It looks like Texas will have to wait at least one more year before they are “back.”

Most of the country on Saturday thought that No. 3 Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0 in the Big 12) was doomed after a disastrous first half in the Red River Rivalry in Dallas as the Longhorns built a 28-7 lead at one point.

But the Sooners rebounded, outscoring Texas 35-10 in the second half and capturing an important 55-48 win over one of their top rivals.

“It was such a different game than we’ve played obviously because it was such a high-possession game,” said OU coach Lincoln Riley. “A lot of back and forth. It took everybody to do it. But what an epic comeback. This one is really, really special here. It really is.

“I don’t think it will be the pinnacle of our season and I don’t expect it to be. But at the same time,  you’ve got to appreciate what is. Those who have been in this game know how hard it is to win. It was a great fight, especially when you overcome a start that was probably my worst in all my years of head coaching. I don’t know we’ve ever started off that poorly.

“We had to dig deep, you know? There was a time where it felt like, hey if you make a couple of plays — we said we were going to be aggressive. We went for it on some fourth downs and got some huge stops defensively in the second half …”

Texas players, coaches and fans were ecstatic over the first half when the Longhorns buit a halftime 38-20 lead.

“At the end of the day when these two teams get together, this is kind of the story, right? The ball is going up and down the field,” first-year Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “You’ve got to try to find a way to create turnovers, which we did early. Unfortunately, the one that we had on the kickoff return was a costly one right there in the fourth quarter.”

OU running back Kennedy Brooks rushed for 217 yards on 25 attempts with two touchdowns. Texas running back Bijan Robinson, who was tabbed before the game as “the best player on either team” by the media, gained only 143 yards on 20 carries and one only score.

Brooks sealed the victory with a 33-yard touchdown run with seconds remaining.

“It was a great call by Lincoln Riley. The O-line did a great job. They blocked it out. I went to the outside. The receivers did a heck of a job blocking downfield,” Brooks said of the touchdown run. “I just ran straight and scored. It was amazing feeling to be able to win the game. I did it for the team. It was a great feeling.”

While Texas won the first half, OU’s offensive and defensive lines took over in the second half.

“They started to get more penetration up front defensively, which is pretty much what we saw on tape all year long. The first half we stabilized that and we didn’t have that penetration, and then it started to get a little bit leaky,” Sarkisian said.

“You know, when you’re playing a good front over time, you know that the whole key to the drill is winning on first downs — you don’t put yourself in the third and long, and that’s what we were struggling to do there in the second half. We were losing 1st and 10, and we were playing second and long, third and long football.”

OU freshman quarterback Caleb Williams was the spark in the second half, hitting 16 of 25 passing attempts for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Williams also had a 66-yard touchdown run.

OU quarterback Spencer Rattler hit eight of 15 passes for 111 yards but Riley pulled him after an interception and a lost fumble.

That has produced a quarterback controversy at OU.

“Spencer was seeing some things that we missed early that were not on him,” Riley said in defense of the redshirt sophomore. “The big thing to me though was the turnovers. We made a mental error on the first one and then the fumble. Knowing this game, you cannot turn the ball over and win this game. It is very difficult to do. Similar to the year past, I was expecting to put him back in … he handled it like a pro.

“I thought we got in a bit of a rhythm when Caleb came in and did some good things. We were scoring and moving it, so I stayed with it …”

When OU was prepared to go for two after a late touchdown, Riley called on Rattler and he delivered with a strike to wideout Drake Stoops.

“The trust I have to put Spencer in during the most important play of the game (before he came out)— the guts he had to go in there and performing for his team … I’m proud of both of those guys of how they responded to the start,” Riley said. “We needed both of them to win it. We’ll play better there as we go on with both of them. But proud of how they both handled it.”

Riley was asked if he thought about re-inserting Rattler in the second half. Last year against Texas, he pulled Rattler for awhile and Rattler went back in and responded by leading OU to victory.

“I don’t think it would have been hard to give it back to Spencer,” Riley said. “I felt like we got in a rhythm. And honestly I feel like the 66-yard touchdown had much to do with it. That was a play we were going to put Caleb in for no matter what. That’s a play we feel like he can make. And he did it … it was a tremendous play.

“But that was not a factor in keeping him in. I just thought we he came in, he managed it pretty well. He missed some really easy things we have to get better at — both of them. Obviously, both guys, that points to me. They’ve got to both play better. They will … Those are just two dudes who wanted to win. They wanted to win until the final whistle. And we needed both of them to do it.”

OU had 26 first downs, compared to 19 for Texas.

The Sooners had 662 total yards of offense compared to 516 by the Longhorns.

OU kicker Gabe Brkic made all four of his field goal attempts and made every extra point.

This was the biggest comeback in series history. The bottom line is that the better team won.

Was this Sooner Magic – a term first made popular by former OU coach Barry Switzer.

“Nothing magic,” Riley said. “We just played better football all the way around.”

Texas (4-2, 2-1) wants a rematch in the Big 12 Championship.

“Ultimately, you know my mindset is I’d love to get another crack at these guys hopefully in December, so that’s that,” Sarkisian said.

The next step for OU is hosting TCU at 6:30  p.m. Saturday on ABC-TV.

TCU (3-2, 1-1) was missing their two starting guards on offense and two of their top receivers yet they steamrolled Texas Tech 52-31 Saturday. TCU had 394 yards rushing – the most yards for the Horned Frogs since they had 431 yards on the ground at Baylor in 2016.

Horned Frog running back Zach Evans had 143 yards on 17 carries and two scores and Kendre Miller had a career best 185 yards and three touchdowns.

Last season, OU beat TCU 33-14 in Ft. Worth.