DALLAS — Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards for a decisive touchdown in the fourth quarter and Texas got a much-needed 23-6 win over sixth-ranked Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry game on Saturday.
Arch Manning completed 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards and the go-ahead 12-yard TD to DeAndre Moore Jr. on the opening drive of the second half for the Longhorns (4-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), who were coming off a loss at Florida that knocked the preseason No. 1 team out of the AP Top 25.
“We learned how to fight today,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We saw the true character of the men in that locker room.”
Texas retained the Golden Hat trophy and should get back into the next poll on Sunday. More importantly, the Longhorns avoided a loss that likely would have ended any realistic chance of getting into the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row.
John Mateer was 20-of-38 passing with three interceptions in his return to the lineup for Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1) only 17 days after surgery on his throwing (right) hand. He said his hand was fine.
“I just didn't play good enough,” Mateer said.
Niblett worked up the sideline in front of the Texas bench, and after making a cut inside near midfield bounced off teammate Marshall Landwehr and continued his sprint to the end zone for a 20-6 lead with 9:59 left.
“I feel like he really helped me," Niblett said. “Because I feel like if I would have went inside, I probably would have gotten tackled. So just him being able to hit me back outside, just display my speed, just felt great.”
When the Sooners gained 38 yards on three plays to the Texas 27 on the ensuing drive, Mateer had an incompletion before being sacked on consecutive plays and then had another incompletion on fourth-and-22. They finished with only 258 total yards.
“Today was a bad day but we still have a good football team,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said. “Couldn't get any rhythm in the second half. They flipped the script. ... This one hurts for all the reasons we had opportunities.”
Getting their kicks
Mason Shipley kicked field goals of 22, 48 and 39 yards for the Longhorns. He had two long misses, the first a 55-yard attempt that ricocheted off the right upright, and was later short on a 56-yard attempt.
Tate Sandell kicked a 42-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive for the Sooners. He made it 6-0 with a 41-yarder in the second quarter, but they didn't score again.
Big picks
Malik Muhammad had two of the interceptions for the Longhorns, including one in the end zone at the end of the first half that Sarkisian called “a momentum-changing play" since it kept Oklahoma from having another chance to score and knowing Texas had the ball first after the break.
The takeaway
Oklahoma: The Sooners have now lost back-to-back games against their biggest rival for the first time since 2008 and 2009. Before a 34-3 loss last year in the game at the State Fair of Texas, they had won five of six against Texas, including the 2018 Big 12 championship game.
Texas: Quintrevion Wisner was a workhorse for the Longhorns, running 22 times for 94 yards and catching five passes for 34 yards. Texas gained only 20 yards on 14 plays its first three possessions of the game, but opened the second half with scoring drives of 75 and 65 yards. Those included seven consecutive third-down conversions, one from their own 8 when Manning was scrambling sideways on the goal line before throwing a 21-yard pass to Parker Livingstone along the sideline.
Up next
Oklahoma plays next Saturday at South Carolina, which won 35-9 in Norman last season in their first meeting.
Texas plays at Kentucky for the first time next Saturday. The only two previous meetings were wins by the Longhorns at home.
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