Oklahoma football: Sooners defense dominant in Mike Stoops' return to the Cotton Bowl

The defense didn't allow a point until long after the outcome was decided, Aaron Colvin continued to shine at cornerback and the Sooners flat-out whipped Texas up front.

“As long as we fill our gaps and execute these calls, we can be one of the best defenses in the country,” defensive end R.J. Washington said. “That's what we did and that's what kind of game we can have.

“In the first half, it's not like we had all these fumbles or all these sacks or all these interceptions. It was just we were in our gaps, make the tackle; in our gaps, make the tackle.”

The Sooners scored three defensive touchdowns in last year's 55-17 rout of Texas. This was different as Mike Stoops seemed to pick up right where he left off in the Red River Rivalry.

Before leaving to become Arizona's head coach, Stoops' final OU-Texas game as the Sooners' defensive coordinator was a 65-13 thrashing of Texas in 2003. Defensively, this one was even more dominant.

The Sooners kept Texas to just 63 first-half yards and just a pair of first downs. More than half of the Longhorns' 215 passing yards came in the fourth quarter with starters resting.

The secondary, maligned last season after repeatedly and regularly getting beat deep, has become a strength.