UPDATE: The Oklahoma Sooners suffered a 34-3 loss against the Texas Longhorns on Saturday in the Red River Rivalry.
DALLAS — Coming off a bye week, Michael Hawkins Jr. and the 16th-ranked OU football team will square off with Quinn Ewers and top-ranked Texas in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl.
Hawkins is expected to become the first true freshman quarterback to start for the Sooners in the annual rivalry game against the Longhorns (2:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC).
OU has won five of the past six meetings with the Sooners, including last season’s thrilling 34-30 come-from-behind victory punctuated by Dillon Gabriel’s late touchdown pass to Nic Anderson.
But Gabriel transferred to Oregon after last season, Anderson is out with an injury and many of the playmakers from last year’s game will not be playing Saturday against the Longhorns.
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The Longhorns scored 34 unanswered and avoided giving up a garbage-time touchdown to the Sooners at the end.
Texas (6-0, 2-0) will host Georgia next Saturday.
OU (4-2, 1-2) will host South Carolina.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
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Three plays, 32 yards and another score.
Quinn Ewers scored on a 1-yard run to extend the Longhorns’ lead.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
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The Sooners gained seven yards on the drive and turned the ball over on downs when Michael Hawkins Jr. threw the ball away on fourth down.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
Bert Auburn made a 29-yard field goal to cap a seven-play, 13-yard drive.
Quinn Ewers is 20-for-29 passing for 199 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
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The Sooners wrapped up an eight-play, 19-yard drive that lasted 4:41 with yet another Luke Elzinga punt.
Silas Bowman, who recovered a fumble in the second quarter for a touchdown, returned the OU punt 61 yards to the OU 24-yard line.
Texas has outgained OU 365-148.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
Bert Auburn hit a 41-yard field goal to stretch Texas’ lead late in the third quarter.
Even though the Longhorns managed just three points, it was a victory for Texas.
The Longhorns last two drives have totaled 21 points and ate up more than nine minutes of the third quarter, leaving the Sooners little chance to regain momentum.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
OU’s offense continues to struggle.
After the defense gave them the ball back — albeit deep in Sooners’ territory — the offense couldn’t make anything happen.
OU once again started in a hole, as Michael Hawkins Jr. was sacked for a 4-yard loss at the OU 6 on first down.
Luke Elzinga had to punt once again — this time from the end zone. OU has just 119 yards — 54 of that coming in the first quarter.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
The Red River Rivalry showed some chippiness early in the third quarter.
OU’s Damonic Williams and Texas’ Cameron Williams were called for offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after Williams brought down Quinn Ewers for a 5-yard gain on the Longhorns’ first possession after the half.
Williams was being held back by linebacker Kip Lewis as the sides started trading words and shoves just in front of the Texas sidelines.
Facing fourth-and-2 from the 10, the Longhorns decided to go for the Sooners’ throat.
But Ewers’ pass to the corner of the end zone fell incomplete, giving the Sooners the ball back.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
OU couldn’t create any momentum coming out of halftime.
After a disastrous end to the second quarter, the Sooners figured to need to regain at least some momentum getting the ball back to start the third quarter.
But Texas forced OU to punt after Jovantae Barnes picked up a first down on the first play.
Michael Hawkins Jr. couldn’t find a receiver downfield on third-and-4 and had to settle for no gain on a scramble.
Luke Elzinga is averaging 43.8 yards on four punts — thrice pinning the Longhorns inside the 20.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Texas couldn’t quite capitalize this time.
Bert Auburn missed a 44-yard field goal in the final seconds of the second quarter to keep the Longhorns lead at 18 heading into halftime.
Still, Texas took control in the final 2:30 before halftime, scoring two touchdowns to break open what had been a tight game.
The Longhorns outgained OU 222-53 in the second quarter after the Sooners held Texas to just 13 yards in the first quarter.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
OU’s nightmare second quarter keeps getting worse.
Freshman running back Taylor Tatum fumbled for a second consecutive Sooners’ turnover in OU territory.
The Longhorns took advantage of the last one, with an immediate 43-yard touchdown run.
Texas has the ball at the OU 37 with 1:32 remaining and two timeouts.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Texas quickly took advantage of OU’s turnover.
Quintrevious Wisner broke away for a 43-yard touchdown run, the third consecutive massive play for the Longhorns’ offense to break the game open with 1:40 left before halftime.
The Longhorns are outgaining the Sooners 200-42 in the second quarter, averaging 11.1 yards per play.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Michael Hawkins Jr. made his first big mistake as OU’s quarterback.
In the final two minutes of the second quarter, Hawkins took off on a scramble, and had it ripped from his hands by Texas’ Anthony Hill Jr. to give the Longhorns the ball in OU territory with a chance to extend their lead before halftime.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
OU looked like it caught a big break.
But after a fumble into the end zone by Quintrevious Wisner, Texas’ Silas Bolden raced in to recover the fumble in the end zone for the touchdown.
Wisner broke away for what looked like a 36-yard touchdown run but the Sooners’ Robert Spears-Jennings chased him down, knocking the ball free just outside of the goal line.
The ball seemed destined to bound out of the back of the end zone, but Bolden sprinted into the end zone to recover the fumble in front of Danny Stutsman.
The play was the second of back-to-back massive plays for the Longhorns, as Quinn Ewers hit Ryan Wingo for a 44-yard gain just before Wisner’s run.
Texas is outgaining OU 157-24 in the second quarter after the touchdown.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
OU’s offense continues to struggle on third down, and the Sooners had to punt for the third time.
The Sooners have just 78 yards of offense — 51 passing, 27 rushing.
They picked up a first down on Michael Hawkins’ Jr.’s 9-yard run but the drive quickly stalled.
OU is leading the time of possession battle 15:20-10:21 so far.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Jacobe Johnson saw his first action at wide receiver.
But it seems like Johnson’s time as a cornerback this season isn’t over.
Johnson played on back-to-back drive on both side of the ball, helping the Sooners force a Texas punt to bounce back from the Longhorns’ first touchdown of the game on the previous drive.
Four of the Longhorns’ first five drive have failed to produce a first down.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Texas looked like it had forced its first three-and-out.
But the Longhorns were flagged for holding and roughing the passer after an incomplete pass on third-and-8, extending OU’s drive.
The Sooners weren’t able to take advantage, though, as Barryn Sorrell sacked Michael Hawkins Jr. on third-and-6 to force OU into a punt.
OU is 1 for 5 on third downs.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Texas’ offense finally showed some life, taking advantage of OU’s aggressive defensive approach as the Sooners missed several critical tackles
The Longhorns had just 13 yards of offense in the first quarter — not recording a first down.
But on its fourth drive of the game, Texas found some rhythm offensively, quickly driving down and taking the lead on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Quinn Ewers to Gunnar Helm with 11:20 remaining in the second quarter.
Ewers is 8 of 11 for 73 yards so far.
He hit DeAndre Moore for a 26-yard gain on third-and-5 for Texas’ first first down of the game, then hit Helm for a 21-yard gain a few plays later to set up the touchdown.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Michael Hawkins Jr. continues to show poise in the biggest challenge of his young OU career.
Hawkins has avoided mistakes so far, completing 4 of 7 passes for 35 yards and this time OU put points on the board.
Tyler Keltner, who missed a field goal earlier, hit a 42-yard field goal for the game’s first points with 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Sooners covered 38 yards on 11 plays in the scoring drive, having success on the ground against the Longhorns.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
OU linebacker Danny Stutsman made his presence known on first down, stuffing Jaydon Blue for a 3-yard loss on first down after Luke Elzinga’s punt pinned Texas at their own 12.
Stutsman’s big tackle for loss helped the Sooners get their third consecutive quick stop to begin the game.
Texas turned the ball over on the first drive before punting on each of their last two.
The Sooners covered the third-down play well, forcing Quinn Ewers to scramble out of the pocket and settling for a short loss, well short of the first-down marker.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Texas’ Michael Taaffe corralled Michael Hawkins Jr. for a 13-yard loss on a safety blitz on second down to shut down the Sooners’ second offensive drive.
The Sooners’ running game showed some life early in the drive, picking up a first down on an 8-yard run by Jovantae Barnes on second down but Hawkins couldn’t connect with Brenen Thompson on the sidelines and then couldn’t throw the ball away on second down for a big loss.
OU punter Luke Elzinga’s punt pinned the Longhorns inside the Texas 15.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
The Sooners’ defense came up big again.
There was no turnover this time, but OU came up with another stop, forcing the Longhorns into a three-and-out.
Texas had Isaiah Bond open over the middle on third-and-3 but Quinn Ewers pass was underthrown, and Bond’s dive came up empty to force the game’s first punt.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Tyler Keltner’s 44-yard field goal went wide to keep the Red River Rivalry scoreless just more than three minutes into the game.
OU came up empty after Billy Bowman’s interception on the first drive gave the Sooners the ball in Texas territory.
Michael Hawkins Jr., the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Sooners in the rivalry, completed his first pass, a 12-yarder to Brenen Thompson, but that was about all the momentum the Sooners could muster.
After Hawkins’ 6-yard gain on third down, Keltner — who missed the win over Auburn due to injury — floated a kick that went just to the right.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
OU made the first big play of the Red River Rivalry.
Billy Bowman, who returned for another season in part to play against the Longhorns again, picked off a Quinn Ewers pass on the third offensive play of the game to give the Sooners the ball in Texas territory.
Ethan Downs picked up a sack on the first play, putting the Longhorns in a tough offensive position.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Last season, Tawee Walker played a big role in OU’s 34-30 Red River Rivalry victory.
Walker ran for 46 yards and two touchdowns against the Longhorns, at the time cementing his place as the Sooners’ top running back.
Walker transferred after the season, winding up at Wisconsin, where a scholarship opportunity awaited the former walk-on.
While part of Walker’s thoughts were in Dallas this weekend — Friday he posted a picture on Twitter of him in a Sooners uniform with the golden hat and a cigar after last season’s victory — he also took care of business on his own.
Walker ran for a career-high 198 yards and three touchdowns Saturday in the Badgers’ 42-7 win over Rutgers.
Walker’s previous career high was 146 yards in last season’s OU loss at Kansas.
The Sooners have struggled to establish much of a running game this season, with Jovantae Barnes being OU’s leading rusher with 199 yards and two touchdowns in five games.
OU does have freshman Taylor Tatum available again at the position after Tatum was injured in the loss to Tennessee on Sept. 21.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Less than three weeks after moving from cornerback to wide receiver, sophomore Jacobe Johnson could factor in to OU’s offensive game plan against Texas.
Johnson is listed as a backup to Brenen Thompson at one of the outside receiver spots.
The Sooners’ receiver group has been hit hard by injuries, as OU will be without Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq, Deion Burks and Andrel Anthony. OU has been without Jayden Gibson all season as well.
The spate of injuries at what was looked to be the Sooners’ deepest position group necessitated Johnson’s move to the offensive side.
As a senior at Mustang, Johnson had more than 1,200 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns as a receiver and return specialist.
He has seven tackles this season defensively before making the move.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
After missing the past two starts with an abdominal strain, Quinn Ewers will make his return as Texas’ starting quarterback Saturday against OU.
The Longhorns rolled past Mississippi State and Louisiana Monroe with Arch Manning starting at quarterback.
Ewers will be making his third start in the Red River Rivalry, having led Texas to a 49-0 win in 2022 and a 34-30 loss last season.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
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This weekend’s Red River Rivalry game between the Sooners and Longhorns will air on ABC. Chris Fowler (play-by-play) and Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) will be on the call while Holly Rowe will serve as the sideline reporter. Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app, ESPN+ and Fubo, the last of which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
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Texas 24, OU 20
GOLDEN ARCH
OU’s defense stands strong, but Arch Manning comes off the bench to throw for a touchdown late to lift the top-ranked Longhorns to victory. The Sooners’ offense shows some life under Michael Hawkins Jr., but it isn’t quite enough as the Longhorns hold on.
Texas 38, OU 13
MIDWAY MALFUNCTION
OU’s offense sputters again, this time with no one to turn to. Quinn Ewers and the ‘Horns reveal cracks in Sooner defense.
OU 20, Texas 19
THAT’S NO BULL
Danny Stutsman and the Sooners’ defense bends but never breaks in a Red River stunner as the top-ranked Longhorns are held to four field goals and a touchdown. It’s 2007 all over again in college football. Chaos across the landscape.
More:OU football vs Texas score predictions for Sooners-Longhorns in 2024 Red River Rivalry
Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Saturday:
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OU will be without many of its top wide receivers against the Longhorns. Jalil Farooq, Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony and Deion Burks are all listed as being out for the game.
Texas will have quarterback Quinn Ewers back from an oblique injury after Arch Manning came on for Ewers following the Sept. 14 injury.
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Saturday’s game figures to be one of the hottest Red River Rivalry games on record, with temperature expected to be 94 degrees at kickoff, according to the National Weather Service.
Winds are expected to be about 12 mph from the south-southwest, with no chance of precipitation.
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Here’s a look at the Sooners’ full 2024 football schedule, including dates, times and television designations:
All times Central.
* Denotes SEC game
Here’s a look at the Longhorns’ full 2024 football schedule, including dates, times and television designations:
All times Central.
* Denotes SEC game
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