Sooners just used upset of No. 1 Texas in Red River Rivalry to prove 'we ain't that bad'

Texas sucks, but the Oklahoma Sooners sure don't.

The Sooners, with an offense that had become a joke of college football, an injury list longer than the trip down I-35, and a fan base drained of hope, pulled off the unthinkable on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl, the perfect stage for such a story.

Tate Sandell's 47-yard field goal toward the direction of the crimson side of the 50-yard line completed the upset to hand No. 1 Texas its first loss of the season, 27-24, and avoid a three-game losing streak in the greatest rivalry college football has to offer.

Maybe those outside of Sooner Nation will use the result as proof that the Longhorns were just overrated, even with a pair of top-15 wins, but OU head coach Brent Venables knows that it showed the rest of the world that OU isn't as bad as its 2-2 record was heading into the second Saturday of October.

Despite four previous tries, it was the first time an OU team ever beat a Texas team that ranked on top. It was the Sooners' first win over a No. 1 team since 2007.

"Two things can be true: they can be 4-0 coming in, we're 2-2 coming in; they're ranked No. 1, and we ain't that bad," Venables said during his postgame interview on ABC. "When we put it all together, get out of our own way, take care of the football, good things happen. We got a really good football team.

"There's a lot 'Yeah, buts' going on going into the game. 'Yeah, but; yeah, but; yeah, but.' And these guys continued to believe. It doesn't matter what everybody else says and what everybody else thinks. It only matters what we believe and what we do. Our guys refused to break and continued to believe and continued to put the work in and continued to improve. We did it without several good players today. For the guys, it's like, 'Now what? Now what?'"

Brent Venables makes perfect statement to encapsulate what Oklahoma proved in Red River Rivalry

It seemed more likely this morning that I'd be writing about Venables being on the hot seat than having his program back on track by the end of the day. He started the day 1-3 against OU's most-hated rival and had lost the last two without the Sooners even scoring a touchdown.

The offense had been even worse in the past three games than it was heading into the last two Red River Rivalry games. Many questioned why quarterback John Mateer hadn't been benched yet. There was a lifeless running game. Offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh seemed destined to be fired because of how bad his unit had been.

Mateer was turnover-free, while college football darling Arch Manning on the other side threw two crucial interceptions, including one that safety Peyton Bowen returned to the end zone to give the Sooners a 24-17 lead with 10:07 left.

Bedenbaugh's offensive line overpowered Texas' defensive front most of the second half, which paved the way for Lloyd Avant to jolt life into the run game with 72 rushing yards and a game-tying touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

A terrifyingly long injured list had the Sooners facing mismatches in some of the worst places. Ten players ended up being unavailable for OU, which included four starters.

The entire left side of the starting offensive line was out while taking on a Texas pass rush that ranked fourth in the country in sacks. Ryan Fodje had to start at left tackle again, while he and E'Marion Harris on the other side both kept future first-round pick Colin Simmons quiet most of the game.

Cornerback Eli Bowen was injured during Thursday's practice, with his backup, Jacobe Johnson, also already out. Sophomore cornerback Trystan Haynes had to step up and make his first career start as an Oklahoman in the Red River Rivalry. He spent most of the afternoon lined up across from Cam Coleman, who was the top transfer prospect in the portal over the offseason.

Haynes was second on the team with seven tackles and an early pass breakup. Coleman had a good day with five catches for 110 yards and a TD, but he did most of his damage while busting zone coverage and had only a 63% catch percentage.

There was every reason for the Sooners to get blown out and sent below .500 on Saturday. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, though, had given the same warning this week that Venables had been trying to make clear: Team 132 might not actually be that bad if it would just get out of its own way.

OU was considered a bad football team this morning, but if the Sooners can beat the No. 1 team in college football, then clearly, "We ain't that bad."

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow