Texas vs Oklahoma Rivalry

Texas vs. Oklahoma

To be a truly great rivalry there needs to be something unique about the competition; more than just hatred, more than just competitive contests.  No one can match the Texas vs. Oklahoma game for its distinction- when this contest began in 1900 one of the home states was not even a state yet but still a territory (Oklahoma).

No other game has three different trophies attached to it either.  The Golden Hat goes to the athletic department of the winning team.  A side of beef goes to the governor of the state of the winning school (and is usually donated to charity) along with the Governor’s Trophy.  ROTC units form both schools get into the contest by running a relay race with the game balls from each school to the game field in Dallas and than playing a scrimmage themselves.   To the winner goes the trophy and even more importantly bragging rights till next year.

Known as the Red River Shootout due to the Red River that forms part of the border between the two states the contest was recently dubbed the Red River Rivalry by new sponsor SBC Communications (now AT&T).  On the eve of the 100^th contest in 2005, the Dallas Morning News surveyed 119 Division I coaches about the nation’s top college rivalries.  Texas vs. Oklahoma came in third behind OSU/ Michigan and Army/ Navy.

Success has surrounded both teams in this game.  Since 1945 both teams have been ranked in the top 25 nearly every season.  Between the two they have accounted for ten national titles since 1950.  Four of the last eight seasons have found either Texas or Oklahoma playing in the BCS title game, each winning once.

Texas started the rivalry off on the right foot winning the first game 28-2 in 1900.  Since then Texas has gone on to build a 57-40-5 series lead.  Oklahoma has been doing what it can to close that gap by winning 6 of the last 8, often putting the end on Texas’s national title hopes.   In three of four seasons from ’01 to ’04 Texas was undefeated only to lose by a double digit margin.

The most recent Texas vs. Oklahoma game lived up to the rivalry’s expectations.  Dubbed by Sports Illustrated as the #3 best game to watch in ’07 it did not disappoint.  Oklahoma scored first and early, but Texas did not take the set back lying down.  Colt McCoy and the Longhorns battled back to tie the game in the second half 21-21.  With ten minutes to go the Sooners scored the go ahead touchdown.  The Longhorns managed to battle back and threaten to tie the game up again in the final minutes but were unable to beat a tough Oklahoma defense.

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