John Shinn
DALLAS — Five years of Texas frustration came crashing down Saturday at the Cotton Bowl. And it fell all over Oklahoma.
An ineffective offense mixed with a mistake-prone defense gave the second-ranked Longhorns all the room they needed to roll through the Sooners 45-12.
The Longhorns (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) convincingly ended one of the most dominant runs in the 100-game series between the Red River rivals. They held the Sooners to 177 yards of total offense and never trailed.
“We didn’t play our best game,” OU quarterback Rhett Bomar said. “I think everybody realized that. We just didn’t execute very well and it showed in the end.”
The Sooners (2-3, 1-1) came in not only riding their longest series winning streak since the 1950s, they’d outscored the Longhorns 189-54 along the way.
It was evident that was going to change Saturday and it didn’t take long for the cards to be laid out on the table.
Adrian Peterson’s ankle injury turned out more severe than OU coach Bob Stoops had thought or indicated. Peterson did not start and only carried the ball three times for 10 yards.
The Sooners rushed for just 77 yards with Kejuan Jones, Jacob Gutierrez and Donta Hickson combining for 56.
The game was put in Bomar’s hands and he had little time to do anything against a blitzing Texas defense and completed only 12-of-33 attempts for 94 yards.
“Our plan was to get him in situations were he’s not comfortable,” Texas linebacker Aaron Harris said. “We wanted to get to him and frustrate him.”
The Longhorns did, sacking Bomar three times and hurrying his throws on numerous occasions.
Instead, it was Texas quarterback Vince Young who ruled the day. He threw for 241 yards, completing 14-of-27 attempts with three going for touchdowns. He also rushed for 45 yards.
The junior’s nimble feet didn’t do much damage. His longest carry went for 15 yards. But clearly, he was different player than the one who struggled against the Sooners last season.
“The improvement in him is obvious,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “The longer a quarterback is out there, the easier it is to see things and we’ve always recognized he is an excellent player.”
He engineered an 82-yard drive on the opening possession, capping it with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ramonce Taylor.
OU still had chances to get back in the game. A pair of Garrett Hartley field goals, the first coming from 52 yards, closed the gap to 7-6 late in the first quarter.
Yet the score was still a testament to the Texas defense, as both Sooner scoring drives started on the Longhorns’ side of the 50.
“We had opportunities with a short field,” offensive tackle Davin Joseph said. “We didn’t take advantage of them like should.”
Texas did
It only took one play and 13 seconds for the Longhorns to reclaim control. On the first play after the kickoff that followed Hartley’s second field goal, Jamaal Charles broke tackles at the line of scrimmage before darting 80 yards up the middle to put Texas on top 14-6.
Charles finished with 116 yards on nine carries. The Longhorns rushed for 203.
OU still had a chance to get back in the game.
Middle linebacker Zach Latimer picked off a Young pass and returned it to the Texas 30 with 6 minutes left in the first half.
However, it was negated pass interference (attributed to Ingram, though no number was called by the official on the field). Six plays later David Pino booted a 37-yard field goal.
OU never recovered form the swing.
“It was really a breaking point for us,” Stoops said. “I am not questioning the call, but we thought we had it; then we didn’t; then they went down and got a field goal. Thinking we had the ball at the 30, and then not, that was a big swing.”
The deficit swelled to 24-6 when Young hooked up with Billy Pittman for 64-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left in the first half.
By then, any chance of OU walking out of the Cotton Bowl with a win appeared gone.
Young found Pittman again for a 27-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter and Selvin Young found paydirt from 5 yards to give Texas a 38-6 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Sooners’ only retort was Bomar’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Joe Jon Finley with 11:35 to play.
OU threatened again, but Bomar was nailed by Brian Robison at the Texas 33 and defensive tackle Rodrique Wright scooped up the gall and ran 67 yards for a touchdown.
All that was left was for Texas half to celebrate its first win over the Sooners since 1999. More importantly, it left the Longhorns entrenched atop the Big 12 South.
When OU travels to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., next Saturday to face Kansas, it will do so as the first Sooner team to lose three games in a season since 1999.
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
