Special-teams battle goes Longhorns' way

The Sooner special teams' luck ended there.

Dominique Franks tried to field a Texas punt near the sideline, but was hit immediately, sending the ball sputtering down the sideline before the Longhorns recovered.

"He made a poor decision," said coach Bob Stoops. "We don't teach that."

Mossis Madu returned a kick to almost midfield before fumbling for one of Oklahoma's five turnovers, and Stevens missed a 42-yard field goal in the first quarter that would have put the Sooners up 9-0.

Even redshirt freshman Tress Way, who averaged over 50 yards per punt last week against Baylor, shanked a 20-yard punt out of bounds in the second quarter to give Texas the ball in Oklahoma territory.

Though the special teams mistakes never resulted in a game-changing play for Texas, they took away opportunities for the Sooners, costly for a team already trying to fight off unfortunate circumstances.

"We're not far off, I think that's been obvious," Stoops said. "We just need to be a little bit better."

Texas kicker Hunter Lawrence hit all three of his attempts. Two from 42 yards out, and a 32-yarder.