Silas Bolden’s hustle saved a touchdown for No. 1 Texas in the second quarter against No. 18 Oklahoma.
As Quintrevion Wisner ran toward the end zone, he was stripped of the ball when he was tackled from behind just a few feet from the goal line. The ball left Wistner’s arms at the end of the 33-yard run and bounced into the end zone.
As Oklahoma defenders scrambled to secure the touchback, Bolden outran everyone to the ball and was able to secure it before it went out of bounds. Take a look.
Bolden, a transfer receiver from Oregon State, was a blocker on the play. He was six yards behind Wisner before he began following the play and running down the field. When Wisner fumbled, Bolden hadn’t even reached the 15-yard line yet.
It was a hurried play that could easily become the most crucial moment of the game. No. 18 Oklahoma had been competing with the No. 1 Longhorns thanks to a feisty defensive game plan. The Sooners entered the game starting freshman QB Michael Hawkins and are without their top five receivers due to injuries.
A touchback would have given Oklahoma the ball back just before halftime trailing 7-3. Instead, Texas opened up a 14-3 lead thanks to Bolden’s comeback and things only got worse for the Sooners from there. Hawkins fumbled on Oklahoma’s next drive and Wisner was able to capitalize. He broke off a 43-yard run, and held the ball the entire time, on Texas’ first offensive play after the fumble for a 21-3 Longhorns lead.