settle in quickly and completely dominate the second half at the Cotton Bowl. Here are a few key takeaways from the Longhorns' huge victory.

Longhorns' Third Quarter Performance Set the Tone For the Second Half

Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (5) runs past Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Gentry Williams (9) and Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Kendal Daniels (5) | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

As already mentioned, the start to the Red River Rivalry was not what the Longhorns would have hoped for, as they were looking for a bounce-back performance as Texas headed into halftime down on the scoreboard 6-3. The Longhorns managed just 114 yards of total offense in the first two quarters of the ballgame, being outgained by the Sooners, who recorded 165 yards.

Coming out of halftime, Texas looked like a completely different squad with a long 14-play 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a touchdown pass from Manning to wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. The second drive of the half, although not adding another touchdown, Texas created three points after starting the drive deep in their own half.

In the third quarter, Texas was dominant, running 25 plays compared to Oklahoma's 4, and controlled the time of possession, holding the ball for 13:26 minutes of the quarter, also outgaining the Sooners 140 yards to 26. Manning also pieced together his best performance in a single quarter, completing 10 of his 12 pass attempts for 93 yards and the passing touchdown.

Arch Manning Balls Out

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws the ball during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Speaking of the Longhorns quarterback, Manning put together undoubtedly his best performance as the Texas starting quarterback after a week of being slandered by anyone and everyone.

Manning completed 21 of his 27 pass attempts for 166 yards, a touchdown, and, above all, zero interceptions. The quarterback's legs were also a factor as Manning rushed for 34 yards, and with a 29-yard rush being one of the daggers in the ball game.

Defense Looked like their Old Selves

Texas Longhorns defensive back Malik Muhammad (5) celebrates an interception intended for Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Deion Burks (4) in the first half of the Red River Rivalry. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just a week after the Texas defense raised some concerns after their worst performance in quite some time, the Longhorns' defense had a return to form performance, holding Oklahoma to just six points and shutting them out in the second half.

The Longhorns made the afternoon rough sledding for Sooner quarterback John Mateer, who, while completing 20 of his 38 pass attempts and tossing for 202 yards, threw three interceptions, two of which were to a returning Malik Muhammad, and zero touchdowns.

Not only was the secondary on lock against the Sooners, so was the front seven, who sacked Mateer on five different occasions and recorded an additional five quarterback hits.