Football wins AT&T Red River Showdown over No. 10/9 Oklahoma, 24-17

Saturday, October 10

Dallas, Texas

11 a.m.

University of Texas

2-4 , 1-2

Oklahoma

4-1 , 1-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Oklahoma	0	3	7	7	17
Texas	14	0	3	7	24

Football wins AT&T Red River Showdown over No. 10/9 Oklahoma, 24-17

10.10.2015 | Football

Box Score

Win against the Sooners marked UT's highest over an AP-ranked team under Charlie Strong.

Postgame notes
Postgame quotes: Texas | Oklahoma
Photo gallery | Longhorns Gameweek | Post game press conference

DALLAS, Texas – On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in front of 91,546 fans at the Cotton Bowl, Texas (2-4, 1-2 Big 12 Conference) rushed for a season-best 313 yards and its defense posted a season-high six sacks to go along with eight tackles for loss as the Longhorns handed No. 10/9 Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1 Big 12 Conference) its first loss of the campaign during the annual AT&T Red River Showdown, 24-17.

The victory marked the second in the last three seasons for the Longhorns over the Sooners, the sixth in the last 11 meetings between the two teams and boosted UT's all-time record against OU to 61-44-5.

A pair of Longhorns crossed the century mark rushing in the match-up with sophomore running back D'Onta Foreman leading the way with 117 yards, including a career-long 81-yard jaunt, and redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard adding 115 yards. The occurrence marked the second-straight 100-yard effort for Foreman as the Texas City, Texas, native became the first UT player to reach triple figures in consecutive games since Malcolm Brown had three straight to conclude the 2013 season (128 vs. Texas Tech, 131 at Baylor, 130 vs. Oregon).

The rushing yardage as a team for the Horns marked the first time Texas rushed for at least 300 yards in a single game since putting up 359 against New Mexico State on Aug. 31, 2013.

Texas managed the first extended drive of the contest for either team starting with 11:17 left in the opening quarter. After eight and 14-yard rushes from Heard resulted in consecutive first downs, the Longhorns got a key defensive holding penalty in the secondary to negate a Sooner interception. Granted new life, the Burnt Orange & White wasted little time in nabbing a 7-0 lead as a Heard swing pass to senior wide receiver Marcus Johnson resulted in a 24-yard TD.

On the ensuing kick-off, Texas junior safety Kevin Vaccaro forced Oklahoma returner Alex Ross to fumble, and UT's Kirk Johnson recovered it to set the Horns up in great field position at the OU 41. Turning exclusively to the ground game, Texas used seven consecutive rushes to reach pay dirt as junior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes handled the scoring duties on a three-yard dive over left tackle to make it 14-0.

Meanwhile, the Texas defense was keeping OU's offense under wraps, allowing the Sooners just 15 total yards on 12 total plays during the opening 15 minutes.

The Crimson & Cream attack finally found some room to work midway through the second quarter as OU marched from their own 29 down to a first-and-goal situation at the UT four-yard line. The Texas defense held strong on a key goal-line stand, however, limiting Oklahoma to a 21-yard Austin Siebert FG as the Horns advantage was trimmed to 14-3.

Straight out of the locker room, Texas marched 62 yards in 15 plays before stalling out at the Sooner nine-yard line. Senior kicker Nick Rose was summoned into the contest to restore UT's two-touchdown lead on a 27-yard FG.

Oklahoma drew within 17-10 with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter as an eight-play, 87-yard jaunt, keyed by a 50-yard pass from Baker Mayfield to Sterling Shepard, was completed on a two-yard scoring toss to Dimitri Flowers.

With the Sooners holding the game's momentum, Texas' "D" came up with a big stop at the UT 47 to force an Oklahoma punt. Following the change of possession, Foreman ignited the UT crowd by exploding up the middle on an 81-yard jaunt, tied for the 11th longest rush in school history, to set the Longhorns up with a first down at the OU 11-yard line as the third quarter ended.

Just three plays into the fourth, Swoopes completed the crucial five-play, 89-yard TD drive with a two-yard jump pass to junior tight end Caleb Bluiett as the Longhorns expanded their advantage to 24-10. The scoring catch marked the first of Bluiett's career in the Burnt Orange & White.

The fourth-quarter offensive fireworks continued on the very next drive as Oklahoma clawed back within a TD on a one-yard plunge by Samaje Perine with eight minutes left.

The Sooners got the ball back with 6:05 remaining with an opportunity to tie the game. After one OU first down, the Texas defense responded to the threat as a sack from freshman linebacker Malik Jefferson and a combined sack effort by sophomore defensive end Naashon Hughes and sophomore defensive tackle Poona Ford placed OU in a 4th-and-31 situation.

Oklahoma chose to punt the ball away, and the Longhorns successfully ran out the clock with senior running back Johnathan Gray and Heard combining for three rushing first downs to seal the victory.