Every year about this time (Thursday evening before the Oklahoma-Texas game), I start to get butterflies in my stomach as if I am taking the field in Dallas on Saturday. You may think I’m crazy for this, but if truth be told, my nerves are simply a reflection of the magnitude and importantance of a win in this game (clearly not life magnitude or a matter of life and death but still very important).
Once known as the Red River Shootout (still my favorite name), the OU-Texas Game (now known as the Red River Rivalry) has been played 106 times since October 10, 1900. The Longhorns lead the current series 59-42-5, and since 1945, one or both of the two teams have been ranked within the top 25 61 out of 66 games. This Saturday is no different.
The #15 Texas Longhorns hobble into Dallas to face the #13 Oklahoma Sooners and the stakes couldn’t be any higher. Given last weekend’s home loss to West Virginia and Oklahoma’s early season loss to Kansas State, Saturday’s game is pretty much for all the marbles.
The winner of six of the last ten matchups between the Longhorns and Sooners has played for the BCS National Championship (the Sooners 4 times and the ‘Horns 2 times). The loser of Saturday’s game will have two conference losses, which will all but relegate them to a second place finish and an outside chance at a BCS bowl (although stranger things have happened… See two-loss LSU vs. two-loss Ohio State circa 2007).
To call Saturday’s game “Put up or Shut up Time” for the ‘Horns is an understatement. Since the Mack Brown era began in 1998, Texas has only won six of the last 14 matchups against the Sooners and has lost the last two consecutive matchups. In the past two seasons, the Longhorns are a measly 13-12 and will be taking an eight-game losing streak against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 into Saturday’s Red River Rivalry. To make matters even worse, the ‘Horns are 1-10 in their last 11 games against Top 25 teams. To be frank, things haven’t been this bad in Austin in a while. Saturday’s game in Dallas may be a referendum on the 15 year tenure of William Mack Brown.
Now to be fair, from 2001 through 2009, Mack won 10 or more games each year, won a national championship, played for another, and went 3-1 in big time BCS bowl games. He has worked tirelessly to make Texas relevant on the national stage once again. But like a Fortune 500 CEO, his recent performance is simply not good enough given his annual salary of $5.2 million (which makes him one of top three highest paid coaches in America).
So this Saturday, the Texas Longhorns have a chance to right the ship and stay in the national championship picture. A win Saturday will go a long way towards erasing some of the ‘Horns recent failure. A loss Saturday and the ‘Horns will drop to 1-2 in conference all but sealing their second place finish.
No pressure ….
So let’s hope that Saturday my ‘Horns feel like this ….
And not like this ….
Favorite Red River Rivalry Game:
October 11, 2008:
Texas 45, Oklahoma 35
Hands down one of the best regular season college football games ever played. It ended as the highest scoring game in the rivalry’s history with the most fans to ever see this game. My boy Chris Ogbonnaya sealed the game with a 62-yard run … Hook ‘Em
Most regrettable Red River Rivalry Game:
October 6, 2001
Texas 3, Oklahoma 14