The biggest blowout in Texas’ favor in the 118-year history of the school’s rivalry with Oklahoma was not decided so much by execution Saturday (as the Sooners maintained) or on the practice field this past week (as the Longhorns suggested). It was won overwhelmingly by Texas — as only a 49-0 decision can be — months ago in the transfer portal.
That’s where the Longhorns landed former Southlake Carroll quarterback Quinn Ewers, plucking him off the Ohio State roster and watching him throw for 289 yards and four touchdowns against a Sooners defense hapless to stop him. And it’s where former OU quarterbacks in recent years have gone to Southern Cal (Caleb Williams joining head coach Lincoln Riley) and South Carolina (Spencer Rattler) and even SMU (Tanner Mordecai).
Throw in Dillon Gabriel’s inability to clear concussion protocol even though he warmed up before Saturday’s game, and you are left with a situation that screamed for inefficiency. Davis Beville got the starting call, but the Sooners ran some version of direct snap offense about half the afternoon in the Cotton Bowl. By the end of a humiliating loss, five Oklahoma players had completed nine of 17 passes for 39 yards and two interceptions.
