Film Review: How the Texas Longhorns' Offense Came to Life vs. the Oklahoma Sooners

The Texas Longhorns beat their first Power Four opponent of the 2025 season in a big way on Saturday, defeating their archrival, the Oklahoma Sooners, by a score of 23-6.

Brooks Austin of The Film Guy Network went through the offensive tape in a 34-minute video, dissecting how the Longhorns got the job done in what was ultimately a dominant victory and comparing the offense's performance to that in the Southeastern Conference-opening loss to Florida.

Here is a breakdown of Austin's ideas from his film review:

RB Quintrevion Wisner

Austin called Wisner the "ultimate difference" in this game.

Repeatedly, Texas's workhorse running back extended plays, and drives, with his individual efforts. He was heavily relied upon, tallying 27 touches across the run and pass game.

From his 37-yard rush that led to the Longhorns' first points to winning in one-on-one open-field matchups on checkdowns, Wisner's 128 all-purpose yards were crucial to turning and keeping the momentum in Texas' favor.

Last week against Florida, he had just 28 total yards; the run game was unable to gain any steam. Against Oklahoma, Austin pointed out how the offensive front blocked through the play, giving Wisner better chances to storm upfield. No. 5 took advantage, continuously bouncing off defenders and breaking tackles to electrify Texas' offense.

It was a much-needed rebound in the rushing department, restoring faith in the Longhorns' ability to control the flow of the game.

QB Arch Manning

To Austin, it remained obvious where Manning is at his best: when he is going "off-script." He opened up gaps in the defense when on the run and showed his potential to make throws from different stances and angles.

While Manning is still not impressively mature as a pocket-passer and in the three-step drop -- there are examples of flawed fundamentals and inaccuracies that put the ball in unnecessary danger -- he put together his most efficient and effective performance yet.

Across his 21 completions, Manning showed better capability in his reads and progressions and displayed elite arm talent.

A clear example was on his 21-yard completion to wide receiver Parker Livingstone in a high-stakes play. Under pressure, on his own goal line, up seven points in the third quarter, Manning converted a 3rd & 7 rolling right, finding Livingstone's hands within a narrow window on the sideline.

"I would imagine this is what the industry saw coming out of high school, other than just the name," Austin said about Manning in reaction to the play. "This dude is uber-talented, guys, there's no doubt. I mean, look at that throw. And look at that platform and look at where that sucker ended up."

Fast forward to the 29-yard quarterback run in the fourth quarter that iced the game, and Austin commends Manning's situational awareness to slide in-bounds with defenders hunting him down. Austin wants to see more of that out of head coach Steve Sarkisian's playcalling -- letting Manning take advantage of his legs in designed fashion.

From Austin's evaluation, there's no doubt that this Oklahoma game showed Manning is headed in the right direction as an executor.

Playcalling / Coaching

Oct 11, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian takes a photo with players after the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Austin was not shy in praising Sarkisian's adjustments offensively against Oklahoma. Against Florida, the route concepts in the passing game tended to be deeper, which makes sense considering Texas' want to explore downfield concepts when trailing.

But against Oklahoma, Sarkisian opted to give Manning options on shorter hot routes that allowed him to get the ball out quicker and find pass-catchers with field in front of them. That stemmed from changes in the numbers in pass protection.

"This was the difference in their offensive success this week compared to last week," Austin said. "Instead of the seven-man (protection scheme), let's do a five-man chipping and release. Now [Wisner's] out in a hot formation, and the tight end, let's give him a zig-zag, let's give him an inward-breaking route here and give an option route to him."

Austin viewed the Longhorns as a balanced, well-coached offense, which was required to beat a fantastic Oklahoma defense led by an experienced playcaller in Brent Venables. To Austin, it was the first time that Texas has had balance versus a Power Four opponent since facing Clemson in the College Football Playoff.

The Longhorns found ways to put themselves in manageable situations and arrange chunk plays. As Austin said, "chunks win games." The 23 points that Texas earned were more than enough to run away with this football game.

Penalties

Though there was a lot of good, Texas' primary weakness offensively still showed itself -- flags.

Especially early in the game, the Longhorns shot themselves in the foot by going backward. Austin put up on the screen the "3rd & 29" Texas caused itself on its last drive of the first quarter. After having a 1st & 10 on Oklahoma's 22-yard line, a holding penalty followed by successive negative five-yard losses led to an early missed field goal by kicker Mason Shipley.

"Man, but the amount of holds and negatives that they took," Austin said. "I'm not even going to show you all of them. But look at this. There is no way to operate like that."

The Longhorns' four penalties against Oklahoma was an improvement upon the 10 it had against Florida. Progress is key, but limiting their offensive upside through penalties -- especially early in the game when trying to establish momentum -- is a frustrating reality the team has had to deal with so far this season.

This week's night game against Kentucky is an opportunity to string together positive showings while working to eliminate the imperfections. Texas got back on track versus its rivals, but for a team with sky-high aspirations, there's much left to be shown.