By Steve Habel, Senior Editor
DALLAS, Texas — When 20th-ranked Oklahoma needed to control the clock with the game against Texas in the balance in the fourth quarter Saturday, the Sooners opted for a lot of three-yard runs and short passes rather than flashy, deep throws.
The focus of that late-game strategy was workhorse running back Samaje Perine, who ran for 214 yards on 35 carries, nine of which came on the decisive drive, as Oklahoma outlasted the reeling Longhorns, 45-40, before a sun-splashed crowd of 92,100 at the Cotton Bowl on the State Fair Grounds of Texas.
Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield passed for 390 yards and three touchdowns — all three to Dede Westbrook, who hauled in 10 passes for a 232 yards, the most [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]yards ever by an Oklahoma player and most receptions ever for a Sooners player in the 111-year history of its series with Texas (which fell to 2-3 overall, and 0-2 in games against Big 12 opponents). Mayfield’s 390 yards on 22-of-31 passing also was the most by an OU quarterback in the series.
With Texas trailing by just eight points with 10:34 to play, Oklahoma (3-2, 2-0 Big 12) chewed up 7:58 of the clock on a 15-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a 39-yard field goal by Austin Seibert.
The Longhorns scored quickly, taking just 51 seconds to move score on running backs D’Onta Foreman’s 22-yard touchdown run that cut the lead to 45-40. A two-point conversion attempt failed, and Oklahoma corralled the ensuing onside kick.
The Texas defense and some shoddy clock management by Oklahoma gave UT one more chance. Needing to move 90 yards in 17 seconds with no timeouts, the Longhorns couldn’t produce a miracle.
“We were able to control the ball when we had to,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “We fought it all the way to the end, and we had a lot guys down at the start of the game and even more as the game went on. We’re still searching for consistency, but we made the plays when we had to at the end of the game.”
The loss marked the first time in school history that Texas allowed 45 or more points in four of the first five games of a season. It was the third straight game in which the Longhorns have allowed more than 500 yards of total offense; they have lost all three of those games.
Oklahoma amassed 672 yards of total offense, the second-highest total ever in this series, the most against Texas this season and the fifth-highest total ever by a UT opponent. The Longhorns had 425 yards and forced four turnovers, but converted those Sooners’ miscues into just three points.
“It’s not a desperate situation, but when you’ve lost three games in a row you need to win,” Texas coach Charlie Strong said. “Defensively, we have to get better. We have to make teams drive on us. The big plays really hurt us today.”
Texas quarterback Shane Buechele was 19-of-39 for 245 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Foreman racked up 159 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
Texas entered the game having forced just one turnover in its first four games, but Longhorns’ safety Dylan Haines grabbed two interceptions in the first seven minutes of the first quarter.
Haines returned the second interception to the OU 13-yard line, and after three plays and a penalty pushed Texas back to the 16, kicker Trent Domingue booted through a 33-yard field goal to give Texas a 3-0 lead with 5:21 to play in the first quarter.
A fumble by Foreman at the Texas 16-yard line later in the quarter garnered a short-field situation for Oklahoma and the Sooners made the best of the opportunity, needing just three plays to cash in with a two-yard touchdown run by Perine.
A pair of 15-yard penalties by Oklahoma on the same play accounted for nearly half of Texas’ 69-yard scoring march on its ensuing possession, as Foreman powered over from the 1-yard line for a 10-7 Longhorns’ lead 39 seconds into the second quarter.
Mayfield hit Westbrook on a 71-yard bomb for a touchdown to return the Sooners to the lead, at 14-10, with 4:02 to play in the second quarter.
On the pass, Mayfield rolled left and retreated a few yards before unleashing a rocket to the streaking Westbrook, who found room behind the Longhorns’ Davante Davis. It was the longest scoring pass play by the Sooners in the 111-year history of the rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas.
“We knew that stopping Westbrook was the key to stopping Oklahoma, but we had some mental breakdowns in times we couldn’t afford them,” Haines said. “We were prepared to play well. At halftime there wasn’t a play or a formation we hadn’t thought we’d see. We didn’t make the plays when we needed to.”
Domingue cut that lead to 14-13 on the final play of the half, and the end of Texas’ most sustained drive of the first two quarters.
Texas reassumed the lead on its first possession of the third quarter as Buechele hit Devin Duvernay on a 63-yard touchdown pass after the freshman speedster got behind the OU defense.
It took the Sooners just 58 seconds to answer, driving 79 yards in three plays to a 42-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to Westbrook that gave the Sooners a 21-20 advantage.
Buechele went right back to the deep ball on the Longhorns’ next possession, finding Dorian Leonard on another touchdown bomb, this one from 45 yards away as Oklahoma defender Justin Thomas lost the ball in the sun.
Mayfield scampered for a four-yard touchdown at the end of an eight-play, 75-yard march that put the Sooners back in front, 28-27, seven minutes into the third quarter. The big play on the drive was a 51-yard catch-and-run from Mayfield to Dahu Green after Texas cornerback Kris Boyd stopped covering Green for long enough create some space for the pass to be thrown.
Westbrook kept getting open and Mayfield kept finding him for touchdowns. They hooked up for the third time on a 47-yard scoring connection at the 5:39 mark of the third quarter.
“Really, I just threw the ball up there and my receivers went up and got it most of the time,” said Mayfield, who is from the Austin suburb of Lake Travis. “I’ve wanted to be a part of a team that beats Texas for a long time, so this means a lot to me.”
Just when the Sooners looked like they were ready to take control of the game, Joe Mixon muffed a punt that was recovered by Texas’ Boyd at the OU 23-yard line. But the Buechele was intercepted by Oklahoma’s Will Sunderland at the 7-yard line to quell the Longhorns’ scoring chance.
Perine, who is from the Austin suburb of Pflugerville but was never offered a scholarship by the Longhorns, added to the Oklahoma lead with a 3-yard TD run with 11:53 to play.
But the Longhorns refused to relent, driving 67 yards in six plays, the final one a 10-yard TD pass from Buechele to Armanti Foreman that cut the Oklahoma lead to 42-34 with 10:34 left in regulation.
Texas limps back to the home pasture next week when it hosts Iowa State at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
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