Sark hails UT’s ‘true character’ after downing OU

DALLAS — Texas rolled into the Cotton Bowl at 12:30 p.m. sharp on Saturday facing what Longhorns’ coach Steve Sarkisian described as “a gut check moment”. Five-plus hours later, as the Oklahoma half of the 92,100-person crowd flowed out of the stadium, Sarkisian and his players gathered at the 50-yard line with the Golden Hat and potentially season-defining win in hand.

A week after stumbling to 3-2 and out of the AP Top 25 following a loss at Florida, the Longhorns regained their form in comprehensive style. Behind quarterback Arch Manning’s most efficient performance of the season and a physically dominant showing on both sides of the ball, Texas quieted the noise in 23-6 win over No. 6 Oklahoma, capping a week of national chatter with a resounding victory that will keep the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff hopes alive for at least another week and perhaps much further this fall.

“I think we saw the true character of the men in that locker room today — their connectivity, their love for one another,” Sarkisian said. “It’s easy to succumb to the outside noise. There was a lot of s— getting talked about our team, about these guys. And I think they responded.”

Trailing 6-0 minutes into the second quarter, Texas scored 23 unanswered points over the final 34:29 and outgained the Sooners 188-88 after halftime, sealing the program’s largest margin of victory — 17 points — over an AP top-10 opponent as an unranked team since 1957.

“I think we grew up a lot,” said Longhorns left tackle Trevor Goosby. “In the face of adversity, we either could have laid down or risen to the occasion. I think today we rose to the occasion.”

Texas, the preseason No. 1 in the AP poll, fell out of the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 2022 after its 29-21, SEC-opening defeat at Florida in Week 6. Carrying two losses from their initial five games, the Longhorns stepped into the latest edition of the Allstate Red River Rivalry with one the most highly anticipated campaigns in program history seemingly on the verge of unraveling.

Instead, following a week of urgency, Texas delivered its sharpest performance of the season.

That began with Manning, who Sarkisian said battled to remain a full participant in practice ahead of the Week 7 matchup with Oklahoma (5-1) after he was sacked six times against Florida.

“The biggest thing that impressed me this week about his game [is] he didn’t miss one rep at practice this week,” said Sarkisian. “He came back Monday and he was not 100%. He was beat up. But he took every rep. And I think coming out of a game like that, you earn the respect of your teammates.”

Facing one of the nation’s most fiercest pass rushes, Manning operated smoothly and largely mistake-free Saturday, outdueling Sooners quarterback John Mateer, who threw three interceptions in his return under center 17 days after undergoing surgery on his right hand.

Manning completed a season-high 77.8% of his throws for 166 yards and a third-quarter touchdown to junior wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. Sacked only once, Manning managed Oklahoma’s defensive front well and took advantage when provided with a clean pocket. Per ESPN Research, he finished the day 16-of-17 for 119 yards on non-pressured dropbacks.

Beyond his quarterback, Sarkisian said he challenged his team “about being physical” across all three phases this week.

Missing running back C.J. Baxter (undisclosed injury), Texas leaned heavily on junior Quintrevion Wisner, who ran for 94 yards on 22 carries and accounted for 45 all-purpose yards on the Longhorns’ momentum-shifting, 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the second half.

Led by Collin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr., Texas’ defensive front sacked Mateer five times and pressured the Sooners’ quarterback consistently while limiting Oklahoma to 1.6 yards per carry on 30 attempts. Maligned throughout the week following its performance against Florida, Texas’ offensive line stepped up, too, paving the way for a 16-yard rushing effort and allowing only a pair of hurries.

“We lined up and ran the football and credit to our offensive line,” Sarkisian said. They had a long week and they heard about it from all of you, too. They played pretty good today against arguably the best defensive front of our conference.”

Following a week of outside noise — surrounding Texas, its famous quarterback and the program’s floundering start this fall — the Longhorns responded. Now 1-1 in the SEC, Sarkisian offered a reminder Saturday evening of how Texas won the league’s regular season title at 7-1 in conference play a year ago, suggesting his team is still in position to compete not only within the SEC but to continue its pursuit of a third consecutive playoff appearance this fall.

On Saturday, at the very least, Sarkisian and the Longhorns took a big step in the right direction.

“If we can play the way we played today, we’re plenty good enough to compete with any team in our conference,” Sarkisian said.