The annual Oklahoma-Texas rivalry is one of the most physically and emotionally invested games on the schedule every season for both teams.
It would be easy for one or both teams, regardless of which team dons the Golden Hat, the traditional trophy that goes to the winner of the Oklahoma-Texas football game, to suffer a letdown in the game that follows on the schedule.
The opposite has been true for the Sooners coming out of their annual blood bath with the Longhorns. And Oklahoma fans are clinging to the notion that trend will hold true again this season, when the Sooners travel to Ft. Worth in another week to take on TCU.
In the Big 12 era (since 1996), Oklahoma is 20-2 in the game that immediately follows Texas on the Sooner schedule. More important and relevant to the current season, the Sooners are 8-1 against teams from the Big 12 coming off a loss in the Red River game.
For the first time in four seasons, Kansas State is not the next team on the schedule for Oklahoma following the OU-Texas game. TCU has that honor this season. Then it will be K-State’s turn, in Norman, the following weekend (Oct. 27).
Of Oklahoma’s eight Big 12 wins in nine games following a loss to Texas, the two teams from the Sunflower State have been the victims five times (Kansas four times and Kansas State once).
After losing to Texas 24-17 in 2015, Baker Mayfield’s first season as the starting quarterback for the Sooners, OU stormed into Manhattan, Kansas, like a tornado off the plains and dismantled Kansas State to the tune of 55-0. That was the last time the Oklahoma defense recorded a shutout.
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Sooner fans would like nothing better than to see history repeat itself when an angry bunch of Sooners return to action on Oct. 20 at TCU.
Only twice since Oklahoma and Texas have met as members of the Big 12 have the Sooners enjoyed a bye the week immediately following the Red River Showdown. In Bob Stoops first season as the OU head coach, in 1999, the Sooners lost to Texas 38-28. Two weeks later, against Texas A&M, Oklahoma rebounded in a big way, posting a 51-6 victory.
in 2010, the Sooners followed up a 28-20 win over archrival Texas with a 52-0 shellacking of Iowa State.
In the Big 12 era, Oklahoma is 21-10 overall in games coming off a bye week. The Sooners will get a chance to improve upon that record when they get back in the swing of things nine days from now against TCU.
A record OU doesn’t want to contribute to, however, is following up one loss with another loss. The last time the Sooners lost back-to-back games in the regular season was in 1999. losing to Notre Dame and Texas on successive weekends.