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Tag: Horns Win Red River

TEXAS vs.OU

The Red River Rivalry captivated the nation last year with two classic games that helped shape the College Football Playoff picture. No American sport holds its rivalries in higher esteem than college football, but the attention given to each rivalry ebbs and flows with the success of the teams involved.

Miami/Florida St. and Florida/Tennessee are two rivalries that were a major deal in the 90s and early 2000s but nowadays don’t generate many headlines outside their regions. Texas/OU went through a similar lull as the Longhorns suffered through “The Lost Decade” from 2009-17.

But with Texas coming off its biggest bowl win since 2007, and Oklahoma riding high with four straight conference titles, the high stakes are back on. The Red River Rivalry is big-time once again, just as it’s supposed to be.

Texas holds the upper hand in the overall series 62-47-5 much thanks to a commanding lead it built up in the early years. The Longhorns captured 29 of the first 43 match-ups, with two of those non-wins being ties.

Oklahoma then dominated much of the 1950s with nine wins in ten tries from 1948-57 and three national championships under Hall of Fame coach Bud Wilkinson. But Texas retook control with its own legendary coach in Darrell Royal, who led the Longhorns to 12 victories in 13 years from 1958-70, including three national titles of his own.

Since then, the rivalry has been more a back-and-forth affair. Last year’s chapter was especially noteworthy as it was the first time the two neighbors had played twice in the same season since 1903, and neither game was short on drama.
In the traditional regular season game at the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma overcame a 21-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game in the final minutes. But Texas, seemingly unfazed, marched right back down the field and got a last-second field goal from Cameron Dicker to win.

Two months later, they met in the Big 12 Championship Game for the first time. With OU playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff, the Sooners prevailed in a 39-27 win that was much closer than the final score would indicate.

Going into this year, tensions are high. Both teams look to be national title contenders and former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield even called out current Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger during the off-season.

“He couldn’t beat Lake Travis (Mayfield’s high school alma-mater), so I don’t really care (about) his opinion on winning,” Mayfield said. “Westlake (Ehlinger’s high school alma-mater) is a great program, but the two best quarterbacks to come out of there are Drew Brees and Nick Foles. Sam can stay down there in Texas.”

“That will stir the pot. He doesn’t like me, and I hope he knows I don’t like him either.”

Ehlinger has yet to retort publicly and probably won’t, but everyone knows he’s not one to back down from a challenge. He’s got the same swag and confidence Mayfield has, along with a deep love for his university that was instilled in him as a child.

“I will make it my mission to never let this team or this school feel this disappointment again,” Ehlinger said after the Big 12 Championship Game loss.

If both teams can take care of business with the early parts of their schedules, all eyes will again be on Dallas when the two rivals hook up for the 115th edition of the series on Oct. 12.

Like always, the Cotton Bowl crowd will be split at the fifty-yard-line, half crimson, half burnt orange. It’ll be a sight to behold. If you’re a Texas or OU fan, it’s a game you have to go to at least once, and there might not be a better year to attend than 2019.

Horns Win Red River

In what would ultimately be the highest total scoring game in the history of the Red River Showdown, the game lived up to its name in historic fashion. Dicker the Kicker of Austin Lake Travis nailed a 40-yard go-ahead field goal with seconds left in the game Saturday a the Cotton Bowl.
No. 19 Longhorns get a huge victory for Tom Herman’s young team with a 48-45 win on Saturday over No. 7 Oklahoma after a heart racing 4th quarter push by the Sooners late at the Red River Showdown. The Longhorns had a lead 45-24  into the fourth quarter but offensively looked rattled through a series of conservative calls. For a the top half of the 4th quarter it looked like Texas was self destructing. However, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger, looked good all day, put a final game winning drive with about 2:38 left to get the Horns into field goal range. Texas has won five straight on the season and the first over Oklahoma since 2015.
Is Texas Back in the race for a  Big 12 Title?
The season is a third of the way into its games and the Horns are looking good at this point with big wins this season over top ranked USC, TCU and now Oklahoma.
Herman has a history for being an underdog. He’s now 10-4 overall and 13-1 versus the spread in similar games. Texas will likely be the favorite for its remaining match ups .
The Horns will host Baylor at DKR next week on Oct 13th where they are so far undefeated at home in 2018.