The Red River Rivalry has been renewed, thanks to an inspired — nay, a magical — effort by Charlie Strong’s Texas Longhorns, who bullied the No. 10-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday en route to an improbable 24-17 victory.
Coming into the game, undefeated Oklahoma had all the momentum with a four-game winning streak, while Texas had lost three in a row and four of five to start the season.
It should have been a blowout, on paper.
But that’s why they play the games, as the old saying goes. And, that’s what makes college football so special.
Strong somehow got his players to play for one another, despite the fact they had every reason to just give up. There were reports this week that anonymous opposing coaches blamed Mack Brown for the mess Texas is in while praising Strong, and perhaps this tremendous victory is further proof.
From the get-go on Saturday, Texas dictated terms to Oklahoma and won on every level. The Longhorns played with a confidence we hadn’t yet seen in 2015 — the players believed they would win.
This is a confident #Texas team playing today against #Oklahoma
First time we've seen this kind of attitude all year. #CharlieStrong
— Sportsnaut (@Sportsnaut) October 10, 2015
College football fans across the nation were rooting for this underdog, and they weren’t disappointed.
Thanks to an aggressive defense that dominated the line of scrimmage all day long, the Longhorns held the Sooners to just 278 total yards and 17 points, which were both season lows by a long shot. Offensively, quarterback Jerrod Heard and running back D’Onte Foreman found creases in Oklahoma’s defense at key moments and carried the Longhorns to victory.
Now, Oklahoma is likely looking at a slip into the high-teens or worse when the new polls come out next week, and Texas fans can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing the program is in good hands with Strong for years to come.