1947. A gallon of gas would cost you .15 cents, a UFO was allegedly found in Roswell, New Mexico and Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball.
On October 11th of that year the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas was the setting for a wild and chaotic matchup between the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. The game ended 34-14 in the Longhorns’ favor as Sooner fans tossed everything but compliments onto the field. Due to this, the Cotton Bowl still refuses to serve bottled drinks.
That brings us back to the future. On Saturday, the Longhorns and Sooners will tangle in their annual tilt for the 112th time. It will also be the first time since 1947 that both teams come into the meeting with first-year head coaches.
Tom Herman’s first season as head coach of the Longhorns has seen more ups and downs than an elevator shaft. Following an opening day thumping at the hands of the Maryland Terrapins, the Longhorns have rebounded to improve to 3-2. Their only other loss coming in overtime to then 4th ranked USC Trojans.
Texas makes the trip to Dallas following consecutive victories over the Iowa State Cyclones (more on them later) and Kansas State Wildcats. By Saturday morning I expect them to be 10-point underdogs.
Lincoln Riley’s maiden voyage as skipper of the Sooners started out with clear skies, calm winds and smooth sailing. Oklahoma racked up 4 straight wins including a dominating road victory against the Ohio State Buckeyes that propelled the Sooners to no. 3 in the nation.
Then the Cyclones spun into Norman. They left the Sooners stunned in defeat.
Will Oklahoma show up ready for redemption against their long time nemesis? Can Texas continue to build momentum by taking down their archrival?
The only sure prediction is that it can’t be predicted. Since 1990, the record in this contest is 13-13-1. Since 1986 there have been 7 upsets. It is safe to say that you can throw the records out the window when these teams meet.
The setting remains the same. The colors remain the same. The rivalry remains the same.
And the Red River Showdown remains insane.