OU-Texas: Q3 Report

DALLAS — After a wild first half, the third quarter of Saturday’s Red River Rivalry looked a lot more normal.

Unranked Oklahoma and No. 24 Texas fought to a disjointed standstill in the first two quarters, but the Sooners cut out the turnovers and began establish the line of scrimmage in the third quarter, separating to a 31-17 lead.

Following a first half in which he threw a bad interception and lost a fumble in the pocket, quarterback Spencer Rattler returned from a temporary benching to engineer two touchdown drives.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma defense simply took over.

Going into the fourth quarter, OU’s defense — much maligned after back-to-back losses to Kansas State and Iowa State — had given up just nine first downs and 174 total yards. The Sooners had seven tackles for loss and sacked quarterback Sam Ehlinger four times, forced seven punts and six three-and-outs, plus took away one fumble and blocked and recovered a punt.

Offensively, OU got physical behind a punishing offensive line. T.J. Pledger — replacing leading rusher Seth McGowan, who missed the game with a concussion suffered last week in Ames — rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Marcus Major also added a 21-yard touchdown run.

Rattler used his own legs more upon his return, rushing for 20 yards on six carries, including three carries for 26 yards on the Sooners’ second drive of the half.

OU’s first possession was started with another defensive three-and-out, and was ignited by Marvin Mims’ 36-yard punt return (aided by a 15-yard Texas penalty). Pledger’s 2-yard run made it 24-17.

Pledger made it 31-17 with 87 seconds left in the quarter, but only after acrobatic catches by Theo Wease and Austin Stogner kept the drive alive.

To get the latest OU posts as they happen, join the SI Sooners Community by clicking “Follow” at the top right corner of the page (mobile users can click the notifications bell icon), and follow SI Sooners on Twitter @All_Sooners.

Add us as a preferred source on Google