Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Facts About the
OU/Texas Red River Rivalry Game

I felt the need to explain my Wordless Wednesday post. This week end marks the 108th year of one of the greatest rivalries in all of college football, the OU/Texas game. There are a number of facts about this game that make it unique among college rivalry games and I hope it will always stay that way. Although, there has been talk recently about moving the game to a different site. So here are thirteen facts about this great game.

1. The first game was played in 1900. Texas won 28-2
2. The game has been played in Dallas since 1912. The neutral site was chosen because it is about half way between Austin, TX and Norman, OK.
3. The current venue is the Cotton Bowl (since 1937) which seats approximately 92,000
4. Each school gets 50% of the tickets! That's right there will be 46,000 fans from each school at the game.
5. The seating is split at the 50 yard line. OU traditionally gets the south half of the stadium while Texas occupies the north half. I've had seats on the 45 yard line before and that can get a little awkward where the Big Red meets the Burnt Orange!
6. Four times in the last eight years the winner of this game has appeared in the BCS National Championship Game. (OU-2000, National Champions, 2001, 2003) (Texas 2005 , National Champions) If OU wins this year they will likely run the table and appear in the championship game yet again.
7. Since 1945, one or both teams have been ranked in the top 25 at game time. Between 1971-1981 neither team was ranked lower than 17th at game time.
8. Since 1950 both schools have come into this game undefeated 15 times.
9. Much of the rivalry stems from the fact that the two states share a common border (the Red River) and many of OU's best players come from Texas.
10. The game is always played in October during the Texas State Fair. There was a time when SMU played TCU on Friday night, OU played Texas on Saturday and the Dallas Cowboys played on Sunday. You could have a true football week-end and never leave the fairgrounds.
11. The two schools have won 10 national championships since 1950 (OU-7, Texas-3)
12. The winner takes home three trophies. The Golden (10 gallon) Hat is the oldest and is traded among the athletic department. There is a "Red River Rivalry" trophy traded between the student governments since 2003 and there is the Governor's trophy that always carries a side bet of beef or charity.
13. Last but not least, I am a Sooner Born, and Sooner Bred, soooooo BOOOMER Sooner!!!! Roll on Crimson and Cream, Roll On!!!!
The game starts at 11:00 a.m. CDT Saturday. I will be unavailable until around 3:00 p.m. Tune in, it should be a great game.