Oklahoma vs. Texas: Stat that stands out in Saturday’s Red River rumble

The home team has prevailed in the last five games in the Oklahoma vs. Texas Red River rivalry, but that is not necessarily a good indicator in this longtime rivalry series.

Texas will be wearing its burnt orange home jersey on Saturday. Does that spell doom for the other side. Recent history would say yes. But a longer view speaks otherwise.

Since 1999, Bob Stoops first season as head coach of the Sooners, Oklahoma  has been the road team nine times in the Red River Showdown. OU has been markedly better as the home team over that time, going 7-2 against the hated Longhorns.

As the road team, however, the Sooners have a losing record against Texas over the last 18 seasons, but only by one game. The Longhorns are 5-4 against Oklahoma during that time, but two of the Texas losses were by blowouts (65-13 in 2003, the largest winning margin in the 111-year history of this storied rivalry, and 55-17 in 2011).

Oklahoma Sooners Football

When the Sooners are the home team in this game, the outcome has been more lopsided than when the Longhorns wear the home jerseys. Oklahoma was 7-2 under Stoops when designated as the home team.

And more intriguing stat in the recent history of this longtime border war: Since 2000, Oklahoma has come into its annual rivalry game with Texas just two times following a loss. In 2007, the No. 3-ranked Sooners lost at Colorado by a field goal the week before the Red River game. OU was ranked No. 4 when it lost to TCU 37-33 just ahead of the Sooners’ showdown with Texas.

Following both of those aforementioned losses, the Sooners came to Dallas and defeated a ranked Longhorn team.

Home team or not, upset victim the week before or not, there is nothing certain when these two iconic football brands go toe to toe against each other in the Cotton Bowl every second weekend in October.