About 45 minutes before kickoff between Texas and Oklahoma at the historic Cotton Bowl for the Red River Rivalry, the student section of the Longhorns’ side was packed like sardines.
The Oklahoma side, however, was not. It filled eventually, but took much longer. Large spots of burnt orange stained the sea of crimson, an unusual sight.
About four hours later, it was a completely different scene. As soon as Oklahoma kicked the walk-off field goal, some Texas fans immediately left. Others stayed several minutes, even after “The Eyes of Texas” was sung, stunned at what just happened in front of them.
Both programs, and their fans, knew what the odds were coming into the matchup. But for the last 10 minutes of the game, Oklahoma defied them all.
The unranked Sooners entered the game trying to navigate the season with a struggling offense. The Sooners could compete, but they would need special teams scores and turnovers. Texas gifted them exactly that. It was a perfectly ugly storm.
“If you expose yourself to these errors, good teams in our conference are gonna take advantage of them and you get beat, and that’s exactly what happened today,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said postgame.
The Longhorns were in the driver’s seat for most of the game. They weren’t playing perfectly, but that was expected. That’s been the name of the game with this team so far: the offense struggles, but the defense will eventually save them.
That strategy is not sustainable. Slowly but surely, the Sooners took and sustained all of the momentum and energy, even when they were down a touchdown.
That ultimately reflected in the crowd, too.
Before the fourth quarter, the Sooner fans took part in their regular home game tradition, singing Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” at the top of their lungs.
It was electric, and singing the line “We’ll put a boot in your ass” while shotguns fired carried extra weight and became a manifestation of the next 10 minutes.
It just wasn’t the same after.
Despite being the clear underdogs, the Sooners and their fans believed that they would win. Texas played “protect the lead” football, which led to mistakes, and Oklahoma capitalized when it mattered most.
It was one of, if not the worst, losses in the Sarkisian era. An inconsistent offense and consistent self-inflicted wounds are a lethal combination, and it was eventually going to catch up to the Longhorns. An undefeated season isn’t as feasible in the modern day of college football.
But a loss against an unranked team that happens to be the program’s archrival stings. All of that anticipation and excitement was over within five hours.
The Longhorns must turn the page immediately. Their remaining schedule is no joke. Oklahoma must do the same, as the team will face back-to-back ranked opponents.
“You gotta have a short-term memory,” fifth-year defensive tackle Hero Kanu said. “(The) season is not over, guys. We still have a bunch of games to play.”
As the sun set over the State Fair of Texas, the north side of the Cotton Bowl was completely clear of any Longhorn fans. They had gone home or headed to the fair to ease the pain with a funnel cake.
The south side, however, had some Sooner stragglers, sitting and taking in the win. They left Dallas with a win that will be remembered for years. This was their season-defining win. Texas, on the other hand, left frustrated and will have to reckon with the collapse.
