In one of the best rivalries in all of sports, the Longhorns defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 34-3 in Dallas.

The highlight of the game was the return of Quinn Ewers, who threw a pick on his first drive but seemed to regain his footing as the game progressed.

Additionally, the defense re-read their scouting report and didn't give Oklahoma much room.

There was some good and some bad, but what matters is that Texas can bring the Golden Hat back to Austin after last year's heartbreaking loss.

Ewers was difficult to watch in the first quarter. Like last year, he threw a pick on the first drive of the game and didn't get a first down until the start of the second quarter.

It's hard to blame Ewers. A lot of pressure was immediately put on him upon his return from injury, but he is expected to weather the storm a little better. Let's not forget his dominant start against Michigan in Ann Arbor, but Ewers can be calm and collected.

And in the second quarter, Ewers appeared calm and collected, and in the second half, when the Longhorns came up big, Ewers didn't seem worried at all.

In the end, Ewers completed 20 of his 29 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown with the interception.

Oklahoma's defense is fine, but this game may have served as a practice game for the stronger opponent next week when Georgia comes to Austin. It's nice to see that Ewers was able to shake off some of the rust, but if it weren't for the excellent field position and Oklahoma's incompetence on offense, Ewers would be raising some eyebrows right now.

Texas needs to be better in the first half. In the previous game against Mississippi State, Texas led just 7-6 before a super-late touchdown before halftime, and Oklahoma led 3-0 after the first quarter.

I don't think Texas had much of a rush for points in any of these games. They knew they had the better talent and that eventually they would get to the end zone and the defense would get the stops they needed. But I hope that's not their way of thinking. You shouldn't take your foot off the gas.

It's hard to play your best for 60 minutes, but Texas can't afford to be as slow early as it was against the last two when it played teams like Georgia and Texas A&M. They can't dig themselves a hole because the hole against these teams might be a little too tough to get out of.

Only allowed three touchdowns in six games? Crazy. The defense bent a little again, but didn't collapse.

Oklahoma's offense was riddled with injuries and the Sooners do have a QB problem, but still, it's a rivalry game and Oklahoma had two weeks to prepare.

Ultimately, the Sooner offense managed just 239 yards on 4.9 yards per pass and 2.4 yards per rush and also forced two fumbles, both in a row in the final two minutes of the first half, which helped give Texas a nice lead heading into the to get half time.

True freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. was very hesitant and clearly very worried about creating a turnover, so many of his passes were checkdowns and planned scripts. And when Hawkins wanted to run, Texas' control wouldn't allow him to run further than 11 yards. This is great considering how well Hawkins was able to tuck and run the ball in the previous game against Auburn.

Some argue that Texas hasn't played any real offense yet. I guess this will be done next week and I hope the defense can show they are serious.

The frantic play Bolden needed to secure Texas' second touchdown was a pivotal moment in the game and resembled the stereotypical Red River Showdown-type play where chaos reigns everywhere.

Bolden's ability to elude Oklahoma's defenders ultimately led to Oklahoma having little chance of winning, in my opinion. After that, momentum never returned to Oklahoma's side. After the recovered fumble that led to a touchdown for Bolden, the Sooners fumbled on two consecutive drives, while Texas got into scoring position on every drive after that, which had not happened before the game.

It was just a fantastic game that showed that while Texas has talent, they also put in hard work.

One of head coach Steve Sarkisian's favorite words. In just three seasons, Sark has completely transformed this program into a powerhouse with a lot of heart.

The culture he introduced virtually saved the program from mediocrity. Silas Bolden's hustle game is a great example of how a good culture can make a team play harder. You must give your flowers to Sark.

Texas will have to use all of that culture when it plays its biggest game of the season so far next week against the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs.

Kickoff is at 6:30 a.m. on ABC.