Texas was ranked No. 1 in the country and lost 27-24 to a two-loss Oklahoma team that walked into the Cotton Bowl at 2-2. If you want to call that a fraud being exposed, go ahead, but at least point the finger in the right direction. Blame Arch Manning for this one. The vibes didn't throw those two picks, and neither did the hat or the officials.
Start with who Oklahoma was coming in. The Sooners had already lost to Michigan and to Georgia this season. They arrived in Dallas and spent most of the first half chasing. Texas led by ten at the break. This was the week the Longhorns were supposed to prove the top spot belonged to them, against a flawed rival with nothing to lose.
Instead Oklahoma put up 17 in the second half, and Tate Sandell kicked a 47-yard field goal as time expired. The field goal will make the headline, but the two late Manning interceptions are why it mattered. You can play a bad half and survive it. You can't hand a team two gifts in the final minutes of a one-score rivalry game and expect to keep your ranking, or your dignity.
I won't join the crowd screaming "fraud," though. One Saturday against your oldest rival doesn't turn a 4-0 roster into a mirage. Texas has real players, and Oklahoma has owned this matchup more times than Texas fans want to remember. One loss in October doesn't make the whole season fake.
But the No. 1 ranking was always thin. It was built on preseason faith and a famous last name as much as anything Texas had actually done, and the first time somebody squeezed the quarterback in a hostile building, it leaked everywhere. A true No. 1 closes this game out and protects a ten-point lead against a team that had already lost twice. Texas did neither, and the player holding the ball when it slipped away was the one everyone spent the offseason anointing.
Austin has to sit with that. The roster still has real talent, and the schedule ahead still gives Texas room to recover, but none of that erases the guy at the center of the hype throwing this game away with his own hands. Oklahoma earned this one, from the kicker on up, but Texas lost it at quarterback.
The No. 1 ranking was fraudulent. The program is fine; the ranking was a down payment on a quarterback who hadn't earned it yet, and Saturday the bill came due in two picks and a walk-off kick. Fix the quarterback and Texas is fine. Keep crowning him, and this won't be the last Saturday that ends like this.
