Take away the State Fair backdrop, and Saturday was a familiar scene for Oklahoma.

Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford goes out with a right shoulder injury. Defense is asked to step up and carry the team. Heroic defensive play comes up just short in a close game.

For the Sooners, the turn of events at the Cotton Bowl against Texas played out like a horrible replay that has haunted them week after week.

"So far, we have carried this team," said Oklahoma junior defensive end Jeremy Beal, of Carrollton Creekview, "but in the fourth quarter, we need to make plays when we have to."

Bradford re-injured his right shoulder eight plays into the game and never returned, leaving OU's defense to try to keep the score low enough to give the Sooners a shot.

Despite a vaunted performance, Oklahoma's defense couldn't save the day in a 16-13 loss. The Sooners have three losses this season by a combined five points. Bradford initially injured his shoulder late in the first half of a season-opening loss to BYU, 14-13, in Arlington. Two weeks ago with Bradford not playing, OU lost at Miami, 21-20.

Each time, the defense has put OU in position to win. That was again the case against the nation's No. 3 team.

The Sooners' defensive line was relentless in pressuring Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy had one of OU's four sacks and finished with five quarterback hurries. Defensive end Auston English was constantly in the backfield and recorded two sacks. Beal set a career-high with 12 tackles, at least four more than any other player in the game.

"We've known we have the best defensive line in the country and you can just see it game to game what they can do and the pressure they can bring without even having to call a blitz," OU linebacker Ryan Reynolds said. "Our front four is incredible."

The Sooners held Texas to only 5-of-19 on third-down conversions, but the Longhorns' running game finally gained traction in the second half. Texas rushed for 102 yards in the second half after totaling only 40 before halftime. That helped open up the passing game, and McCoy converted two long third downs on passes to Marquise Goodwin on the Longhorns' only touchdown drive of the game in the third quarter.

OU tied the game late in the third quarter, but it was Texas that scored the only points in the fourth quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Hunter Lawrence. Not even the Sooners' stellar defense could overcome five turnovers.

"I'm proud of how hard they played. They never flinched," OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. "Our guys continued to fight back and respond to some adversity."