Red River Shootout Quotes - Mack Brown, “Oklahoma Is The Best Defense We’ve Played”

I'm not sure that anyone can say that they saw another Red River Rout coming yesterday. Fans from both sides were extremely confident going into the game but no one thought it was going to get out of control. What we do know is that Texas expected Oklahoma to run the football and spent the entire week preparing for it.

Texas safety Kenny Vacarro said that the Sooners' success on the ground allowed them to do other things. He went on to say that Texas had worked the whole week to prevent just that.

"When they are running the ball down your throat, honestly, everyone is trying to stop the run. So sometimes linebackers take their eyes away from their man and, like I said, you can't stop the run and it opens up the playbook. We worked on it all week but that was it."

Defensive end Alex Okafor echoed what Vacarro said about the Oklahoma rushing attack being the catalyst to the Sooners' success against the Longhorn defense but made the point that the struggle wasn't something new.

"We just couldn't stop the run. When you can't stop the run, things get ugly real quick and it's been like that all season. We just have to find a way to stop it."

When asked if the loss had set the Texas had taken a step backwards, Mack Brown didn't say yes, but he certainly didn't say no either.

"I don't think you can tell week to week; it's sure not pretty today. It's unacceptable. That's the way I feel, that's the way the players feel and how the coaches feel. It's not a proud moment for us."

Saturday's loss was the fourth time Texas has surrendered 60-plus points as a ranked team in the AP poll. That's more than any team in the country and three of those were at the hands of the Sooners.

Brown went on to try and explain what happened and if Oklahoma's attitude was a difference.

"I don't know. It is what it is. They just hit us. I don't know how to define it to one word. We've been running and moving the ball against different people. This was the best defense we've played. They outplayed us today. I'm very disappointed offensively."

On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops pointed out that it could have been even worse had the Sooners not shown some mercy.

"Heck, when you can go all the way up to four-and-a-half minutes to go in the game and they hadn't even scored a point. Two points come off the field goal (blocked extra point) and the other six come off an interception and then our twos and threes were learning how to play and they get out there and give up a couple at the end that didn't really matter.

'The defense was incredible, I thought -- physical, tough on the run, and then covered so well, got pressure, all the things you want them to do. So it was a complete game."

Stoops went on to say that the Kansas State game isn't how is team is defined. They are better than that and continuing to improve.

"It was only our third game. We had only played three games and this is only our fifth game. Everybody wants to summarize what you are after two games and that doesn't make any sense to me in the third game. We've got a long season to play and who knows what we'll do. We do that again and have turnovers and you'll be saying the same thing. So in the end I thought it was too early for anybody to be tough or not to be tough at that point. At this point it showed, I guess, we're a little bit tougher. How tough? I don't know. You guys can all throw your perceptions out there because coming into this game they weren't all accurate either."

The play of the game was Damien Williams' record setting 95-yard touchdown run. On that play, Kenny Stills delivered a devastating block to keep Williams from being caught. Without taking away from what Williams accomplished, Stoops credited Stills for helping to make the play happen.

"Well he's not in the end zone without it. I saw Kenny coming and I was just hoping he would get there and sure enough he's got great speed and he got there in the nick of time and knocked him off and that was it. I knew no one was catching him after that. It energizes the team when you can take something to the house like that. Ninety-five yards is pretty special. It gets everybody gassed up."

Knowing that he has the longest run in the history of the Oklahoma/Texas rivalry scratched off his bucket list, Williams is trying to stay humble.

"It's a great feeling to know that I am compared to any running back who has been here because I don't consider myself on that level yet. I'm going to just keep doing what I have been doing."