DALLAS— Michael Hawkins will see his parents in the stands when he hits the field on Saturday afternoon in the Cotton Bowl.
And they’ll both be there at the end of the game, whether they win or lose.
The beginning of the Michael Hawkins Era at Oklahoma will be largely determined by what transpires in the interim.
He’s already made history, yes. Twice. Two weeks ago, he led the Sooners to their first-ever SEC victory, coming back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Auburn 27–21. Additionally, he became the first OU true freshman to start against Texas this Saturday when he faced the top-ranked Longhorns.
But Hawkins’ performance—and, let’s face it, that of his teammates—under the intense spotlight of college football for four hours or so has the potential to immortalize him.
A real rookie quarterback? Defeating Texas? when the Longhorns hold the top spot?
It makes the head swim a little, doesn’t it?
Perhaps Hawkins and the Sooners are truly without a chance. Texas was favored by oddsmakers by 14 1/2 points, but it seems that this was insufficient to satisfy sports bettors, as the spread increased to 15. Perhaps this Longhorn squad truly is deserving of all the flowers.
Perhaps Texas is returning. At last.
For the purposes of this discussion, however, let’s assume that Horns quarterback Quinn Ewers continues the pattern he began two years ago and adds to his four career turnovers in the Red River Rivalry.
For the sake of argument, let’s also assume that Danny Stutsman and the Sooner defense get back up and make another goal-line stand.
Let’s carry on the conversation and propose that the OU run defense may prevent the Longhorns’ passable run game from continuously improving.
Perhaps Hawkins will have to do something exceptional at that time. Perhaps OU needs a play from its rookie quarterback in the closing minutes.
Additionally, it’s possible that Hawkins will regain part of the Sooner Magic that helped him defeat Auburn.
Over the past 20 years, Oklahoma’s greatest series victories have been characterized by outstanding quarterback play.
Jason White led the Sooners to a 65–13 victory over the Horns in 2003, going 17–21 for 290 yards and four touchdowns.
In order to defeat UT 28–21 in 2007, Sam Bradford led a 12-play, 94-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, which he completed with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Kelly.
The Sooners took a 20-0 lead in 2017 when Baker Mayfield threw for 304 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown pass to jeff However, in a 29–24 OU triumph, Texas overcame everything and took the lead early in the fourth quarter before Mayfield hit Mark Andrews for a 59-yard touchdown on third down.
In 2019, OU overcame Hurts’ early turnovers and led two fourth-quarter TD drives as they won 34-27. Hurts ran for 131 yards and a touchdown and threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns, all to CeeDee Lamb.
Spencer Rattler rushed for a touchdown and completed two of his three touchdown passes in overtime, including the game-winning throw to Drake Stoops and the 2-point conversion to Theo Wease in the third overtime, to lead Oklahoma to a 53-45 victory in 2020 after Texas overcame a 14-point deficit.
In 2021, Caleb Williams ran for a 66-yard touchdown on fourth down after Rattler was benched after Texas took a 28–7 lead. Kennedy Brooks then put it away for a 55-48 OU victory after Williams tossed for 212 yards and two touchdowns, including a 52-yard shoestring miraculous catch at the pylon by Marvin Mims halfway through the fourth quarter.
Gabriel returned with a bang in 2023, a year after missing the Red River Rivalry due to a concussion (OU lost 49-0). He rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown and threw for 285 yards and a touchdown, culminating with a 3-yard pass to Nic Anderson with 15 seconds remaining as the Sooners once again had a significant lead, lost it, and then rallied to win 34-30.
For one reason or another, prior outstanding efforts by Oklahoma quarterbacks, like Bradford’s Herculean effort in 2008 or Kyler Murray’s spectacular display in 2018, have been squandered. You can attribute those to poor defenses (Mike Stoops was dismissed the following day) or unfortunate breaks (more than just Reynolds were hurt by Ryan Reynolds’ season-ending knee injury).
Hawkins doesn’t have to perform heroically to win his first OU-Texas game, Brent Venables warns.
However, history indicates that he might