Quinn Ewers returns as No. 1 Texas beats No. 18 Oklahoma 34-3 in Red River Rivalry

Quinn Ewers returned from injury to lead No. 1 Texas to a 34-3 win over 18th-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday, throwing for 199 yards and the go-ahead touchdown and running for another score in the teams’ first Red River Rivalry matchup as Southeastern Conference members.

Quintrevion Wisner ran for 118 yards and a touchdown for the Longhorns (6-0, 2-0 SEC), and his fumble at the end of another long run was recovered in the end zone by teammate Silas Bolden for a TD.

Ewers overcame a sluggish start and finished 20-of-29 passing in his first game since an abdomen strain four weeks ago. He was sacked for the only time on the game’s first play and threw an interception on his first pass.

The first meeting under their new conference logo was the 120th in the series that dates to 1900 and has been played annually during the State Fair of Texas since 1929. Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2) won five of the last six times they played while together in the Big 12, but the Longhorns have a 64-51-5 series advantage.

Texas went ahead to stay when Ewers rolled to his right, then threw back left to Gunnar Helm for a 7-yard TD early in the second quarter for a 7-3 lead. That was after the Longhorns trailed in a game for the first time this season.

Michael Hawkins Jr., the first true freshman quarterback to start for Oklahoma against the Longhorns, was 16-of-24 for 120 yards. He ran 20 times for 27 yards, including being sacked five times, while the Sooners had only 225 total yards.

Bolden’s heads-up recovery in the back corner of the end zone with 2:21 left in the first half came at the end of a 36-yard run by Wisner, who had the ball knocked out by Robert Spears-Jennings inside the 5.

Hawkins fumbled on the first play after the 2-minute timeout, stripped by Anthony Hill Jr., and Wisner had a 43-yard TD on the next snap for a 21-3 halftime lead in one of the hottest Red River games. It was 92 degrees at kickoff at the Cotton Bowl, one below the record.

The takeaway

Texas: Arch Manning won both of his starts while Ewers was out, but coach Steve Sarkisian was clear throughout that there was no quarterback controversy. Ewers got his second Red River victory coming off multiple missed games. The Longhorns won 49-0 two years ago when he threw four TD passes after missing the previous three games with a collarbone injury.

Oklahoma: With their receiving corps decimated by injuries — five of their top pass-catchers were out — and their rushing game pretty non-existent, the Sooners put a heavy load on the freshman quarterback starting the rivalry game in his hometown. There was no chance for a rally like the one they had two weeks ago at Auburn for their first SEC road win in Hawkins’ first start. Their only score was Tyler Keltner’s 42-yard field goal on their first possession, after Billy Bowman’s interception at the Texas 45.

Poll implications

The Longhorns have fallen out of the No. 1 spot after winning a game this season, and finished before No. 2 Ohio State played at No. 3 Oregon on Saturday night. But Texas should be in the top spot for the fourth poll this season, which would be their most since the final six of the 1977 regular season. The Sooners could fall out of the Top 25 for the first time this year.

Up next

Texas: With a win already this season over defending national champion Michigan, the Longhorns are home next Saturday night against No. 5 Georgia, which won the 2021 and 2022 national titles.

Oklahoma: Home for the first time in four weeks to play South Carolina next Saturday.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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