Every year since 1900, Texas and Oklahoma have squared off in the Red River Rivalry. And every year, both teams come in with conference title hopes at stake. Every year, someone goes home with the Golden Hat.
But this weekend, the two teams will be in the presence of another team they haven’t faced in six years.
ESPN’s College GameDay crew will be at the matchup between No. 5 Texas and No. 1 Oklahoma for the first time since 2002.
The GameDay crew of Lee Corso, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard will make its seventh stop of the season in Dallas, where the quartet will entertain a sea of burnt orange and maroon.
“There’s no fan base like the Texas fans,” senior Haritha Saikumar said. “And to have those guys there, it’s a perfect way to make sure everyone in the country knows about us.”
The last time the GameDay crew made it to the Cotton Bowl, the then-No. 2 Sooners beat the No. 3 Longhorns 35-24 — the third of five straight wins for the Sooners between 2000 and 2004.
The last time the GameDay crew came to Austin was in 2006, when the No. 2 Longhorns lost to then No.1 Ohio State.
But this year, fans are more optimistic about Texas’ chances against the top team in the country.
“Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp’s attitude with the defense has completely changed this team,” senior biology major T.K. Tran said. “They’ve become relentless and I think this is the year we take ‘em down.”
Though the matchup has decided the Big 12 Championship winner in recent years, this year, with four Big 12 teams in the nation’s top seven, fans know the game is a must-win for both teams.
“OU weekend is everything for Texas’ season — especially since we’re undefeated,” senior chemical engineering major Adam Romman said. “This is it. This is everything we’ve been waiting for since our BCS hopes were dashed in last year’s game.”
The GameDay crew has been to eight Texas football games since its inception in 1993 — four times at home and twice at the Red River Rivalry.
But Longhorn fans can never get enough of Corso throwing on Bevo’s head.
“I’m looking forward to hearing those guys in person,” senior Haoyu Lee said. “I love it when Lee picks the underdog, and I don’t expect him to let me down this year.”
It doesn’t matter that the Longhorns haven’t beaten a higher-ranked Sooners team since 1993. It doesn’t matter that the last time the Sooners were No. 1, Texas lost 65-13. It doesn’t matter that the last time both teams were in the top five, Oklahoma shut out Texas 12-0.
The GameDay crew brings a new dimension to the matchup.
“It gives us something else to go crazy about Saturday morning,” senior Christopher Yen said. “We want everyone to know that all the tough times we’ve had against the Sooners are behind us.”
Fans will have to get through the state fair and into the Cotton Bowl quickly Saturday morning. The telecast begins at 9 a.m. CST and kickoff is at 11.
The neutral site provides a unique opportunity for fans from both teams to make their case to the GameDay crew.
“We need to make it a point on national television that we’re going to beat the hell out of OU,” senior biomedical engineering major Joe Najmi said.
See collegegameday.com for more.
You are an idiot Sooner fan. To wish an injury on a player shows the class that your fanbase has. And for the record, it was KState not Kansas. Get your facts straight before you make yourself look like the ignorant gooner fan you are.
Does anyone edit this stuff? Their colors are Crimson and Creme.