It wasn't an aesthetically pleasing performance by Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy, the Heisman Trophy candidate who battled illness and a banged-up thumb on his throwing hand.
And it wasn't another brilliant game for Texas receiver and kick returner Jordan Shipley, the Temple native who had emerged a dark-horse Heisman possibility.
What Saturday's showdown at the Cotton Bowl was, however, was a hard-hitting, grind-it-out, 16-13 Texas victory that keeps the No. 3 Longhorns on track to play for a second national championship in five seasons.
Texas' aggressive defense knocked Heisman-winning Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford out of the game only a few minutes into it and forced No. 20 OU into minus-16 yards rushing, an all-time low in this series.
And on a day when McCoy struggled with turnovers and accuracy and fellow senior Shipley didn't approach his usual production, the Longhorns got a 14-yard touchdown catch from freshman Marquise Goodwin and three Hunter Lawrence field goals to prevail.
"It was a great game. I thought it was more like a fight - two teams that are very respectful of each other and people just knocking each other out for three and a half hours," said Texas coach Mack Brown, whose Longhorns (6-0 overall, 3-0 Big 12 Conference) beat Oklahoma (3-3, 1-1) for the fourth time in five years.
"I'm really, really proud of these guys. That was a hard-fought game," Brown added after squaring his record against the Sooners at 6-6. "I'm really proud of them for winning four of five against OU."
Oklahoma gave itself a chance by collecting three McCoy turnovers and limiting him to 21-of-39 passing for 127 yards, and it contained the versatile Shipley (four catches for 22 yards; two punt returns for minus-3 yards).
But the combination of Bradford's early exit - he re-aggravated the season-opening shoulder injury that kept him out of three games - and an inept rushing game plagued the now-.500 Sooners.
"In the end, (Texas) made more plays to win the game," said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, whose team has lost to Brigham Young, Miami and Texas by a combined five points. "They are an excellent team. There's no doubt our defense played a great game, but it wasn't good enough."
Freshman Landry Jones relieved Bradford and was 24-of-43 passing for 250 yards and a game-tying 35-yard TD to Ryan Broyles in the third quarter, but he threw crippling interceptions to Aaron Williams and Earl Thomas in the final eight minutes to help Texas seal the win.
Williams also caused Bradford's departure. After the Sooners seized a 3-0 lead on the game's opening possession and then recovered a McCoy fumble on a blindside sack, cornerback Williams blitzed Bradford and popped him for a 13-yard loss. OU's prolific junior passer was slow to get up, he never returned and it's possible that he's played his last college game before entering the NFL.
"It was the same shoulder and it hurt pretty much like it did against BYU," Bradford said. "I really don't know the outlook from here. It's extremely frustrating for me. It's hard to put into words the frustration I feel right now."
Bradford threw for 389 yards in beating Baylor last week, and Stoops doesn't think his star QB came back too soon.
"Sam had a great week of practice. We were going with good information from the doctors," Stoops said. "He understood the entire situation. Unfortunately it just hasn't worked out very well."
Said Brown: "We're really sorry for Sam that he got hurt. What a great kid and a great player."
Texas' offense struggled to get anything going in the first half, with Oklahoma's pressure helping fluster McCoy into 10-for-21 passing for 59 yards as he was sacked four times and lost two fumbles. The Longhorns had 99 yards of offense to OU's 192 in the opening two quarters.
They got a seemingly huge break five minutes before halftime when OU's Dominique Franks fumbled while trying to field a bouncing punt along the sideline, with Texas recovering the ball at the Sooners' 18.
But the Longhorns settled for Lawrence's 42-yard field to cut their deficit to 6-3, and a Texas fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff went for naught when McCoy lost a fumble while crashing to the ground on his 23-yard run to the Oklahoma 4.
"All of us were upset because we had not played very well, but we all knew that we had a chance," Brown said. "We're a better second-half team than we are a first-half team."
Fozzy Whittaker's 23-yard run to begin the third quarter set up Lawrence's 42-yarder for a 6-6 tie, and after a quick defensive stop Texas' running game paced its go-ahead 77-yard touchdown drive.
From the OU 14, Goodwin - a track and field star from nearby Rowlett - caught a slant pass from McCoy at the 5, shook off defender Quinton Carter and scooted in for a 13-6 lead midway through the third.
"He's going to be a super player for us this year, not just in the future," Brown said. "He's a guy that makes a difference."
Texas' lead was short-lived, however. From the Texas 35 on OU's ensuing drive, Broyles caught a short pass, dodged Williams' tackle attempt and raced down the right sideline for a 13-13 score.
McCoy's rushing helped Texas march into Sooner territory early in the fourth before it got Lawrence's 32-yard field goal for a 16-13 lead with 12 minutes left.
The Longhorn defense proceeded to stonewall OU's Chris Brown on fourth-and-1 at midfield, and with 7:22 left Williams atoned for his earlier gaffe by soaring to intercept a Jones pass at the Sooner 20.
"The interception was the biggest play only because I messed up and missed a tackle for a touchdown," Williams said. "Once you make that mistake, you have to come back with a big play."
Brian Jackson easily picked off McCoy's out pass at the Sooner 9 three plays later, but Thomas made up for that by snaring Jones' underthrown post pass at the Texas 37 with 3:31 to play.
Needing some strong runs to offset their sluggish passing, the Longhorns then used Cody Johnson and McCoy's reliable legs to run the clock out on OU.
"We knew the throwing game wasn't going to be there as much as we thought," McCoy said with a scratchy voice. "We just had to find a way to win. That is what good teams do."
"We understand it's going to be a slugfest and we're happy to be 6-0," said sixth-year senior Shipley, adding, "It's definitely a highlight of my time at Texas to get to four wins in five years and finish it the right way against a good Oklahoma team."
NOTES: McCoy joined Bobby Layne and Peter Gardere as the only Longhorn quarterbacks to beat Oklahoma three times as a starter in the 104-game series. . . . The attendance was a sellout of 96,009 fans, with the stadium featuring its traditional 50-50 split of Texas' burnt orange and Oklahoma's crimson.
gwille@temple-telegram.com
