Oklahoma Looks to Turn the Page Quickly to Avoid Letdown After Beating No. 1 Texas

DALLAS — Peyton Bowen remembers the celebration after Oklahoma’s 2023 Red River Rivalry win.

The Sooners were soaring after that victory, which was punctuated by Nic Anderson’s touchdown catch from Dillon Gabriel in the closing seconds.

That victory was on Bowen’s mind fairly quickly after Oklahoma’s thrilling 27-24 win over the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.

“We won it and we didn’t manage our success well,” Bowen said.

The sixth-ranked Sooners eked out a win over UCF, 31-29, two weeks after the win over the Longhorns during Bowen’s freshman season.

Then they dropped games to unranked Kansas and Oklahoma State.

Now, after this year’s victory, the Sooners are looking to sustain that momentum instead of letting the Red River victory define their season completely.

“We like to say, well-managed success is harder than well-managed defeat,” linebacker Owen Heinecke said. “So our goal is to come back Monday, celebrate the win, learn from the good and the bad. Obviously Texas is a great team, but there’s gonna be a lot to learn from this game. And we’ve got to continue getting better every week and it starts Monday with practice and going in and continuing this disciplined, complementary football that we played today.”

Oklahoma figures to need to maintain focus, with No. 15 Kentucky coming to Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for a Saturday showdown.

“I think we’re a different team,” Bowen said, comparing this season’s Sooners to that 2023 team. “We’re a lot more together. I think that we’ll celebrate today, do whatever, but Sunday comes and Monday comes, we’re on to Kentucky. Tomorrow we’re on to Kentucky. Right now we’re on to Kentucky. … It’s our SEC (home) opener. We’ve got to defend our house.”

The victory over the Longhorns was Oklahoma’s first regular-season victory over a top-ranked team since the win over Nebraska in 2000.

Of course, those Sooners went on to win six more consecutive games to claim the program’s seventh national title.

Plenty of Sooners players after Saturday’s win were confident that the upset victory over the then top-ranked Longhorns could be a building block toward starting the team on an upward trajectory instead of a bright mark on an otherwise dreary season.

“We’re gonna do what we do,” cornerback Courtland Guillory said. “It was a big game, but we gotta put this behind us. We’ve got a big game next week and the next week is another big game. It’s the SEC. Every week is a big game. So it’s cool, clap our hands, we’re gonna throw this under the rug and we’re on to the next game.”