No. 1 Texas 34, No. 18 Oklahoma 3: Five observations and Sunday conversation

The hat is back… in Austin.

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns entered the Cotton Bowl as double-digit favorites against their archrival Oklahoma Sooners and beat the No. 18 team in the nation 34-3. They weren't perfect by any means, but that didn't matter. The Longhorns gained control of the game after a sluggish first quarter and once they took the lead, they never gave it back.

Those hoping for an upset in this installment of the Red River rivalry left the Cotton Bowl very disappointed and probably drowned their sorrows with a cheesy Fletcher dog. At least I would have done that.

That’s enough filibustering from me. Let’s dive into my observations on the Sooners of the North’s reign on Saturday.

Texas played a C+ game offensively and still managed 34 points

Texas' first three offensive drives spanned just nine plays and netted them just eight yards of total offense. Quinn Ewers was sacked and threw his only interception of the day on the first drive of the afternoon, and then had to continue to beat off the rust on the next two drives.

The Texas offense has been a mess this year regardless of who the quarterback was, but today was probably their “worst” performance of the season. Ewers finished the game completing 20 of 29 passes for 199 yards with a touchdown and the aforementioned interception, which came on a poor throw. Ewers also scored a touchdown on the ground late in the game.

A C+ game for the Texas offense still gave them 34 points and 406 yards of total offense. And in doing so, they left several big plays and points on the field. If you can still win games like that even though you're not playing your best, that says a lot about where you are as a team and as a program.

Texas' depth at the skill positions was also on display today. There were once again guys from top to bottom contributing to this match and it was clear pretty early on that the team on the other side of the pitch didn't have the same luxury.

Texas' defense made life difficult for Michael Hawkins Jr. all day

Listen, I'm sure Hawkins has the respect of his coaches and teammates. I am sure he will continue to improve with more experience. Despite all of this, my husband was absolutely fighting for his life in this game.

Texas defensive coordinators Johnny Nansen and Pete Kwiatkowski had the game plan set early and their defense executed almost flawlessly. The defense suffered a few short pitches early on due to offensive woes, but eventually gave in and only allowed a single field goal in the first quarter. It was the only time the Sooners lit up the scoreboard all afternoon.

Hawkins finished the game completing 19 of 30 passes for 148 yards, averaging a modest 4.9 yards per completion. The Sooner rushing game was even worse, as they mustered just 89 yards on the ground on 39 carries, a measly 2.3 yards per carry. Jovantae Barnes was their leading rusher with 38 yards on 14 carries, while Hawkins contributed with 27 yards on 20 (!!!) carries.

The Texas defense was absolutely on fire and played great team defense, but one player stood out from the crowd.

Anthony Hill could be the player of the game. Check out these stats from his afternoon in the Cotton Bowl: 11 total tackles (seven solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks AND a forced fumble that resulted in a turnover. Treat yourself to a ball game, young man!

Hill was every bit the player he was promised coming out of high school, but on Saturday he took it to another level. If you do a performance like that and win the game, you have the right to talk about it after the game.

Did Quintrevion Wisner just move up to RB1?

Speaking of having a day to yourself, Quintrevion Wisner had a great performance on Saturday as he dictated the Texas running game for the afternoon. The Longhorn offense gained 177 yards on the ground against Oklahoma and 118 of those came via Wisner on 13 carries, an average of 9.1 yards per carry. This will work.

Wisner did have a fumble on the afternoon, but fortunately for him and the Texas offense, the ball was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. That being said, it was pretty clear who was the frontrunner in the Texas backfield against the Sooners.

After fall camp, everyone expected Jaydon Blue to be the main beneficiary in the Texans backfield when CJ Baxter went down, but if Wisner continues to run the ball like he did Saturday, he's a force to be reckoned with moving forward.

Should we be worried about Isaiah Bond leaving the game early?

I expected the Texas wide receiver group to have a big game on Saturday, but that ultimately didn't come to pass. Part of it had to do with the Texas passing game being hit or miss, and part of it had to do with Bond throwing an ouch fit and leaving the game. Bond left the game before halftime and never returned, so it was a little concerning considering how important he was to the offense, but his representative tweeted during the game that he was fine and that he was being held as a precaution .

Obviously, it would be ideal if Texas just took the precautionary route and held Bond back since Georgia comes to town next week. Steve Sarkisian said the following about Bond's injury after the game:

For now, keep your fingers crossed. Texas will need all hands on deck for the Bulldogs next week.

Greetings to Silas Bolden…

I put this play on par with Jordan Whittington and Xavier Worthy's hustle plays against TCU last year. This is a play that will be on every coach's highlight reel when they want to highlight hustle and effort.

Look at where he comes from in this piece. He comes from outside the frame and beats Danny Stutsman to the ball, who was already a few steps behind him. You can't say enough good things about the engine and performance here. That was a crucial play for Oklahoma and instead it's 14-3 for Texas.

When you talk about buy-in and culture, those are the pieces you point to. Bolden was Oregon State's WR1 last season and has taken a reduced role on offense at Texas. A lot of guys would pout and show bad body language, but instead you see him doing things like that and selling out his punt return opportunities.

Speaking of punt returns, he had a really nice return on Saturday that gave Texas 55 yards. While he stressed some people out with his decision-making back in the day, he also has that kind of ability.

I wanted to make sure I gave him some well-deserved praise here. Guys like that will always have a place in my squad.

6-0 and the hat comes back to Austin.

You know the drill by now – the 24-hour rule is officially in effect, and after that, it's time to talk about the damn Bulldogs from Athens, Georgia.

There will be a movie in “Austin” next Saturday.