Whatever It Takes

For only the second time in the 115-year history of the Red River Showdown, overtime was required to determine the winner.

Not just one overtime, but four.

Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley referred to Saturday's 53-45 quadruple-overtime survival against No. 22-ranked Texas as a "Battle Royale."

"I can't say enough about the fight of our guys," Riley said in his postgame interview session. "I've never been prouder of our football team than I am of this team right now. The story of this (game) is our fight. The story of this is how we continued to play through the overtimes."

After suffering back-to-back regular-season losses for the first time since 1999, the Sooners (2-2 overall, 1-2 Big 12) endured a 14-point rally from the Longhorns (2-2, 1-2) in the final 4:38 of regulation that forged a 31-31 tie.

"The story of this (game) is our fight. The story of this is how we continued to play through the overtimes."
Lincoln Riley

The four-hour, 43-minute marathon was played in temperatures that reached 90 degrees, leading to constant substitutions by both teams due to fatigue and cramping.

"We had a lot of guys who were hurting, a lot of guys who were absolutely gassed, and everybody was just begging to go back in the game," Riley said.

Twelve OU freshman non-starters saw game action to help offset the attrition. "Boy, did we ever need them with all the snaps (97 plays for the Sooners; 87 for Texas) on the field," Riley said.

Riley now joins predecessor Bob Stoops (1999-2003) as the only OU head coaches to win at least four of their first five meetings against the Longhorns (Stoops was also 4-1).

Coincidentally, Saturday's game-winning score came on a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Spencer Rattler to sophomore wide receiver Drake Stoops, a walk-on. "What can you say?" Riley said. "I bet his Daddy's pretty happy right now."

Rattler became just the third OU starting freshman quarterback to beat Texas (joining Justin Fuente in 1996 and Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford in 2007). Rattler did so despite being removed from the game for the final 11:44 of the first half after fumbling for his second turnover of the game.

"I was kind of surprised when I came out at first, then coach Riley said, 'Just take a breather, you're going to get back out there. Just sit back for a second and try to recoup,'" explained Rattler, who added his right arm "was bugging me, too" after it was injured when he was sacked and fumbled on the play. "It was a good learning experience for me. I got a chance to sit back for a second, catch my breath and get back into the game. I just wanted to sit back, kind of get a fresh breath of air, see everything, and that definitely helped, I think."

Rattler started the second half, finished out the game, and wound up completing 23 of 35 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed 14 times for 51 yards and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak on fourth down in the second overtime.

"I thought Spencer did some good things early then had a couple plays that I didn't like," Riley said. "I felt like (replacement QB) Tanner (Mordecai) would go play well. I also felt like it would help Spencer step back for a second and kind of see the whole thing a little bit and settle down, and I think that happened."

This was OU's ?rst-ever game with more than two overtimes. The Sooners are now 7-3 all-time in overtime games and 3-1 in contests that have gone at least two overtimes.

"We work overtime periods throughout the whole year, especially in fall camp," Rattler said. "It just shows what we're made of and how clutch we are out there. We had a consistent edge to use throughout that end of the game, especially into OT. I was hyped up, especially in overtime, but I kept a cool head. I didn't get too up or too down. We'd go out there, get a touchdown, run one, throw one, it doesn't matter."

Texas omnipresent senior quarterback and four-year starter Sam Ehlinger completed 30 of 53 passes for 287 yards, two touchdowns against two interceptions. He also rushed for 112 yards on 23 carries (4.9 average) and ran for a career-high four touchdowns.

"Listen, Sam Ehlinger is going to make some plays," Riley said. "We've sat here and watched it in this game for what seems like 15 years now. The guy's a good player. He's difficult to contain."

"Both teams put on one heckuva show."

OU senior cornerback Tre Bown sealed the victory by intercepting Ehlinger's final pass attempt in the end zone.

"I just kept telling myself, there's a play that needed to be made," Brown said. "And I wanted to be the one to do it if no one was going to do it before me."

Though the contest undoubtedly was entertaining, it was hardly flawless. OU committed three turnovers on consecutive first-half possessions that resulted in 10 points for the Longhorns.

After Sooners junior defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey blocked a 33-yard field goal attempt in the third overtime (which was Texas' first missed field goal against the Sooners since 2001), OU sophomore placekicker Gabe Brkic shockingly pulled a 31-yard game-winning attempt to the left on the next possession. It was only the second miss of Brkic's career on 23 tries.

"Gabe makes that 99 times out of 100," Riley said. "That was the one he didn't make. I feel like we've got one of the best kickers in America."

True freshman running back Seth McGowan, the Sooners' leading rusher through the first three games, sat out of Saturday's contest reportedly for medical reasons. Sophomore T.J. Pledger started for the third straight game and led OU with a career-high 131 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries (6.0 average) while redshirt freshman Marcus Major scored his ?rst career TD and finished with a career-high 43 yards on 12 runs.

"Man, they hung in there," Riley said of his replacements. "They were tough for us. They did some really nice things. They got better, which we're going to continue to have to do in that (position meeting) room and every room. It was a little bit of a light room this week."

OU's performance was on-again, off-again throughout the game. In the first quarter, the Sooners jumped out to a 10-0 lead and outgained the Longhorns 148-61. In the third quarter, the Sooners outscored UT 14-0 and outgained the Longhorns 117-13 to take a 31-17 lead, which quickly evaporated in the final 4½ minutes of regulation.

"It's just kind of a little bit of what we are right now. We're fighting for consistency," Riley said. "Our roster is kind of all over the place, and I think that's some of it. We still recognize as a team our best ball has not been played yet. Our best ball has not been coached yet. We still have so, so far to go."

OU sophomore wide receiver Theo Wease caught a team- and career-high eight passes for 56 yards while sophomore tight end Austin Stogner had a career-high six receptions for 56 yards and had an 11-yard touchdown reception in the first overtime.

"Both teams put on one heckuva show," Riley said. "There were some mistakes by both sides, but a lot of fight, a lot of courage and a lot of unbelievable plays, especially there in the second half."

The most tragic part of Saturday's setting was that only 24,000 fans were allowed inside the 92,100-seat Cotton Bowl due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There was no Texas State Fair on the grounds, which often draws an estimated 250,000 customers on game day.

"It was eerie," Riley said. "It was almost like going into a ghost town. Everything is just different right now. Those of us who've been in (the rivalry), you're just so used to it being so epic. And then at the end, it felt like there were 90,000 people in there. I mean, it really did. Despite all the people not being here, the game still found a way to be pretty special."

Oklahoma has a bye week before facing TCU on Oct. 24 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Players Mentioned

Gabe Brkic

Marcus Major

Seth McGowan

T.J. Pledger

Spencer Rattler

Austin Stogner

Drake Stoops

Theo Wease Jr.

Perrion Winfrey

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics