W E E K E N D E D I T I O N | O C T O B E R 6 - 9, 2 0 16 | T W I C E W E E K LY I N P R I N T | O U D A I LY. C O M
OUDAILY
For 100 years, the student voice of the University of Oklahoma
YOUR TEXAS STATE FAIR GUIDE • 6
SHOWTIME
TYLER WOODWARD/THE DAILY
Then sophomore running back Samaje Perine gets tackled by a UT defender during the Red River Showdown in October 2015 at the Cotton Bowl. The teams will play again Oct. 8, and kickoff is at 11 a.m.
Rivalry special for players despite teams’ struggles
T
JESSE POUND • @JESSERPOUND
he southbound lanes on Interstate 35 w ill be brought to a crawl F r i d ay a s O k l a h o ma fans make their annual sojourn south of the Red River, descending upon Dallas for the fair, the fried food and a football game against the Texas Longhorns. When the sun begins to rise over the Dallas skyline on Saturday, one thing will be abundantly clear: It’s time for the Red River Showdown. “All across the state, people look forward to this game,” said Jordan Evans, senior linebacker and Norman native. “Students are going crazy; high schools don’t have school and stuff like that. So it’s just a great atmosphere to be a part of, and it’s a lot of fun.” But while the game still captures the imaginations of Okies and Texans, it has fallen by the wayside on the national stage. The rivalry featured a matchup of ranked teams 10 times from 2000 to 2010, and the programs combined for six national title appearances during that stretch. As each team limps into Saturday at 2-2 in the season with fans on each side less than pleased with the performances
I get to my phone, my dad just texted me and said, ‘Welcome to OU-Texas.’” Oklahoma and Texas may not be competing for a national title this year, and there may not be as many future NFL players on the field as in years past. But it’s still the Red River Showdown. “From an emotional standpoint, it’s a street fight. That’s absolutely what it is. There’s no hiding that,” Mayfield said. “This is the biggest rivalry in college football. You get in that tunnel, there’s nothing nice to be said. They don’t like us, and we don’t like them.”
Even though the teams are not currently in college football’s elite, the game still holds extra importance for Oklahoma’s players. “It’s huge. It’s one of the reasons you come to this school, to play Texas,” sophomore receiver Mark Andrews said. “It’s just one
of those things. When you come here you kind of circle that game on the board.” With more than 40 Texans on the Oklahoma roster, the game holds a little more juice for those who grew up in the Lone Star State. “Huge, huge,” said Dimitri Flowers, Texas junior fullback and San Antonio native. “I get asked that all the time, why I’m not at Texas ... I just felt like this was the place for me, and I’m here now, and hopefully I get to prove why I’m here.” “There’s no beating around the bush,” said Baker Mayfield, junior quarterback and Austin, Texas, native. “But at the same time, our guys are going to have to harness all that (emotion) and go out and do their job.” The spectacle at the Cotton Bowl, with the crowd equally divided between crimson and burnt orange, has a special place in college football lore and the potential to make local legends out of the players on each side. Evans, whose dad played at Oklahoma, learned quickly what this rivalry was all about. “My freshman year, I was playing on kickoff ... Dude blew me up,” Evans said. “After the game,
TUNNEL TRASH TALK • 6
TEXAS HATES US • 7
WE HATE TEXAS • 8
of the coaches, the game won’t have the same stakes that it did a decade ago. On Saturday, you could forgive the casual college football fan for being more excited about games between Alabama and Arkansas or Tennessee and Texas A&M than an 11 a.m. kickoff between two seemingly mediocre teams. The game may have even lost a bit of its on-field intensity. “Those games were so intense back when I was there before I left (to go to Arizona),” said Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, who held the same position from 1999 to 2003. “It’s just different, but it’s still intense when you walk on the field and through the tunnel. You can still feel it, but some of those games were beyond; both teams came at each other ... But still, there’s no love lost when both teams get to Dallas.” Oklahoma began its season with national championship aspirations but was smoked by Houston and Ohio State. A season opening win for Texas over Notre Dame has lost its shine as the Longhorns and Irish have struggled in the following weeks. Much of the chatter coming into this year’s game centers around
the early season disappointment of the Sooners and the uncertain job status of Texas coach Charlie Strong. “I think we’re both kind of fighting for our survival right now,” Stoops said. “We’re in the same situation they are.”
TEXAS STATE FAIR • 5
“From an emotional standpoint, it’s a street fight. That’s absolutely what it is. There’s no hiding that. This is the biggest rivalry in college football. You get in that tunnel, there’s nothing nice to be said. They don’t like us, and we don’t like them.” BAKER MAYFIELD, JUNIOR QUARTERBACK
Jesse Pound
jesserpound@gmail.com
WATCH THE GAME TV TIME: 11 a.m. TV CHANNEL: Fox Sports 1 LIVE STREAM: Fox Sports Go LINE: Oklahoma -10 (Consensus)
IN THIS ISSUE: