{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Oklahoma 45, Texas 40
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 8, 2016
Where: Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, Texas
Temperature: 65°
Head Official: Reggie Smith
Attendance: 92100

DALLAS -- When 20th-ranked Oklahoma needed to control the clock with the game in the balance in the fourth quarter against Texas on Saturday, the Sooners opted for a lot of three-yard runs and short passes rather than flashy, deep passes.

The focus of that late strategy was workhorse Samaje Perine, who ran for 214 yards and two touchdowns 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.

The Sooners' Baker Mayfield passed for 390 yards and three touchdowns -- all to Dede Westbrook, who hauled in 10 passes for 232 yards, the most yards ever by an Oklahoma player and most receptions ever for a Sooners player in the 111-year history of the series with Texas.

Mayfield's 390 yards on 22-of-31 passing was also the most by an Oklahoma quarterback in the series.

With Texas trailing by 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 answer with D'Onta Foreman's 22-yard touchdown run that cut the lead to 45-40. A two-point conversion attempt failed, and the Sooners corralled the ensuing on-side kick.

"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 Texas defense and some shoddy clock management by Oklahoma gave the Longhorns one more chance. Needing to move 90 yards in 17 seconds with no timeouts, the Longhorns couldn't produce a miracle.

The loss marked the first time in school history that Texas allowed 45 or more points in each of the first four games of a season. It was the third straight game -- all losses -- that the Longhorns (2-3, 0-2) have allowed more than 500 yards of total offense.

"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."

Shane Buechele was 19-of-36 for 245 yards and three touchdowns for the Longhorns while Foreman racked up 159 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries for Texas.

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 Oklahoma's 13-yard line, and after three plays and a penalty pushed Texas back to the 16, Trent Domingue booted 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 move to a 2-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 reclaim the lead for the Sooners at 14-10 with 4:02 to play in the second quarter. It was the longest scoring pass play by Oklahoma in the history of the series.

"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.

Oklahoma amassed 672 yards of total offense, the second most ever in this series and the most against Texas this season. The Longhorns had 425 yards and forced four turnovers but converted those miscues into just three points.

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."

NOTES: A total of 15 true freshmen have made their debuts for Texas during the first four games of the season. In 2015, 17 true freshmen played for the Longhorns and a school-record 10 started games. ... Texas has blocked a kick (punt, field goal or extra point) in each of the season's first four games. ... The Longhorns have totaled 568 yards of offense in back-to-back games. Last season UT totaled just two games with more than 500 yards of total offense. ... This marks the fourth straight season that Oklahoma entered the Red River Showdown ranked in the AP Top 25 while Texas is unranked. Despite that fact, the Longhorns have won two of the last three meetings. ... Saturday's game is just the second this season for Oklahoma against non-ranked opponent. Under coach Bob Stoops, the Sooners are 125-18 (.874) against unranked teams and 74-14 (.841) in Big 12 play vs. unranked competition. ... Due mainly to injuries, 18 different Sooners have started on defense through four games.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Texas   Oklahoma
D'Onta Foreman Player Samaje Perine
25 Attempts 35
159 Yards 214
6.4 Avg Yards 6.1
2 Touchdowns 2
0 Long 0
Receiving
Texas   Oklahoma
Devin Duvernay Player Dede Westbrook
3 Receptions 10
81 Yards 232
27.0 Avg Yards 23.2
1 Touchdowns 3
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Texas 425 180 245 5 2 2 1.0 2
Oklahoma 672 282 390 6 1 1 4.0 1