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The 2021 Red River Showdown is one that Oklahoma fans won’t soon forget. It also earned a spot in USA TODAY Sports reporter Paul Myerberg’s week-by-week list of the 2021 college football season’s “craziest moments.”
Myerberg wrote this about Oklahoma’s wild 55-48 rally against the Texas Longhorns from the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 9 in his week six recap.
No. 5 Oklahoma wins the highest-scoring game in Red River Rivalry, as backup quarterback Caleb Williams replaces a struggling Spencer Rattler and keys a 55-48 win. – Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports
It looked early like Oklahoma was trending to get blown out by Texas. Longhorns quarterback Casey Thompson connected with freshman wide receiver Xavier Worthy for a 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
Then, after a quick three-and-out by the Sooners’ offense, Michael Turk’s punt was blocked and Texas had the football right back at the Oklahoma 2-yard line. Texas running back Bijan Robinson ran in a 2-yard touchdown and the Longhorns led 14-0 with 13:07 left in the first quarter.
OU and then-starting quarterback Spencer Rattler responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 2-yard Rattler keeper for a touchdown to cut the deficit in half 14-7.
Oklahoma’s defense forced a three-and-out of their own, but any momentum was quickly back in Texas’ hands when Rattler’s third-down pass on the ensuing series was intercepted by the Longhorns’ B.J. Foster.
Thompson tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Joshua Moore to cash in on Rattler’s interception. Then, after another OU three-and-out, Thompson and Moore combined again to burn the Sooners deep with a 48-yard touchdown strike and Texas led 28-7 with 1:02 remaining in the first quarter.
That’s when the magic started for the Sooners and for true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams. On fourth and less than a yard to go from their own 34-yard line, Williams took the snap, slipped out of a tackle at the line to gain and then raced 66 yards for an Oklahoma touchdown.
Rattler directed the next two offensive series for OU, leading a 5-play, 52-yard drive on the first possession that ended with a 40-yard Gabe Brkic field goal to bring Oklahoma within 28-17.
But, after Rattler’s fumble on the second series set up another Thompson touchdown pass for the Longhorns, Oklahoma officially turned to then-backup quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams responded by orchestrating a 10-play, 58-yard drive that culminated with Brkic’s 35-yard field goal. Texas added a 38-yard field goal themselves from kicker Cameron Dicker as the first half came to a close and the Longhorns led 38-20 at halftime.
Williams recently joined teammates Jeremiah Hall and Brayden Willis on their podcast titled “The Podcast on the Prairie” and revisited his emotions on entering the Red River game and what he shared with his teammates at halftime.
“So, we ended up going to halftime and before I walk out, I make sure I pump the fans up. Before I’m walking out, I’m throwing my hands up, pumping them up, making sure everybody’s up, making sure they see me, see my energy and things like that. I get to the locker room and I’m pretty sure y’all can remember I say to every single person in the locker room, ‘We’re going to win this game.’
“I go around shaking hands, shaking hands, shaking hands and I tell them we’re going to go win this game, coaches included. We go back out, we get back out on the field and we’re all locked in. We go out there with a certain energy and a certain passion and we go and do the unthinkable. I get chills every time I talk about the game,” Williams said.
Those chills are because of what came next. After the teams traded field goals, Williams proceeded to throw a 14-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Marvin Mims in the third quarter that made the score 41-30, Texas.
Later, with OU trailing 41-33 midway through the fourth quarter, Williams eluded pressure, stepped up in the pocket and launched a 52-yard touchdown pass to Mims. The fact that it came on a 3rd-and-19 snap and that Mims’ left foot barely stayed within bounds on the diving grab adds to the mystique.
The Sooners then tied the game at 41 points apiece when Rattler connected with redshirt junior wide receiver Drake Stoops on the 2-point conversion try. The sequence of crazy wasn’t done just yet.
Oklahoma redshirt senior linebacker Caleb Kelly ripped the football away from Texas’ Worthy on the kickoff following Rattler’s pass and suddenly Williams and the Sooners had the football right back at Texas’ 18-yard line.
Redshirt junior running back Kennedy Brooks took a direct snap and gave Oklahoma its first lead of the day, 48-41, with his 18-yard rushing touchdown.
Thompson found Worthy for a 31-yard touchdown to tie the game once more at 48 apiece with 1:23 remaining.
Williams and Oklahoma’s offense went to work. Williams completed a nine-yard pass to junior wide receiver Jadon Haselwood before a 12-yard run from Brooks put the Sooners at their own 46-yard line.
Williams then completed back-to-back passes of 10 and 11 yards to Mims and junior tight end Austin Stogner, respectively. That set the stage for Brooks’ final heroics.
Brooks gathered in another direct snap, broke one tackle and sprinted 33 yards for the game-winning touchdown with two seconds remaining. Incredibly, Oklahoma erased a 21-point deficit and authored the largest comeback victory in Red River Rivalry history, 55-48.
Williams completed 16-of-25 passes for 212 yards in the comeback effort. Meanwhile, Brooks rumbled his way to 217 rushing yards on 25 carries against the Longhorns.
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