Red River Rivalry

Producing maybe the biggest split in the Deep South since the Texas and Mexican War, the Red River Rivalry gets fans and players alike fired up for the game of the season. Things start to get fans in the mood with the beginning of the annual State Fair, held at Fair Park in Dallas, which peaks the day these two football powerhouses meet each year. Many fans can’t convince themselves what would possess someone to support the opposing team, adding more drama and intensity to an already heated rivalry. In 2005 the Dallas Morning News asked 119 D-1 coaches who played in the biggest rivalry in college football. Their answer was the Red River Rivalry. This year will feel a little different than in years past, with neither team cracking the top 10 at this point in the season. Oklahoma began the season ranked in the top 5, but a heartbreaking loss to Kansas State bumped them out of national championship talk and into a debate on Big 12 supremacy. Texas on the other hand was rolling strong until a gut wrenching loss to West Virginia last week ending their undefeated season, just before their big matchup with the hated Sooners. Before I can make any predictions or speculations about the game, I decided to take a moment and appreciate past games and the overall history of this great matchup. Beginning in 1900 when neither team even had nicknames, Texas was called the “varsity” team, and won 28-2. That game 112 years ago started a rivalry that will hopefully last for many years to come. So far, it has lived up to expectations. The game began being played in Dallas in 1912, with a few occasions played at other sites. This is another great tradition that the game entails. No team has a home field advantage, and with a split stadium the walls of burnt orange and crimson red light up a stadium like no other. Many consider the “post war” era, or since 1945, the most relevant time to count statistics, therefore we will too. Since 1945 one or both of the two teams have been ranked in the top twenty-five 61 out of 66 games. That number alone speaks volumes for the kind of tradition and dominance these two great programs possess. Also, since that time the Longhorns lead the overall series 33-31-3, showing how incredibly competitive and well-matched the two teams have been. Sure this is a bunch of mindless information, but you must know the history to appreciate the games being played currently. When discussing the game as of late, “even” would not describe the two teams. Since 2000, Oklahoma is 8-4, outscoring Texas 370 to 246, a very unbalanced number compared to the previous years. Another number that really jumps off the page is the fact that six of the last ten winners of this game played for the BCS national championship afterwards. That shows alone how powerful these two teams have been during that span. As much as it may seem, this rivalry doesn’t begin to sum up these two teams success. Each has won multiple national championships, with Oklahoma leading with 7 and Texas having 4. They have also dominated their conference, leaving Oklahoma the leader again with 7, and Texas second overall with 3. Much of the other teams in the Big 12 have strived to make up the gap these two teams hold, and this year it seems to have finally happened. That will not take anything away from the great game we expect to see this weekend in Dallas, knowing anything can happen in a game filled with teenagers and a stadium full of emotion. Both coaches have had much success in their careers, with Stoops leading Brown in most categories. This was the deciding factor when my colleagues and I sat down to pick this game, because Vegas has set the line favoring Oklahoma by 3. A margin that small leaves me feeling no confidence in either side to win for sure, making predictions even more difficult. As fans we can simply hope for a great game, leaving one of the teams still in contention for not only a conference championship, but a national title as well. My two good friends and Editors will assist me by offering predictions for this game, making things just a little more interesting. Dustin Hughes predicts Oklahoma 34, Texas 42. Keith Walterscheid says Oklahoma 24, Texas 31. My prediction is Oklahoma 34, Texas 27! Follow me on Twitter @DFWsportscreed Edited by Dustin Hughes and Keith Walterscheid