1. Wow. Talk about a game in which Texas had every opportunity to get the win.
Oklahoma did everything it could to give this one away but the Longhorns just couldn't get over the hump.
Texas should have had a sizeable lead going into the locker room after a number of OU mistakes, but the Longhorns could not take advantage. Texas gained three turnovers in the first half and started those drives on the OU 49, OU 16 and UT 47 yard line but was able to get only 3 points off those turnovers.
If you want to boil this one down and try to pinpoint why Texas lost, that's a pretty good place to start.
2. If the inability to capitalize on OU's turnovers didn't do Texas in, the defense's inability to make plays - again - deserves a lot of focus.
Oklahoma played pretty sloppy football in the first half, but still went to the locker room with 281 yards of offense in the first half. The Sooners found their rhythm in the second half and marched up and down the field with ease.
Oklahoma finished with 672 yards of offense, and that ridiculous total came with the Sooners basically sitting on the football in the fourth quarter.
3. Oklahoma had four drives start in the third quarter. The stats on those drives ...
27 plays, 333 yards of offense and 4 TDs.
4. I've felt all along that Charlie Strong taking over the defense was nothing more than window dressing, and I feel even more strongly about that after this performance.
Strong has been involved in the defense all year and I'll say it again ... there's no magic button that's going to turn this defense around. This is a bad defense regardless of who is calling the plays and more long days are ahead.
5. I thought Kris Boyd played pretty well in getting the start, aside from the one long completion where he inexplicably quit running with the receiver. He wasn't flawless, obviously, but did record 9 tackles (6 solo).
6. Davante Davis and Holton Hill both gave up big plays ... same story, different day with the UT secondary.
7. Charlie Strong's post-game press conference felt like he was speaking at a funeral. I'm not sure I've ever seen him that down after a game. He probably feels this is a game they should have won, but you also have to wonder if he knows this could very well be another big nail in the coffin of his UT coaching tenure.
8. I said two weeks ago that if Texas lost to both Oklahoma State and OU and sat at 3-4, I wasn't going to jump and down and call for Strong's head. I'm going to stand by that, but it might be time for the people who matter to start some behind-the-scenes discussions. No decision is likely to be made in-season, and it shouldn't be, but barring a miraculous run over the next seven weeks, I just don't see any way Strong is brought back.
Strong now has a 13-17 record at Texas. He's 9-11 in Big 12 games. Kirk Herbstreit can make all the excuses he wants, but winning is the only thing that matters and Strong is failing miserably in the department.
9. If you're looking at the remaining schedule, there really isn't a game left that Texas cannot win, so it is possible the Longhorns could catch fire and ultimately save Strong's job. That being said, Strong's teams at UT have done nothing to make me believe they're suddenly going to play good football on a consistent basis. Finishing the season with a record close to .500 seems more likely.
10. Was Joe Mixon trying to single-handedly throw the game? Apparently his bonehead decisions aren't limited to his off-field behavior.
11. Speaking of Mixon, he'll want no part of DeShon Elliott on kickoffs in the future. Those two hits by Elliott, especially the first one, were things of beauty.
12. Baker Mayfield is an easy guy to not like.
13. At what point do they try to work in some more of the passing game when Tyrone Swoopes is on the field? The 18-wheeler package has become entirely too one-dimensional. If they're not going to let Swoopes throw the ball on occasion, they may as well just keep Buechele in the game.
14. One of the bigger "what the heck?' moments came early in the game when Texas had to call a time out to avoid a delay of game, then nearly got a delay of game coming out of the time out which caused Kent Perkins to start early for a false start. Sloppy.
15. What in the world was Patrick Vahe doing on D'Onta Foreman's fumble deep in UT's territory? Vahe saw the ball on the ground and kind of nonchalantly tried to pick it up. Had he fallen on it, Texas would have retained possession. Instead, OU recovered and three plays later scored a TD.
16. The PAT issues appear to be fixed. That's good.
17. Oklahoma was pretty sloppy itself, especially with its time outs. If Strong was having to burn so many time outs, people would be all over him for poor game management. Bob Stoops and his staff did not have their A-game today.
18. Good for Dylan Haines for making two first-quarter interceptions, but his angle on Dede Westbrook's third TD was flat out awful.
19. Through three quarters of play, Oklahoma was averaging 8.9 yards per play. That number came down to a still ridiculous 7.8 yards per play for the game, but only because the Sooners were killing clock in the fourth quarter.
20. In case you're unaware, the Big 12 is awful. TCU barely escaped Kansas with a win, Iowa State is up on Oklahoma State in Stillwater at the half, and the Texas-OU game looked to me like it was two very average teams battling it out.
Player of the game: This one's tough to call this week. Buechele played well for the most part, but his interception deep in OU territory takes him out of contention. Anthony Wheeler was very active, finishing with a game-high 13 tackles. But the nod has to go to D'Onta Foreman, who was fantastic yet again, going for 159 yards and 2 TDs.
Best position group: The offense spread the ball around so no wide receiver put up big numbers, but the group did perform well overall (aside from yet another drop by Burt). Dorion Leonard, Devin Duvernay and Armanti Foreman all found the end zone. Collin Johnson had a good game. Overall, it was a solid day by the wide receiver group.
This game was over when ... Texas had its chances to make a defensive stop but just couldn't get it done in the fourth quarter. The one was pretty much over when OU went 60 yards and chewed up 7:58 of game clock before kicking a field goal to stretch the lead to 11 with only a couple minutes left. Texas did score to cut it to a five-point advantage and tried an onside kick, but the inability to make a defensive stop when it mattered pretty much did the Longhorns in.
Best decision: This was a pretty clean game by the UT coaches without an glaring mistakes. I did like that Sterlin Gilbert and the offense tested Oklahoma deep quite a bit, including standout cornerback Jordan Thomas despite Thomas' fast start to the game.
Head-scratcher: The in-game management was actually pretty good in this one, but one play that jumps out is the decision to go to the 18-wheeler package on a third-and-4 play in the third quarter. OU stopped Swoopes easily to force the punt. I didn't get that call at all ... four yards is too much in that situation, unless you think you're in four-down territory (they weren't).
What's next?: The Longhorns return home next week to play Iowa State, which should help right the ship for at least one week. But this game is absolutely not a given for Texas. If the Longhorns don't take the game seriously, Iowa State is capable of pulling the upset.
Oklahoma did everything it could to give this one away but the Longhorns just couldn't get over the hump.
Texas should have had a sizeable lead going into the locker room after a number of OU mistakes, but the Longhorns could not take advantage. Texas gained three turnovers in the first half and started those drives on the OU 49, OU 16 and UT 47 yard line but was able to get only 3 points off those turnovers.
If you want to boil this one down and try to pinpoint why Texas lost, that's a pretty good place to start.
2. If the inability to capitalize on OU's turnovers didn't do Texas in, the defense's inability to make plays - again - deserves a lot of focus.
Oklahoma played pretty sloppy football in the first half, but still went to the locker room with 281 yards of offense in the first half. The Sooners found their rhythm in the second half and marched up and down the field with ease.
Oklahoma finished with 672 yards of offense, and that ridiculous total came with the Sooners basically sitting on the football in the fourth quarter.
3. Oklahoma had four drives start in the third quarter. The stats on those drives ...
27 plays, 333 yards of offense and 4 TDs.
4. I've felt all along that Charlie Strong taking over the defense was nothing more than window dressing, and I feel even more strongly about that after this performance.
Strong has been involved in the defense all year and I'll say it again ... there's no magic button that's going to turn this defense around. This is a bad defense regardless of who is calling the plays and more long days are ahead.
5. I thought Kris Boyd played pretty well in getting the start, aside from the one long completion where he inexplicably quit running with the receiver. He wasn't flawless, obviously, but did record 9 tackles (6 solo).
6. Davante Davis and Holton Hill both gave up big plays ... same story, different day with the UT secondary.
7. Charlie Strong's post-game press conference felt like he was speaking at a funeral. I'm not sure I've ever seen him that down after a game. He probably feels this is a game they should have won, but you also have to wonder if he knows this could very well be another big nail in the coffin of his UT coaching tenure.
8. I said two weeks ago that if Texas lost to both Oklahoma State and OU and sat at 3-4, I wasn't going to jump and down and call for Strong's head. I'm going to stand by that, but it might be time for the people who matter to start some behind-the-scenes discussions. No decision is likely to be made in-season, and it shouldn't be, but barring a miraculous run over the next seven weeks, I just don't see any way Strong is brought back.
Strong now has a 13-17 record at Texas. He's 9-11 in Big 12 games. Kirk Herbstreit can make all the excuses he wants, but winning is the only thing that matters and Strong is failing miserably in the department.
9. If you're looking at the remaining schedule, there really isn't a game left that Texas cannot win, so it is possible the Longhorns could catch fire and ultimately save Strong's job. That being said, Strong's teams at UT have done nothing to make me believe they're suddenly going to play good football on a consistent basis. Finishing the season with a record close to .500 seems more likely.
10. Was Joe Mixon trying to single-handedly throw the game? Apparently his bonehead decisions aren't limited to his off-field behavior.
11. Speaking of Mixon, he'll want no part of DeShon Elliott on kickoffs in the future. Those two hits by Elliott, especially the first one, were things of beauty.
12. Baker Mayfield is an easy guy to not like.
13. At what point do they try to work in some more of the passing game when Tyrone Swoopes is on the field? The 18-wheeler package has become entirely too one-dimensional. If they're not going to let Swoopes throw the ball on occasion, they may as well just keep Buechele in the game.
14. One of the bigger "what the heck?' moments came early in the game when Texas had to call a time out to avoid a delay of game, then nearly got a delay of game coming out of the time out which caused Kent Perkins to start early for a false start. Sloppy.
15. What in the world was Patrick Vahe doing on D'Onta Foreman's fumble deep in UT's territory? Vahe saw the ball on the ground and kind of nonchalantly tried to pick it up. Had he fallen on it, Texas would have retained possession. Instead, OU recovered and three plays later scored a TD.
16. The PAT issues appear to be fixed. That's good.
17. Oklahoma was pretty sloppy itself, especially with its time outs. If Strong was having to burn so many time outs, people would be all over him for poor game management. Bob Stoops and his staff did not have their A-game today.
18. Good for Dylan Haines for making two first-quarter interceptions, but his angle on Dede Westbrook's third TD was flat out awful.
19. Through three quarters of play, Oklahoma was averaging 8.9 yards per play. That number came down to a still ridiculous 7.8 yards per play for the game, but only because the Sooners were killing clock in the fourth quarter.
20. In case you're unaware, the Big 12 is awful. TCU barely escaped Kansas with a win, Iowa State is up on Oklahoma State in Stillwater at the half, and the Texas-OU game looked to me like it was two very average teams battling it out.
Player of the game: This one's tough to call this week. Buechele played well for the most part, but his interception deep in OU territory takes him out of contention. Anthony Wheeler was very active, finishing with a game-high 13 tackles. But the nod has to go to D'Onta Foreman, who was fantastic yet again, going for 159 yards and 2 TDs.
Best position group: The offense spread the ball around so no wide receiver put up big numbers, but the group did perform well overall (aside from yet another drop by Burt). Dorion Leonard, Devin Duvernay and Armanti Foreman all found the end zone. Collin Johnson had a good game. Overall, it was a solid day by the wide receiver group.
This game was over when ... Texas had its chances to make a defensive stop but just couldn't get it done in the fourth quarter. The one was pretty much over when OU went 60 yards and chewed up 7:58 of game clock before kicking a field goal to stretch the lead to 11 with only a couple minutes left. Texas did score to cut it to a five-point advantage and tried an onside kick, but the inability to make a defensive stop when it mattered pretty much did the Longhorns in.
Best decision: This was a pretty clean game by the UT coaches without an glaring mistakes. I did like that Sterlin Gilbert and the offense tested Oklahoma deep quite a bit, including standout cornerback Jordan Thomas despite Thomas' fast start to the game.
Head-scratcher: The in-game management was actually pretty good in this one, but one play that jumps out is the decision to go to the 18-wheeler package on a third-and-4 play in the third quarter. OU stopped Swoopes easily to force the punt. I didn't get that call at all ... four yards is too much in that situation, unless you think you're in four-down territory (they weren't).
What's next?: The Longhorns return home next week to play Iowa State, which should help right the ship for at least one week. But this game is absolutely not a given for Texas. If the Longhorns don't take the game seriously, Iowa State is capable of pulling the upset.
