The Texas Longhorns remain the top-ranked team in the nation after taking down the Oklahoma Sooners in dominant fashion in the Red River Rivalry. Despite the final score being 34-3, one Sooner believes the Longhorns did not earn the win.
After the game concluded, Sooners defensive back Billy Bowman had the following to say,
“Just opportunities. We just gave it to them. As a defense we’re better than that like coach said. We take full accountability, especially me and Danny (Stutsman). But end of story, we gave it to them. In my mind, they didn’t earn what they got shortly after that interception.”
How is it that Texas didn’t earn the win? Oklahoma gave them too many opportunities, states Bowman. However, the argument should not hold much weight, as teams that find ways to win often take full advantage of the opportunities gifted to them by the opposing team.
It’s one thing to say the winning team didn’t earn the victory because of poor officiating or some wild, lucky plays. When one team just simply played better than the other, it’s safe to say the win was rightfully earned.
Oklahoma still has some maturing to do before becoming a legit contender in the SEC. While it can be difficult to adjust to a new conference with much stronger opponents than in the previous conference, Texas hasn’t seemed to face much adversity on the same front.
The Sooners will have some challenging opponents in the coming weeks. If they lose, the belief shouldn’t be that the other team didn’t earn it. This is not the narrative of a team looking to be competitive in the SEC or at the national level.