If you have ever set foot on either Arlington, Texas or in Norman, Oklahoma, you can help but to notice what a huge part of these two towns, particularly Norman, are truly devoted to their College Football teams. If you do make it to the outskirts of the Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium you would notice that everything is Crimson and White, and be it from the LiqOUr Store in the eastern corner, to the College-Sports Bars at Main Street, everything has to do with Football. That is why, when the Red River Rivalry hits in every year, the tickets to the Cotton Bowl stadium are as hard to find as Willy Wonka’s golden tickets.
Now, Texas has been the dominating team in the last 5 games in the series, so it is nothing but short of exciting for both players and fans to see such a strong team as the Sooners come in and give the Texas Longhorns their second consecutive defeat of the season. After what we say in Arlington, Texas, last week, the expectations for the Longhorns to put on a big show against the Oklahoma Sooners were very high. Their unexpected 34-12 lost against UCLA last week, was nothing short from surprising and a bit disappointed for any fan of the Longhorns.
Let’s not forget for a second that despite their woes, the guys from Texas have been a dominant force in the last 10 years not only in the Big 12, where next to Oklahoma they have shared their domination over the rest of the teams. But the Texas Longhorns have also been a very strong team nationally. As a matter of fact, despite its ups and downs, the guys from Texas have managed to sit in the Top 25 Nationwide AP Poll for a whopping 162 weeks. Just to but things into perspective, that is almost twice as many weeks as the second place in that regularity list: Ohio State with 89 games.
Actually this is the first time since 2007 that the Texas Longhorns lose two consecutive games. Back then it was both Kansas State and Oklahoma State who delivered the consecutive defeats. So does this victory come fitting very well to the guys from Oklahoma? Heck yes: The Sooners had not defeated Texas since 2007 and that is almost unacceptable in such a fierce rivalry.
Now to the game: Garret Gilbert completed 27 of 41 attempts and went for 265 yards in his Red River Rivarly debut. But there was not much help from his teammates. Three of Oklahoma’s four drives that ultimately ended up with a score were extended because of Texas’ penalties in third downs. And that was not good news for head coach Mack Brown, who knew that they had the game, but missed because of little mistakes, each and every chance his team had to turn the scoreboard around.
On the other hand, Landry Jones went for 24 of 39 with 236 yards. Just a tad behind Gilbert, but Jones managed to find two players inside the end zone and ultimately touchdowns are what make the difference in any football game. As of press time, the Sooners will try to keep up with their flawless mark in the NCAA football odds against the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday October 16th. The Longhorns on the other hand, will go face to face against the Nebraska Cornhuskers that same day.
