DALLAS — Let's talk about that ending.
Oklahoma seemingly dug itself out of the grave, climbing out of the casket of defeat to tie the game at 45 with 2:38 remaining in the Red River Showdown at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday.
Some might say it was a spectacular comeback, amazing even. The good ole "Sooner Magic" struck again.
But that, in fact, wasn't the case.
Scoring is great, but time management is key in close football games. Although 2:38 isn't a lot of time, it was more than enough for a Texas offense that had been embarrassing OU all game.
In other words, Lincoln Riley put too much trust in the defense, and it cost his team a heartbreaking 48-45 loss.
Sure, the defense did force three-straight punts in the prior possessions that allowed the Sooners to overcome the 21-point deficit. But the offensive drives that produced those points took a total of 10 plays in 3:16.
The defense wasn't getting enough rest. Granted, the offense was in a position where it had to score quickly, but there is such a thing as too fast.
But though the offense had its faults, it scored when it absolutely had to. It waited a bit long, but it did what it had to do late.
However, all that managed to do was make the final score look better than it was.
This loss lies squarely on Mike Stoops' defense.
The defense didn't get the stops when it absolutely needed to, and therein lies the problem with this team.
OU can't rely on the offense to win every game. Kyler Murray and company can't play flawlessly every outing.
The defense must get off the field on third downs.
Texas converted 6 of its 14 third downs, and even some of the ones it didn't convert had significant impacts on the game.
Flashback to the Longhorns' opening drive of the second half.
Facing 3rd-and-21 from the OU 46, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger completed a middle screen to Lil'J Humphrey.
It should've been stopped for a minimal gain, but a lackluster tackling effort allowed the pile to be pushed 7-plus yards for a gain of 19.
It wasn't a conversion, but it was close enough, and Texas went on to convert the ensuing fourth down and score a few plays later.
That was perhaps the play that sparked the Texas run, for the Longhorns scored 21 of the next 28 points.
Texas coach Tom Herman agreed.
"That was the play of the game," Herman said of the third-down play. "Common wisdom says when it's 3rd-and-20, let's not be silly with the football. We have the lead, so let's add some yardage to our punt and maybe pin them inside the 10-yard line and play defense. But 'LJ' Humphrey is one of the toughest guys we have on our football team.
"After we scored on that series, I said on the headset that that's a culture play."
That wasn't the only 3rd-and-long play the Longhorns didn't convert but ended up capitalizing anyway.
Ehlinger completed an 18-yard pass on 3rd-and-20 to OU 31, and three plays later, Texas was in the end zone.
If OU holds the Longhorns to punts or field goals in those situations, it's a completely different game. One in which the Sooners wouldn't have had to make a crazy rally in the final minutes just to get close.
Now fast forward to the Longhorns' game-winning drive.
Early in the drive, Texas faced a 3rd-and-three from the OU 36. A stop there would've almost certainly resulted in a Sooners win given the time that would've remained.
However, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger covered the distance with a 4-yard run.
The Longhorns worked through the OU defense like clockwork after that, leading to the game-clinching 40-yard field goal.
In all, Texas averaged 8.8 yards per third down. The Sooners can't allow that and expect to win.
"The glaring low was the 3rd-and-longs that we gave up," OU coach Lincoln Riley said. "We gotta be better on third downs. We had a surge there at the end and played extremely well and more competitive and more like we expect to play, but we gave them too many."
If that's not enough to convince you OU's defense is in serious trouble, consider this: Opposing offenses are 21-of-21 in the red zone against the Sooners' defense this season. Texas went 5-of-5 on Saturday.
That's not a one-game blunder. That's a trend, and a rather unsettling one at that.
Furthermore, the Longhorns' 48 points is the most they've ever scored against OU. The previous high was 45 points in 2005 — the season Texas won the national championship.
I'm not sure what the Texas record is for most yards gained against the Sooners, but Saturday's 501 yards is probably high on the list.
In toying with the OU defense, the Longhorns turned the Cotton Bowl into the Cotton Exposé.
"I'm extremely disappointed in my inability to get this team to play at a higher level," said Stoops, the OU defensive coordinator. "It takes everybody pulling the same way, and certainly I take a lot of that responsibility."
Taking responsibility doesn't cut it anymore, though.
The defense has been OU's Achilles' heel for years, and it never seems to get better. The talent might have something to do with that, but a good coach/coordinator should be able to develop players and get them playing at a high level.
Stoops hasn't been able to do that for quite some time, and it's time he's held accountable for the embarrassment he's caused the Sooners' defense to become.
He won't be going anywhere against his will because of his last name, but it shouldn't be that way. His time to prove himself has passed.
It's time OU returns to defensive relevancy, but if this defensive problem isn't solved soon, that's not going to happen.
In that case, the Sooners will lose more shootouts like this, and their College Football Playoff chances will rest in peace.