AUSTIN — After weeks of struggles, No. 21 Texas (4-2) and quarterback Arch Manning were able to respond to the outside noise by earning their first signature win of the season by beating a top-10 Oklahoma team in the Red River Rivalry.

It was a bounce-back win for the team after it lost to Florida the week prior, a game in which the Longhorns failed to find success in almost every area of the field, especially on the defensive side of things.

Manning has also been dealing with a lot of outside pressure. He entered the season as a Heisman favorite and is now facing extreme scrutiny due to not performing like the best quarterback in the country. He’s had his struggles, that’s for sure, but he doesn’t have to be a superhero; he just has to do his job, which is what he did on Saturday.

The defense showed up and showed out, while Manning completed 77% of his passes and did what he needed. The ground game was also able to get going pretty well, as the Manning-Tre Wisner rushing duo worked great.

Outside noise was the first thing that head coach Steve Sarkisian addressed following the victory.

“There was a lot of noise outside of our building, and their ability to stay connected to one another and put in the effort, to put forth the work,” Sarkisian said. “To put in the preparation, and then to come out and play our brand, our style of football.”

That’s exactly what happened, and that’s exactly what we need to keep seeing from the Longhorns as the season progresses. Up next for Texas is Kentucky (2-3), but ranked Vanderbilt, Georgia and Texas A&M still loom.

The narrative surrounding Manning and this Texas team will begin to change, and continue to do so, so long as the Longhorns continue to find success. But no matter what gets said, Texas needs to keep hold of every negative thing said before, as it can continue to use it to motivate more emotional, successful performances.

“Continue to grind with one another, because it’s easy to succumb to the outside noise,” Sarkisian said. “There was a lot of shit getting talked about our team, about these guys, and I think they responded.”

The team responded to the outside noise, instead of proving the doubters right, and Sarkisian will need to ensure that one victory and some good talk outside of the program doesn’t influence the mindset of the Texas team we saw on Saturday.

Texas will look to channel the same energy as it sets its sights on a Kentucky team that has been unable to secure its first conference win yet. The Longhorns will travel to Lexington to face the Wildcats at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN on Saturday.