Texas Longhorns vs. Oklahoma: A 'Dangerous' Top-10 Ranking

DALLAS -  No. 1 Texas versus unranked Oklahoma. As delicious as that sounds, it’s also just as dangerous.

In the Red River Rivalry - history suggests - anything can happen on the second Saturday in October. Even to college football’s top-ranked team.

A 50/50 divided Cotton Bowl. The smell of Fletcher’s corny dogs wafting through the stadium from the State Fair. Two teams. One tunnel. An epic rivalry, one of the best in all of American sports.

Texas-OU began this series in 1900, so long ago that Oklahoma was still just a U.S. territory.

Through the years one of the teams has entered ranked No. 1 14 times. The record of those teams: 11-2-1 (Texas 5-0-1; OU 6-2).

The Longhorns enter Saturday at 4-0, favored by 8.5 points against a reeling, 2-2 Sooners’ squad that has beaten only UTEP and New Mexico and last time out was embarrassed by Georgia, 41-13. Texas boasts Heisman Trophy candidate Arch Manning; OU limps in with quarterback John Mateer and his six turnovers over the last three games.

Still, be wary of those burnt orange premature post-game party plans. Strange things go down in Fair Park.

My Top 10 Most Memorable Texas-OU games:

10. 2001: OU 14, Texas 3 - In one of the greatest defensive highlights in series history, leaping Sooners’ safety Roy Williams turns Texas quarterback Chris Simms into his personal Midway ride to secure OU’s victory.

9. 1963: Texas 28, OU 7 - In the storied series’ only matchup between No. 1 and No. 2, the second-ranked Longhorns dominate on their way to the National Championship.

8. 1990: Texas 14, OU 13 - Trailing the 4th-ranked Sooners by six and faced with fourth-and-13 on the Oklahoma 16 with 2:00 remaining, Peter Gardere hits Keith Cash with the game-winning touchdown.

7. 2023: OU 34, Texas 30 - Sooners’ quarterback Dillon Gabriel engineers the upset of No. 3 Texas with 285 yards passing, another 114 rushing and the game-winning touchdown toss to Nic Anderson with 15 seconds remaining.

6. 2008: Texas 45, OU 35 - In a shootout between future NFL quarterbacks, Texas’ Colt McCoy outduels OU’s Sam Bradford. Despite Bradford’s 387 passing yards and five touchdowns, the Sooners were upset to lose their No. 1 ranking.

5. 1994: Texas 17, OU 10 - Stealing the spotlight from freshman quarterback James Brown, 335-pound defensive tackle Stonie Clark makes Texas’ best defensive play in rivalry history when he stymies OU’s James Allen at the 1-yard line as time expires.

4. 2021: OU 55, Texas 48 - Led by backup quarterback Caleb Williams, the Sooners overcome a 28-7 deficit by scoring 25 fourth-quarter points. Xavier Worthy’s second touchdown catch for Texas with 1:23 remaining appears to send the game toward overtime, but OU running back Kennedy Brooks takes a direct snap and scampers 33 yards for the game-winning score with just three seconds on the clock.

3. 2018: Texas 48, OU 45 - The Longhorns and quarterback Sam Ehlinger build a 45-24 lead and then barely hang on for a dramatic win over Kyler Murray’s Sooners as freshman kicker Cameron Dicker boots a 40-yard field goal as time expires.

2. 1984: Texas 15, OU 15 - On a day when No. 1 (Texas) met No. 3 (Oklahoma), it was Mother Nature who dominates. Playing in a driving rainstorm, Sooners’ coach Barry Switzer opts for a late intentional safety that proves bone-headed when Texas takes the ensuing kick and drives to OU’s 17-yard line for Jeff Ward’s game-tying field goal as time expires.

1. 2020: OU 53, Texas 45 (4 OT) - Sooners’ quarterback Spencer Rattler throws for three touchdowns and cornerback Tre Brown finally seals the wild win with an interception of Texas’ Ehlinger - who has six total touchdowns - at the goal line in the fourth overtime. The craziest game in Red River Rivalry history features 98 points, 897 yards, 21 penalties and six turnovers.