Sooners pull rank on Longhorns
dallas — — DeMarco Murray rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns in 25 carries, and No. 8 Oklahoma held on to defeat 21st-ranked Texas, 28-20, to take the 105th installment of the Red River Rivalry.
For the second consecutive week the Sooners (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) survived a late comeback, as the Longhorns’ Aaron Williams fumbled a punt near midfield with 1:02 remaining to end Texas’ 13-game conference winning streak.
Landry Jones added scoring tosses to Kenny Stills and James Hanna and threw for 236 yards for the Sooners, who had lost this rivalry game four of the previous five years.
“This is a special rivalry, so to come out today, play like we did, and win a good football game to put us at 5-0, and of course to win our first conference game, is always a big deal,†Sooners Coach Bob Stoops said.
D.J. Monroe had a 60-yard touchdown run for the Longhorns (3-2, 1-1), while Garrett Gilbert threw for 266 yards with an interception on 27-of-41 efficiency in the loss, Texas’ second straight after a home setback to UCLA last week.
The Longhorns have been ranked for a school-record and NCAA-leading 162 consecutive weeks, a stretch that might end this week.
Oklahoma recovered an onside kick late last week to seal a win at Cincinnati, and appeared to face the same fate when Justin Tucker’s 21-yard field goal with 1:39 remaining in the game cut Texas’ deficit to 28-20.
Texas, though, kicked deep and the ball was downed in the end zone. Two plays later, Jones fumbled the ball, but it bounced out of bounds at the Oklahoma six-yard line.
Murray’s 17-yard run allowed the Sooners to move out of the shadow of their own end zone, and Williams coughed up the punt at his own 41. James Winchester recovered, and Oklahoma escaped the Cotton Bowl with another close win.
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