Chuck Carlton

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The AT&T Red River Rivalry came in shades of black and blue, not burnt orange and crimson.

Third-ranked Texas' 16-13 win over No. 20 Oklahoma was defined by hard lessons and harder hits, the kind that led to eight turnovers and just two touchdowns.

"It was tough. It was ugly," Texas coach Mack Brown said.

Hunter Lawrence's 32-yard field goal, his third with 12:08 remaining, stood as the difference. Late interceptions by Aaron Williams and Earl Thomas against Oklahoma backup quarterback Landry Jones preserved the win.

Texas and Brown gained its fourth win in the last five games against the Sooners and Bob Stoops, not that Brown was celebrating.

The Longhorns won last season and then watched Oklahoma play for a national title.

"This is where we start, not where we finish," Brown said.

Heisman winner Sam Bradford lasted only until Oklahoma's second series, when blitzing Texas cornerback Aaron Williams sent him to the turf and the sidelines with another injury to his right shoulder.

Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy survived the game despite a bum thumb on his throwing hand and a nagging head cold. His biggest contribution was a touchdown-saving tackle after throwing an interception to Oklahoma's Brian Jackson in the fourth quarter.

"I told him he hit like a safety on that play," said Thomas, who contributed a win-clinching interception.

For more than a year, Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp waited for a second crack at the Oklahoma offense, the one that hung 35 points and 435 yards on his defense last year.

"The object was to win ... but we didn't do our part," Muschamp said of last year's game.

As dogged and inventive as the Sooners were, unveiling blitzes that confounded McCoy and Texas offensive line in the first half, the Longhorns were just a bit better.

The Longhorns limited Oklahoma, which featured 1,000-yard rushers DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, to minus-16 yards rushing on 22 attempts.

"There were times the running backs missed a hole and wanted to pace themselves," Murray said. "Then there were times they got the better of us."

With or without Bradford, Muschamp was determined to take away the running game and force the Sooners into a one-dimensional offense.

In his second season at Texas, he unveiled new wrinkles.

He used Sergio Kindle as a passing rushing decoy, giving Williams a clear path to Bradford.

He believed – correctly – that his defensive front four could win the battle against the Oklahoma offensive line.

"Muschamp instilled that in us," Kindle said.

He had the right blend of tough love and motivation when Williams blew an assignment on Ryan Broyles' game-tying 35-yard waltz down the sidelines.

"When you make a mistake like that, you have to do something to lift your team up," said Williams.

He displayed his athleticism with a leaping interception with less than eight minutes remaining. Thomas followed with another pick four minutes later.

"We haven't played near our best game," Mack Brown said. "That's what I like about this team. We're 6-0, in the top two or three in the country and we're not even close to where we can be."

The Texas defense, burned by OU in 2008, made amends Saturday. Comparing Texas' defensive stats in the two games:

Unlike last year's 45-35 Texas victory, this year's Red River rivalry was a defensive struggle. A look at some of the numbers, with 2008 stats in parentheses: