DALLAS — Charlie Strong put that gold cowboy hat on his head and flashed a huge smile filled with relief, joy and vindication.
If last week’s 50-7 beatdown at TCU was rock bottom for Strong at Texas, his first victory against rival Oklahoma might be what changes the trajectory of his program. Or maybe it was just a temporary respite for the beleaguered Longhorns and their coach.
Regardless, the 24-17 win against the 10th-ranked Sooners (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) on Saturday was no ordinary victory for Texas.
BOXSCORE:
“We heard all week how the pride has been lost, how we don’t play hard,” Strong said. “And I don’t have an answer for last week — we go out and we kind of just lay an egg — and this week we came out and we wanted to impose our will. We wanted to play physical and watch our team just go to work.”
The Longhorns (2-4, 1-2 Big 12) worked over Oklahoma’s defense with 313 yards rushing. Their D went to work on quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Sooners offensive line, blitzing and stunting their way to six sacks. Naashon Hughes and Poona Ford buried Mayfield for a 17-yard loss on a third-and-14 deep in Oklahoma territory late in the fourth quarter on what turned out to be a fitting last offensive play of the game for the Sooners.
When Jerrod Heard and the Longhorns offense got the ball with 3:33 left and Texas leading 24-17, they never gave it back.
“We needed this,” Strong said.
