DALLAS - Texas coach Charlie Strong and his players had a tough timing explaining a disappointing 45-40 loss against Oklahoma on Saturday.
Not only has Texas dropped three straight games, but Texas coach Charlie Strong’s future in Austin becomes more doubtful after every loss. This was a huge game for Strong, and Texas gave up 672 yards during the coach’s debut as his team’s defensive coordinator. It was just another disappointing performance on that side of the ball.
Here is what was said after the game:
- Strong said there was not any improvement at all on defense: “I gave up 45 points. We just can’t give up the plays on defense. You look at the play right before the half, we’re playing very well, then we give up a big play right before half. Then they come back out. At the start of the third quarter, they score on three straight drives. One was a double move. The other one we stopped, lost it in the air. We lose the football. We knew they were going to run the ball … We didn’t want to give up the big bombs we gave up.”
- When asked how badly he needed this win to appease the fan base, Strong said he needs every win. His goal is to win every game.
- Texas created four turnovers, but scored only three points as a result of those efforts. Strong said Oklahoma’s defense was playing well, and he wanted more turnovers in the second half because the offense was clicking. Strong said if they were able to recover Baker Mayfield's fumble late in the fourth quarter, his team could have had a chance to win.
- Strong still believes his team can stop giving up so many points: “When you look at the first half, if you don’t give up that score before half, it’s seven. Then you start the third quarter … you guys are in position. Just cover your guys. You know who you got. Just lock down, don’t have a mental breakdown. Just stay on top of your guy.”
- Here is Strong’s answer when asked what more could be done by him and the staff right now after a lot of mental errors on Saturday: “You've just got to look at it and you have to keep coaching them. There’s no excuse what youth they are, whether they are a senior, junior, whatever. There were some dropped balls, but it’s just looking the ball in. As far as cover guys, not losing your eyes, and just making sure you stay fundamentally sound. It’s fundamentals that we have to continually work on.”
- Strong was asked if he needed to win for his job security and said he wants it to happen for the players. He wants success for the players and seniors: “It’s not desperate. We want to win.”
- Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson was in shock when asked about his defense allowing 672 yards. He was unaware of the team’s statistical performance until a reporter informed him of the number. His only response to that question was, “Oh, my God.”
- Jefferson said the team is frustrated: “We went out there and battled. To believe that we had 672 yards is ridiculous.”
- Here was Jefferson’s response when asked what more can be done to turn around the season: “You've got to keep fighting. I don’t think it’s a time to give up. We have seven games left. You definitely have to keep fighting in a situation like this. This is the time they want you to fall, and they want you to give up. You had a good start. You’ve been slowing down a little bit. It looks like there’s no hope. You've just got to keep fighting no matter what.”
- Jefferson said one solution is the team has to keep trying, “Harder and harder. I’m not sure what more you can change, but keep trying to push forward.”
- Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert said they were inconsistent on offense early in the game. Gilbert believes his team played well in the second half, including throwing some deep balls well. Gilbert was pleased with Shane Buechele’s second-half performance.
- Here is Gilbert on receiver John Burt’s struggles: “Just tell those guys to keep fighting and battling. Just keep fighting, battling, and get another opportunity and another chance to take advantage of them, and make the plays that are there.”
- Gilbert said his freshman receivers are starting to become more comfortable on the field. However, Gilbert said they are young.
- Gilbert on not capitalizing on Oklahoma’s turnovers: “We obviously want to be able to execute, and go out and take advantage of those turnovers. Defense did a great job of doing that, creating those things, getting those for us. We've got to go capitalize on that. I believe we got three points off of it. We've got to do better than that.”
- Texas defensive tackle Chris Nelson said the team does not doubt their abilities. He intends to uplift his teammates, and he believes the staff will correct the things they did wrong.
- Nelson said he was close to Mayfield's fourth quarter fumble, but slid on the ground while trying to pick up the ball.
- Here is Nelson’s explanation of why his team continues to struggle defensively: “I guess our focus is not there. For some people, focus is not there. Just allowing too many big plays. Allowing way too many big plays.”
Postgame Notes (provided by UT and OU)
Team Notes
• With the loss, Texas drops to 2-3 overall, 0-2 in the Big 12 Conference.
• The Longhorns now have a 61-45-5 record in the Red River Showdown and fall to 70-55-5 all-time in games played at the Cotton Bowl.
• Charlie Strong moves to 50-33 in his career and 13-17 at Texas. He has a record of 9-11 against Big 12 competition.
• Texas forced a season-high four turnovers after registering just one through the first four games of the season.
• The Longhorns’ offense has scored 205 points (41.0 ppg) through the first five games of the season.
• The 672 yards allowed were the fifth-most in school history.
Player Notes
• Dylan Haines had two first quarter interceptions in the game. His two picks were Texas’ first two of the season and marked the first time since Nov. 7, 2015 that a Longhorn has had two interceptions in the same game.
• Kicker Trent Domingue made two (33, 28) field goals in the game to match his season-high.
• Devin Duvernay’s 63-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was his first career touchdown. It was the Longhorns’ third-longest completion of the season.
• Dorian Leonard’s 45-yard touchdown reception was his third TD reception of the season more than 40 yards.
• D’Onta Foreman rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s game. It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season, sixth straight and the eighth of his career. The 159 rushing yards were a new career high.
• Foreman also added two touchdowns, bringing his season total to seven and his career total to 12.
• Brother Armanti Foreman caught a team-high five passes for 28 yards and a touchdown.
• Shane Buechele passed for 245 yards and three touchdowns. He now has 1,204 yards for a new UT true freshmen record for passing in a season. It was his fourth 200-yard game of the season.
• Buechele’s 19 completions bring his season total to 97 through five games while his three touchdowns give him 11 on the year.
• Paul Boyette Jr. forced a fumble in the final minute of the game. It was the first forced fumble of his career and second on the day for the Longhorns.
• Poona Ford forced and recovered his second career fumble in Saturday’s game.
• Anthony Wheeler totaled a game-high 13 tackles. It was his second double-digit tackle total of the season.
A Few OU Notes
- Bob Stoops leads all Oklahoma coaches in victories over Texas. He is 11-7 against the Longhorns, while Barry Switzer (1973-88) went 9-5-2 and Bud Wilkinson (1947-63) went 9-8. Bennie Owen (1905-26) went 8-8 against the Longhorns.
- With the win, the Sooners have won five of the last seven meetings against the Longhorns.
- OU tallied 672 total yards of offense on Saturday, the second-most for the Sooners against Texas in the series (677 in 2012) and just the second time that Texas allowed the Sooners to record 600 or more yards of total offense in a game. OU has now eclipsed the 600-yard mark twice this season (640, ULM).
- Wide receiver Dede Westbrook finished with a school-record 232 yards receiving and running back Samaje Perine tallied 214 yards rushing on a career-high 35 carries, marking the first time in program history that the Sooners had a 200-yard receiver and a 200-yard rusher in the same game.
- It’s the seventh time in FBS history that a team has had a 200-yard receiver and 200-yard rusher in the same contest and the fifth time that a team had a 200 yard receiver, 200-yard rusher and 300-yard passer in the same contest (Baker Mayfield, 390).
Not only has Texas dropped three straight games, but Texas coach Charlie Strong’s future in Austin becomes more doubtful after every loss. This was a huge game for Strong, and Texas gave up 672 yards during the coach’s debut as his team’s defensive coordinator. It was just another disappointing performance on that side of the ball.
Here is what was said after the game:
- Strong said there was not any improvement at all on defense: “I gave up 45 points. We just can’t give up the plays on defense. You look at the play right before the half, we’re playing very well, then we give up a big play right before half. Then they come back out. At the start of the third quarter, they score on three straight drives. One was a double move. The other one we stopped, lost it in the air. We lose the football. We knew they were going to run the ball … We didn’t want to give up the big bombs we gave up.”
- When asked how badly he needed this win to appease the fan base, Strong said he needs every win. His goal is to win every game.
- Texas created four turnovers, but scored only three points as a result of those efforts. Strong said Oklahoma’s defense was playing well, and he wanted more turnovers in the second half because the offense was clicking. Strong said if they were able to recover Baker Mayfield's fumble late in the fourth quarter, his team could have had a chance to win.
- Strong still believes his team can stop giving up so many points: “When you look at the first half, if you don’t give up that score before half, it’s seven. Then you start the third quarter … you guys are in position. Just cover your guys. You know who you got. Just lock down, don’t have a mental breakdown. Just stay on top of your guy.”
- Here is Strong’s answer when asked what more could be done by him and the staff right now after a lot of mental errors on Saturday: “You've just got to look at it and you have to keep coaching them. There’s no excuse what youth they are, whether they are a senior, junior, whatever. There were some dropped balls, but it’s just looking the ball in. As far as cover guys, not losing your eyes, and just making sure you stay fundamentally sound. It’s fundamentals that we have to continually work on.”
- Strong was asked if he needed to win for his job security and said he wants it to happen for the players. He wants success for the players and seniors: “It’s not desperate. We want to win.”
- Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson was in shock when asked about his defense allowing 672 yards. He was unaware of the team’s statistical performance until a reporter informed him of the number. His only response to that question was, “Oh, my God.”
- Jefferson said the team is frustrated: “We went out there and battled. To believe that we had 672 yards is ridiculous.”
- Here was Jefferson’s response when asked what more can be done to turn around the season: “You've got to keep fighting. I don’t think it’s a time to give up. We have seven games left. You definitely have to keep fighting in a situation like this. This is the time they want you to fall, and they want you to give up. You had a good start. You’ve been slowing down a little bit. It looks like there’s no hope. You've just got to keep fighting no matter what.”
- Jefferson said one solution is the team has to keep trying, “Harder and harder. I’m not sure what more you can change, but keep trying to push forward.”
- Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert said they were inconsistent on offense early in the game. Gilbert believes his team played well in the second half, including throwing some deep balls well. Gilbert was pleased with Shane Buechele’s second-half performance.
- Here is Gilbert on receiver John Burt’s struggles: “Just tell those guys to keep fighting and battling. Just keep fighting, battling, and get another opportunity and another chance to take advantage of them, and make the plays that are there.”
- Gilbert said his freshman receivers are starting to become more comfortable on the field. However, Gilbert said they are young.
- Gilbert on not capitalizing on Oklahoma’s turnovers: “We obviously want to be able to execute, and go out and take advantage of those turnovers. Defense did a great job of doing that, creating those things, getting those for us. We've got to go capitalize on that. I believe we got three points off of it. We've got to do better than that.”
- Texas defensive tackle Chris Nelson said the team does not doubt their abilities. He intends to uplift his teammates, and he believes the staff will correct the things they did wrong.
- Nelson said he was close to Mayfield's fourth quarter fumble, but slid on the ground while trying to pick up the ball.
- Here is Nelson’s explanation of why his team continues to struggle defensively: “I guess our focus is not there. For some people, focus is not there. Just allowing too many big plays. Allowing way too many big plays.”
Postgame Notes (provided by UT and OU)
Team Notes
• With the loss, Texas drops to 2-3 overall, 0-2 in the Big 12 Conference.
• The Longhorns now have a 61-45-5 record in the Red River Showdown and fall to 70-55-5 all-time in games played at the Cotton Bowl.
• Charlie Strong moves to 50-33 in his career and 13-17 at Texas. He has a record of 9-11 against Big 12 competition.
• Texas forced a season-high four turnovers after registering just one through the first four games of the season.
• The Longhorns’ offense has scored 205 points (41.0 ppg) through the first five games of the season.
• The 672 yards allowed were the fifth-most in school history.
Player Notes
• Dylan Haines had two first quarter interceptions in the game. His two picks were Texas’ first two of the season and marked the first time since Nov. 7, 2015 that a Longhorn has had two interceptions in the same game.
• Kicker Trent Domingue made two (33, 28) field goals in the game to match his season-high.
• Devin Duvernay’s 63-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was his first career touchdown. It was the Longhorns’ third-longest completion of the season.
• Dorian Leonard’s 45-yard touchdown reception was his third TD reception of the season more than 40 yards.
• D’Onta Foreman rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s game. It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season, sixth straight and the eighth of his career. The 159 rushing yards were a new career high.
• Foreman also added two touchdowns, bringing his season total to seven and his career total to 12.
• Brother Armanti Foreman caught a team-high five passes for 28 yards and a touchdown.
• Shane Buechele passed for 245 yards and three touchdowns. He now has 1,204 yards for a new UT true freshmen record for passing in a season. It was his fourth 200-yard game of the season.
• Buechele’s 19 completions bring his season total to 97 through five games while his three touchdowns give him 11 on the year.
• Paul Boyette Jr. forced a fumble in the final minute of the game. It was the first forced fumble of his career and second on the day for the Longhorns.
• Poona Ford forced and recovered his second career fumble in Saturday’s game.
• Anthony Wheeler totaled a game-high 13 tackles. It was his second double-digit tackle total of the season.
A Few OU Notes
- Bob Stoops leads all Oklahoma coaches in victories over Texas. He is 11-7 against the Longhorns, while Barry Switzer (1973-88) went 9-5-2 and Bud Wilkinson (1947-63) went 9-8. Bennie Owen (1905-26) went 8-8 against the Longhorns.
- With the win, the Sooners have won five of the last seven meetings against the Longhorns.
- OU tallied 672 total yards of offense on Saturday, the second-most for the Sooners against Texas in the series (677 in 2012) and just the second time that Texas allowed the Sooners to record 600 or more yards of total offense in a game. OU has now eclipsed the 600-yard mark twice this season (640, ULM).
- Wide receiver Dede Westbrook finished with a school-record 232 yards receiving and running back Samaje Perine tallied 214 yards rushing on a career-high 35 carries, marking the first time in program history that the Sooners had a 200-yard receiver and a 200-yard rusher in the same game.
- It’s the seventh time in FBS history that a team has had a 200-yard receiver and 200-yard rusher in the same contest and the fifth time that a team had a 200 yard receiver, 200-yard rusher and 300-yard passer in the same contest (Baker Mayfield, 390).
