AUSTIN — As the Longhorns found themselves down 6-3 to No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday, Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad managed to secure his second interception of the game in the end zone as time expired to take the game into halftime.

The interception ensured that the Sooners weren’t able to extend their lead before half, which kept it manageable for the Longhorns as they were only down by three and set to receive the ball to start the second half.

“I thought that was a massive play in the game, because they had an opportunity to get points there at the end of the first half. And so for Manny to get that pick in the end zone,” Sarkisian said. “I really felt like that was a momentum-changing play as we went into the second half. And we knew we were getting the ball coming out of halftime.”

Texas took advantage of the momentum-changing play and it showed. The Longhorns opened the half with the first touchdown of the day, by either team, as the Texas offense looked rejuvenated and fresh.

“When we got in the locker room, it was okay, well, it’s 30 minutes, let’s go play,” Sarkisian said. “Where’s our pride, and how are we going to play this second half, and let’s get out of our own way… I think the first two drives we stub our toe with penalties, and then we basically were putting ourselves in position to score points every other drive on offense. But we tried to limit possessions intentionally in this game. We slowed things down, we sped things up, we huddled more. And that’s a credit to the guys on offense of handling a game plan that was not easy, but they did a really nice job.”

As the interception was immediately followed by a touchdown, it seemed to light a fire for the whole team, as the Longhorns went on to score 13 more unanswered points and shut the Oklahoma offense out in the second half.

It was a performance on offense and defense that fans had been waiting for and expected to see, but weren’t able to get in the loss to Florida. It was a great bounce-back victory that has rekindled a flame around the program and its postseason hopes.

Hopefully, we’ll see a similar or better performance on Saturday, as the Longhorns are set to face the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN. Texas is currently favored by 12.5 points, according to ESPN.