Oklahoma vs. Texas: Numbers to Know in Advance of Red River Saturday
By Chip Rouse
If you are looking for a notable number or numbers that best define what fans can expect in the annual gridiron grudge match this Saturday pitting Oklahoma vs. Texas, you might want to start with 87 or 88.
Just so you won’t wander too far off track, those numerals have nothing to do with calendar years. Rather, they are representative of the national rankings of the two teams for total yards allowed on defense. Texas ranks 87th in that important statistical category; Oklahoma is right behind the Longhorns, at No. 88.
Neither number is anything to boast about, but when the Sooners and Longhorns get together at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday, the team that allows the lower number of total offensive yards of its opponent, creates the most takeaways on defense will in all probability be the one with the most points on the scoreboard at game’s end.
Here are a few other numbers to tuck away ahead of Saturday’s Red River Showdown:
2 – The annual rivalry game with Texas marks just the second time in Oklahoma’s first five games this season the Sooners have faced an unranked opponent. This would not have been the case a week ago, though. The Longhorns were at No. 22 last week in the Associated Press Top 25 before losing to Oklahoma State 49-31. OU was unranked last week.
4 – This is the fourth consecutive season Oklahoma has entered the Red River Showdown game with Texas the only one of the two teams ranked in the AP Top 25 (but this year is highest they have been ranked over that span). Despite this fact, or perhaps because of it, the Longhorns have won two of the past three games between these two longtime rivals and probably should have won the game they lost.
7 – Seven of Oklahoma’s 10 wins over Texas during the Bob Stoops era have been by double digits.
10 – Wins over Texas by Bob Stoops, the most of any Oklahoma football coach. Only one other coach has more wins in the Oklahoma-Texas all-time series than Stoops. That man is former Oklahoma quarterback Darrell Royal, who beat the Sooners 12 times as head coach of the Longhorns from 1957-76.
12 – Number of Big 12 football titles jointly owned by Oklahoma (9) and Texas (3) in the 20-year history of the conference. The Sooners and Longhorns are one-two in that department.
31-23 – Average score in the 17 Red River Showdown games since Bob Stoops became head coach at Oklahoma. The Sooners have won 10 of the 17 games.
45 – Players on the Sooners’ 113-man roster who come from the state of Texas.
84 – Number of years the annual Oklahoma-Texas game has been played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas (since 1932). This will be the 85th year at that venue.
111 – Total number of games played in the rivalry series between Oklahoma and Texas. This includes the game this Saturday.
221 – Number of rushing yards by which Texas outgained the Sooners in the game a year ago. Samaje Perine led Oklahoma in rushing in last year’s game, gaining 36 yards on 10 carries.
261.0 – Average rushing yards by Texas in four games this season, 12th best in the nation.
1900 – The year of the first game between Oklahoma and Texas, which was won by the Longhorns 28-2. Oklahoma was not yet a state. That would not come about until 1907.