Grading Texas Longhorns Position Groups in Huge Red River Rivalry Upset Victory

The Texas Longhorns have gotten right back on track after a definitive 23-6 victory over their arch-rival, the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners. Texas needed a big response after their ugly loss a weekend ago, leaving the Cotton Bowl this year, the Longhorns got exactly what they needed.

Texas will now have to carry the momentum as the Longhorns head out on a road trip up to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field on Oct. 18.

Taking a look at the Longhorns' statement victory of the season so far against the Sooners, here are this week's position group grades.

Grading the Position Groups

Quarterback: A-

In his first Red River Rivalry as the Longhorns' starting quarterback, Arch Manning finished 21 of 27 passing for 166 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions for just the second time this season. Manning, as always, was also effective on the ground, rushing for 34 yards on four attempts.

Staring simply at the box score will not tell the entire story of the ballgame. Manning was decisive and on point, especially in the third quarter, going 10 of 12 passing for 93 yards and the touchdown. The most notable throw of that quarter was a 21-yard dart that Manning threw on third down to wide receiver Parker Livingstone near the sideline with Texas backed up in their own half for a first down.

Running Back: A

The Longhorns were finally able to form an effective run game, after totaling a total of 136 yards on the ground. Quintrevion Wisner had his best performance of the season after gaining 94 yards on the ground on 22 carries and ripping off a 37-yard run, which was the longest by a Texas running back since the College Football Playoff first round game against Clemson a season ago.

Pass-Catchers: B

The Texas pass catchers came up big plenty of times for the Longhorns, picking up crucial conversions. Wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. was the team's leading receiver on Saturday, finishing the game with three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown reception in the back of the end zone. Both wide receiver Ryan Wingo and Wisner, who became a pass catcher out of the backfield plenty of times, finished the game with five receptions apiece, each going for over 30 yards receiving.

Offensive Line: A

The Longhorns' offensive line needed to have much better performance after a rough showing against Florida a weekend ago, and the unit was able to answer the bell against one of the top defensive fronts in all of college football. As the Texas offensive line unit allowed just a single sack against an Oklahoma defensive line that averaged four sacks a game heading into Saturday.

The Defense: A+

A true return to form after the disastrous performance from a week ago, holding a Sooners team that headed into the matchup averaging 33.8 points per game to just six points and without a touchdown was the outing to be expected from the Longhorns' defense.

The front seven made the game a nightmare for Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, who was sacked five times on the day. Star edge rusher Colin Simmons had his best game of the season, recording 2.5 sacks and four pressures. Newcomers in Brad Spence had his breakout game as a Longhorn, recording a sack, two tackles-for-loss, and six pressures, while true freshman Lance Jackson logged four pressures, two quarterback hurries and a sack.

On the back end, the Longhorns' defense was just as stout, with the three takeaways on the afternoon coming from the Texas secondary. Returning cornerback Malik Muhammad came away with two interceptions, and standout true freshman cornerback Graceson Littleton also had an interception.

Special Teams: A-

While there were some missed long-range field goal attempts from kicker Mason Shipley, he made three out of his five field goal attempts, with both of his misses coming from 55-plus yards out. The standout special teams play of the game was undeniably the 75-yard punt return touchdown from Ryan Niblett, which served as one of the final daggers in the ballgame.