DALLAS, TX – The team north of the Red River is now the one that flinches. 

Texas (6-0, 2-0) walked out of the State Fair Street Fight with the Golden Hat and a second 30-plus point win over the Sooners in the last three seasons.  It used to be the other way around, as former Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2) great Baker Mayfield told a young Keondre Coburn back in 2018. 

And he was right at the time. For years, it was Texas that showed up to the State Fair in Dallas unwilling or unprepared to last four quarters in the Cotton Bowl. No longer. 

Texas punked Oklahoma, 49-0, in 2022. The Longhorns bloodied the Sooners once again in 2024, scoring the last 34 points to win 34-3. The first quarter was scary for the burnt orange as the returning Quinn Ewers was intercepted in his first pass thrown since the first half of the Week 3 win over UTSA. Texas trailed 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. 

The Longhorns didn’t earn a single first down or rushing yard over the first 15 minutes of the game. Oklahoma out gained them 54 yards to 13 in the first quarter. Texas out gained the Sooners 393 to 183 the rest of the way, and 98 of Oklahoma’s 183 yards over the last three quarters came in garbage time in the fourth quarter when most of the Sooner faithful was in line for a corny dog and a wax cup beer to drown their tears. 

THREE THINGS WE LEARNED 

Texas can win with defense: The Longhorns don’t need Ewers to be the best quarterback in the country to win the SEC. The junior returned from injury in a pedestrian performance, completing 20 of 29 passes for 199 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He found nine different receivers on the day with one going for over 30 yards. The Longhorn offense sputtered early with 10 plays for 13 yards in the first quarter, including that interception on the first throw of the game. Oklahoma’s starting field position over their first three drives was their own 48, but the Longhorns only allowed three points to keep the burnt orange anxiety low as the offense found its footing. 

Texas rarely wins in the Red River Rivalry without a stellar performance from the quarterback. A great sign for the Longhorns is that they no longer need to win high-scoring affairs every week because they might possess the best defense in college football. The unit has only allowed three touchdowns in 24 quarters this season. Texas is allowing 6.33 points per game through six games and are playing at a level the Forty Acres hasn’t seen in over 40 years. 

Oklahoma gained 237 yards on 69 plays. The Sooners was 4 of 15 on third down. Quarterback Michael Hawkins was 19 of 30 for 148 yards while adding 27 yards rushing on 20 carries. The Texas defense held Oklahoma to 2.3 yards rushing on 39 carries. In a series that is highly unpredictable, one truth remains universal – the team that runs the ball better leaves the State Fair victorious. Texas outran Oklahoma, 177-89. 

Sophomore Anthony Hill Jr. is the best second-level defender at Texas since Derrick Johnson. He finished the game with 11 tackles, including two sacks and three tackles for loss. He also forced a fumble. True freshman Colin Simmons was second on the team with five tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Both are from Dallas-Fort Worth. The improved Texas secondary continued to shine. Michael Taaffe recorded an important first quarter sack. Derrick Williams forced and recovered a fumble late in the second quarter. Jaylon Guilbeau, Malik Muhammad, and Jahdae Barron were blankets. 

Texas used to be known as a Country Club program. A place with great wide receivers and quarterbacks but not enough beef. The Longhorns used to be the punching bags. But the defense and offensive line flipped the narrative for the second time in three years against Oklahoma, and that’s scary hours for the rest of the SEC. 

Tre Wisner is RB1: With all the talk about a quarterback controversy that doesn’t exist, one offensive player does appear to have taken the reins at an important position on the Texas offense. Wisner, a sophomore who won a state championship at DeSoto in 2022, has emerged as the best running back on Texas’s roster. The unit went looking for a new RB1 when Jonathan Brooks went to the NFL and expected incumbent C.J. Baxter suffered a season-ending injury before the season. 

Junior Jayden Blue was assumed to be the top ball carrier for the Longhorns in 2024 but a pair of fumbles against Mississippi State left the door cracked for Wisner, who blew the doors open with 118 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Blue gained 30 yards on 10 carries against Oklahoma. Wisner might not possess Blue’s speed and athleticism, but he’s a patient runner with better vision and a penchant for gaining an extra yard or two on every carry. 

Texas needs both Blue and Wisner in the second half of the season, but don’t be shocked if more carries go to the sophomore. 

Texas is the SEC favorite: It is okay to admit, Texas fans. This is the best team in the SEC. Alabama lost to Vanderbilt last week and tried to lose to South Carolina in Week 7. That Crimson Tide squad knocked off Georgia a few weeks ago, and the Bulldogs looked sluggish in a win over Mississippi State today. Tennessee lost to Arkansas and didn’t dominate Oklahoma in the way Texas did. Ole Miss and LSU have holes. Who else but the Longhorns could be considered the SEC favorite through seven weeks of the 2024 season? 

The win over Oklahoma set up a Top 5 matchup on Oct. 19 as the Longhorns host the Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. in one of the biggest games at DKR in modern times. A win over Georgia doesn’t just mean Texas is the clear SEC favorite. It’ll indicate that the top-ranked Horns are the best team in the country.