Punt return TD, big 2nd half lifts Texas to 23-6 Red River Rivalry win over No. 6 Oklahoma

DALLAS (KXAN) — Ryan Niblett broke the game open with a 75-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter, propelling unranked Texas to a 23-6 win over No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl.

Niblett’s special teams gem came with 9:59 left in the game, taking a 48-yard punt by Grayson Miller up the left side of the field with a wall of blockers protecting him. He made a couple of nifty moves to avoid the Oklahoma punt coverage unit and then sped to pay dirt.

Texas outgained the Sooners 188-88 in the second half, including 91-5 in rushing yards, and the Longhorns were 7-for-10 on third down. Texas outscored Oklahoma 20-0 in the second half.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said his team “learned how to fight today.”

“We saw the true character of the men in the locker room today,” he said. “We stayed connected, and there was a lot of s— being talked about our team, and we responded.”

The Texas defense turned in a terrific performance, intercepting Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer three times and keeping the high-flying Sooners offense out of the end zone. Mateer returned to action 17 days after having surgery on his throwing hand to repair a broken bone, but he couldn’t capture the same lightning in a bottle like he had previously.

The Longhorns sacked Mateer five times, with sophomore edge rusher Colin Simmons notching 2.5. They held the Sooners to 51 rushing yards on 29 attempts.

Sarkisian said earlier in the week he wanted to give quarterback Arch Manning easier completions to unlock him, and it worked. Manning finished 21-for-27 for 166 yards with a 12-yard touchdown to DeAndre Moore Jr. in the third quarter. It was the only offensive touchdown of the day for either side.

Manning made a lot of off-platform throws outside of the pocket in an efficient outing. After taking a lot of hits in a 29-21 loss to Florida to open Southeastern Conference play, Sarkisian lauded his young signal caller by not backing down.

“The biggest thing that impressed me about Arch was that he didn’t miss a single rep of practice this week,” Sarkisian said. “He was beat up, but he took every rep. You earn the respect of your teammates by doing that. That’s the toughness you have to have.”

Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner rushed for a season-high 94 yards on 22 carries and chipped in 34 receiving yards on five catches. Moore had 50 yards on three grabs, and Ryan Wingo notched 35 yards on five catches.

Mason Shipley connected on 3 of 5 field goal attempts for the Longhorns, missing from 55 and 56 yards but converting from 22, 39 and 48 yards. Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell made two kicks for the Sooners in the first half.

It’s the third time in the past four years that the Longhorns have won the rivalry game at the State Fair of Texas.

“All three phases were tied together, and we got better as the game went on in executing the game plan,” Sarkisian said. “In the end, the result was the result.”