No. 1 Texas falls in Red River Rivalry stunner as Oklahoma wins on field goal as time expires

DALLAS – Lou Groza Award winner Tate Sandell kicked 47-yard field goal to lift unranked Oklahoma to a 27-24 win over Texas and shocked the nation’s No. 1-ranked team Saturday afternoon at the Cotton Bowl.

John Mateer rallied the spiraling Sooners to their biggest win of the season, connecting with star receiver Isaiah Satenga on two huge completions of 13 and 20 yards to set up Sandell’s winning kick.

An interception of Arch Manning by Oklahoma defensive back Courtland Guillory, a Klein Oak graduate, gave the Sooners the ball with 19 seconds left to drive for the winning field goal.

A couple possessions earlier, Texas’ Gianni Spetic missed a 53-yard field goal attempt that would’ve put the Longhorns ahead with 1:54 left.

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Oklahoma scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one on a dazzling, 42-yard interception return by safety Peyton Bowen on the first Arch Manning pick-six of his career to take its first lead of the game with 10:07 to play.

But Texas rallied behind a 42-yard completion to Cam Coleman to set up Manning’s third touchdown pass, a 15-yard strike to Jermaine Bishop Jr.

The Longhorn offense had been completely stifled in the second half, managing just one first down and 41 yards of offense.

Texas extended its string of not allowing an offensive touchdown for 11 quarters. But that ended when a questionable pass interference call in the end zone against Kade Phillips gave OU a first down at the 2 and Lloyd Avant scored on a run up the middle to tie the game at 17-17 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Texas took a 17-7 lead into the locker room at halftime after Gianni Spetic’s 23-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The game might well have been over, but for a blocked punt that was recovered by Oklahoma’s Dakoda Fields in the back of the end zone. That block by Danny Okoye, who took an inside path and beat Justin Cryer’s block, gave the Sooners new life after their offense had failed to register so much as a first down in its first five possessions.

But OU was still in the game after those five three-and-outs because Texas was executing very poorly on offense itself. Despite getting prime field position following two Sooner punts, the Longhorns misfired and started the game with four three-and-outs themselves.

Only a 41-yard strike to Coleman by Manning for a 7-0 lead interrupted that string of ineptitude. Manning hit the 6-foot-3 receiver on a double move to give the Auburn transfer his fifth touchdown of the year.

Texas did find a new weapon in the second quarter. Freshman Derrek Cooper, who missed a game with an ankle injury, sparked the Longhorns with three consecutive runs totaling 35 yards to set up the lead-extending field goal.

The Sooners gashed Texas for a rare explosive play with a 42-yard burst by Avant to boost a struggling running attack. Kobe Black finally ran down the OU junior.

In the first half, OU had just 1 yard rushing with a 0.1-yard average per carry, but broke through for the long play to set up Sandell’s 53-yard field goal to cut Texas’ lead to 17-10.

The start of the game was delayed for five minutes because of missing orange pylons in the back of the two end zones.

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This article originally published at No. 1 Texas falls in Red River Rivalry stunner as Oklahoma wins on field goal as time expires.

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