DALLAS — Texas is a different squad with freshman Quinn Ewers playing quarterback.
Ewers, a former Southlake Carroll star, came back to start in his team's 118th Red River Showdown against Oklahoma on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl for his first on-field appearance since injuring his collarbone against Alabama.
Before he got injured, Ewers had his way with the Crimson Tide defense, and Longhorns fans would argue that their team probably have beaten the No. 1 team in the nation had he played the entire game.
In his return against Oklahoma, Ewers looked like he hadn't missed a beat. The North Texas native helped spring the Longhorns to a 28-0 lead at half. He finished the game completing 21-of-31 passes for 289 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
It was the first time UT had shut out Oklahoma in the first half since 1984.
But things would get even more historic by the final whistle would blow, in large part because of a Sooner squad that barely showed up to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.
RELATED: HIGHLIGHTS: Texas Longhorns shut out Oklahoma Sooners in Red River Showdown for 1st time since 1965
Oklahoma was without its junior starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel after he was injured last week against TCU. Fellow junior Davis Beville started in place for Gabriel, and Gabriel’s absence was noticed, without a doubt. Beville finished the game completing 6-of-12 passes for 38 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception.
Throughout the first half, OU threw in a wrinkle to its offense to try and spark some energy, running numerous plays from a wildcat formation. In fact, the Sooners relied heavily on the run game, calling only 17 passing plays all game compared to 42 rushing plays.
But those efforts didn't lead to much payoff.
Meanwhile, most everything Texas tried seemed to work.
Along with Ewers, junior running back Bijan Robinson helped lead the UT offense to its dominating victory, finishing the game with 22 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Eventually, though, Texas took out its starters -- including Ewers and Robinson -- and let its backups into the game with over 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
In the end, UT won 49-0 for its first shutout over OU since 1965. The score in that game 57 years ago? 19-0.
Texas improves to 4-2 on the season, while Oklahoma drops to 3-3.
The Longhorns take on Iowa State next on Oct. 15. The Sooners face the Kansas Jayhawks next on Oct. 15.
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