Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Five great games in the OU-Texas rivalry

By Chip Rouse

DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 10: A general view of play between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns during the 2015 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 10: A general view of play between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns during the 2015 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Quarterback Chris Simms #1of the Texas Longhorns scrambles with the ball as he is sacked by Roy Williams #38 of the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas Texas. Credit: Ronald Martinez /Allsport
Quarterback Chris Simms #1of the Texas Longhorns scrambles with the ball as he is sacked by Roy Williams #38 of the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas Texas. Credit: Ronald Martinez /Allsport /

2001 — Oklahoma 14, Texas 3

Coming off its 2000 national championship season, which featured a stunning 63-14 blowout over No. 11 Texas, Oklahoma came into its 2001 annual rivalry game with Texas ranked No. 3 in the country. Texas entered the game as the No. 5-ranked team.

This was the first time both teams came into the game ranked in the top five since the 1984 season.

Neither team scored in the opening quarter. In the second quarter, OU starting quarterback Nate Hybl was knocked out of the game after taking a big hit from one of the Texas linebackers. Into the game came sophomore backup Jason White.

White engineered an Oklahoma scoring drive that was capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by Quentin Griffin. Tim Duncan added the extra point, putting the Sooners up 7-0 with 5:56 left until halftime.

Texas got on the scoreboard right before halftime on a 27-yard field goal with 14 second left before the half.

Both defenses took over in the third quarter, and the quarter ended with OU holding on to its narrow 7-3 lead.

Midway through the third quarter, Texas quarterback Chris Simms drove the Longhorns deep into Oklahoma territory, but he was intercepted in the end zone by OU’s Antonio Perkins.

Faced with a fourth-down decision on the Texas side of the field, Oklahoma lined up in what appeared to be a field-goal try, but instead Duncan pooch-kicked a punt that was caught by Nathan Vashar of Texas, who surprisingly dropped to the ground at the Longhorn three-yard line. That left Texas 97 yards away from the end zone with just a couple of ticks over two minutes remaining in the game.

On Texas’ first play from scrimmage, backed up to its own end zone, Oklahoma safety Roy Williams blitzed from his safety position leaped high and hit Simms just as he was throwing the ball. The ball was tipped and plucked out of the air by linebacker Teddy Lehman who took two steps into the end zone for an Oklahoma touchdown. That one play became a highlight reel that will go down as one of the all-time great plays in this classic rivalry series.

Simms, clearly rattled by the preceding Oklahoma defensive touchdown, threw another interception on the next Texas possession, closing out the win for the Sooners, their second straight in the series.

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