Exposed ! Texas Longhorns Exploit Oklahoma's Offensive Weakness In 24-17 Red River Upset

For the third time in five games Oklahoma's offense got off to a slow start. Unlike the previous two instances, against Akron and at Tennessee, the Sooners weren't able to climb out of the hole they had dug themselves into and the result was a catastrophic 24-17 loss to Texas. To say that the Longhorns brought pressure with their defense would be an understatement of the ages. They brought blitz after blitz and a barrage of hits that left Oklahoma quarterback battered and bruised and the offense ineffective.

Oklahoma's offensive line was exposed to the tune of six sacks and countess other quarterback pressures. They were slow off the snap, confused on blocking assignments, and downright overpowered by a Longhorn defensive line that was much more aggressive than the guys wearing the crimson and cream. I'm not saying that the responsibility for this loss rests squarely on the shoulders of the offensive line, but I am saying that the guys in the trenches gave OU's first loss of the season a piggyback. They did what no other opponent had done this season, their ineptness put the brakes on the Sooner offense.

Seventeen points is a season-low for Oklahoma's offense and it came against a defense that was giving up an average of 41 points per game coming in. Let's not sugarcoat this at all, this is a really bad Texas football team and they took Oklahoma's offensive line out behind the woodshed and beat the life out of them. That's bad, it's real bad!

This is a better OU offense from 2014 but they for sure aren't as physical. There's a glaring weakness with them that had shown up at various points in the first four games of the season but was on full display Saturday afternoon in the Cotton Bowl. There's no question that it's there. The only question is, what can Oklahoma do about it?

Position Grades

Quarterback - It's actually amazing that Baker Mayfield was able to complete 20 of his 28 passes given the amount of pressure that he was under. His toughness, tenacity, and charisma remain huge assets to this offense but he just didn't have a lot of help. Overall Position Grade | A

Running backs - It's not a good thing but I can understand why Samaje Perine only got 10 carries. First, the offensive line didn't do their job. Second, the Sooners were losing on first down. Lastly, the game flow didn't dictate it. Even at that, Perine averaged 3.6 yards per carry and Mixon an even four yards per carry. Perhaps one of the more overlooked plays on the day was the touchdown catch by Dimitri Flowers. Overall Position Grade | A-

Receivers - The offensive line was so bad that it took away the tight end because he had to be used as an extra blocker. The receivers themselves were not able to get quick separation and had their share of drops as well. This is a group that is still gaining experience and needs to get much better than they were on Saturday. Overall Position Grade | C+

Offensive Line - This is a fail across the board and it highlights how a significant deficiency in just one position group can effect the overall performance of the offense. Last season it was the receiving corps, this year it looks to be the o-line. Overall Position Grade | F