Texas shocked 10th-ranked Oklahoma 24-17 on Saturday in the latest edition of the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl.

The Longhorns rushed out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter against a Sooners group that was remarkably flat. Oklahoma came alive in the second half, twice cutting the lead to a single score, but Texas held on for a much-needed victory.

The Longhorns now lead the all-time series 61-44-5. Here's how the showdown played out quarter-by-quarter:

Texas head coach Charlie Strong stated coming into the game that the high-profile clash arrived at the right time, per Fox Sports:

A lot of times we go out on Sundays and there is a lot of joking and guys are just kind of messing around. But last [Sunday] night, you can see that there was no joking going around, [everyone] kind of settled in. I looked at one of our coaches and said this game came at the right time for us. So now we can get them focused and get them back. And, yes, it falls at a great time for us. So we'll see just how much we are going to go out and go compete and how much we've got to get them prepared and get them focused.

Those remarks certainly translated to the field. The Longhorns' first touchdown came midway through the opening quarter, as Jerrod Heard found Marcus Johnson, who weaved his way into the end zone. The Sooners defense showed zero effort attempting to bring down the senior receiver, as he broke several tackles en route to the score.

Sean Adams of Inside Texas summed up the play and its meaning to the underdogs:

Sean Adams @thatsean

Great Texas play call mixed with bad (horrible) tackling by Oklahoma get Texas a needed fast start. #HookEm #Texas

The Longhorns added another touchdown just over two minutes later after Kevin Vaccaro forced a fumble by Oklahoma's Alex Ross on the kick return. Seven plays and 41 yards later, Tyrone Swoopes fumbled at the goal line, but an alert play by wide receiver Lorenzo Joe allowed him to recover the ball for the score.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted how atypical Texas' start was:

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

Texas leading 14-0 after 1st quarter. Longhorns entered game with -31 1st-quarter point diff, worst among Power 5 teams, 6th worst in FBS

The Sooners, who entered the game averaging 42 points per game, mustered only a single Austin Seibert field goal before halftime. While Oklahoma lacked its usual offensive polish, the Longhorns defense deserved a lot of credit for an inspired 30 minutes.

That included some key stops to hold the Sooners to three points after they had 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line, as noted by Adam Rittenberg of ESPN:

Adam Rittenberg @ESPNRittenberg

Terrific stand by Texas' defense to force field goal. Horns keep the momentum. Mayfield's receivers didn't exactly help him, though #OUvsTEX

Texas opened the second half with an impressive 15-play, 62-yard drive that burned nearly seven minutes off the clock and put three more points on the scoreboard.

Then Oklahoma responded with the type of drive it put together regularly over the first month of the season. Baker Mayfield and Co. covered 87 yards in just eight plays, the biggest being a 50-yard completion to Sterling Shepard.

Two plays later, Mayfield hit Dimitri Flowers from two yards out to get the Sooners back within seven. ESPN showcased the scoring play:

ESPN CollegeFootball @ESPNCFB

Here come the Sooners! Baker Mayfield throws 1st TD of the day to get #10 Oklahoma within a TD of Texas. #OUvsTEX

But the Longhorns answered after the teams traded punts. An 81-yard scamper by D'Onta Foreman set Texas up deep in Oklahoma territory. On third down from the 2-yard line, Swoopes found Caleb Bluiett wide open in the back of the end zone.

The Longhorns defense couldn't hold the two-score lead on the next drive, though. The Sooners faced a 3rd-and-12 as well as a 4th-and-8 but converted both times. Oklahoma finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Samaje Perine to trim Texas' lead back to seven.

Anwar Richardson of Rivals pointed out the Longhorns defense had seemingly begun to run out of steam:

Anwar Richardson @AnwarRichardson

OU's Samaje Perine with a 1-yard touchdown run. Longhorns defense looks tired right now

But when Texas needed a final stop to help secure the victory, the defense came alive again. After the Longhorns offense punted the ball away, Naashon Hughes and Poona Ford crashed the pocked on third down for a huge sack on Mayfield. Oklahoma was forced to punt and never got the ball back.

The Big 12 Conference spotlighted the big play:

Big 12 Conference @Big12Conference

The Texas D has done damage in Dallas. Naashon Hughes shuts down an OU drive with this sack for a 17-yard loss.

Texas completed the stunner by running out the final three and a half minutes with some nice work on the ground. ESPN's Darren Rovell added context to the upset:

Darren Rovell @darrenrovell

Today is biggest upset in Texas-OU game since 0-4 OU beat Texas as 21-point dogs in 1996

Ben Rogers of CBS Dallas-Fort Worth noted the outcome was not what either fanbase was expecting:

Cork Gaines of Business Insider passed along the celebration, which included a ride Strong may never forget given the recent turmoil surrounding his program:

In the end, Strong's pregame comments proved prophetic. Texas used the rivalry game as an opportunity to right its ship rather than take another beating from a ranked foe. It should calm any questions about the coach's job security, at least for the time being.

On the other hand, Oklahoma isn't completely out of the playoff mix. The Sooners will drop considerably in the polls, but they still have games against Baylor and TCU looming in November. If they can win out, they could climb back into the conversation.

The focus is now on the Longhorns, though. They must build off this marquee victory and finish the season much better than they started it. Up next is a clash with Kansas State in two weeks.

Postgame Reaction

Strong said afterward that his players utilized some extra motivation beyond the rivalry, per 104.9 The Horn:

The Horn @TheHornATX

Charlie Strong in the post game- "I think they guys played so well because they didn't want me to get fired, they wanted me to stay here"

He also believes the progress he's been seeking since taking over the job is finally arriving, as noted by Bryan Mays of KVUE:

Bryan Mays @BryanM_KVUE

Things are changing "sooner rather than later"-Charlie Strong

On the flip side, Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman pointed out Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops lamented the tackles woes that plagued his defense:

Brian Davis @BDavisAAS

Bob Stoops: "They ran through some of our tackles. ... All in all, they kicked us."

Mayfield felt the Sooners let too many chances slip away, according to Bob Ballou of CBS Austin:

Bob Ballou @BobBallouSports

Baker Mayfield: "We kept stopping ourselves all game long."

Oklahoma certainly picked a bad time to put together its worst performance of the season. It's probably best to just leave this game in the past and try to rediscover the reasons they were so successful during the first four games.

As for Texas, it's time to celebrate, but the job is far from done.