Oklahoma took down No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl -- an instant classic for all Sooner fans, with moments that will join the halls of Red River lore, sure to be talked about for years to come.
Oklahoma put together a performance when it most needed it, topping it off with a buzzer-beating field goal from Tate Sandell to seal the win. This was the first time in history that Oklahoma defeated Texas as the top-ranked team in the country. Sooner fans have been basking in joy since Saturday, but is this all the fans needed?
College football rivalries are some of the most unique rivalries in all of sports, draped in tradition, history, bitterness, and spectacle. College football rivalry games are seen all across the country and are typically formed by the unique regionality of the sport: Ohio State vs. Michigan, Alabama vs. Auburn, Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss, and, of course, Oklahoma vs. Texas, fondly referred to by fans as the Red River Shootout.
One of the most unique spectacles in all of college football, played at the neutral Cotton Bowl amidst the pomp, or lack thereof, of the Texas State Fair. Fans split down the middle, north and south, coloring the stadium half crimson and half burnt orange.
Red River Rivalry win puts Brent Venables back in good graces of Sooner Nation
These games mean everything to the fans. The evidence of this? If a coach loses one of these games, or God forbid multiple, there is talk of them being on the hot seat regardless of how the season turned out. A prime example of this is Ryan Day at Ohio State. Day consistently had Ohio State in the hunt for a title, but he had continued to lose to Michigan despite his superior roster. In 2024, Ohio State lost to Michigan, and the fans were calling for his job. Luckily for him, he went on to win a national championship that same season.
Last season, Oklahoma had a disastrous performance against Texas, losing 23-6. Many fans and media outlets were questioning whether Brent Venables was the right guy to be the head coach of the Sooners. Luckily for Venables, much similar to Day, he led the team on an incredible run and made the College Football Playoff, regaining the trust of Sooner fans.
The question now is: Does this mentality work in the opposite direction?
The Sooners have had a rough start to the season. The offense has been a disaster, resulting in two losses in the first four games. The two wins were nothing to write home about either. Once again, fans were beginning to question the coaching staff and whether they were the right fit for the job.
But now, Venables and this Oklahoma team have done the unthinkable. Upset the top-ranked Texas Longhorns, who were more than a touchdown favorite to win the game.
This win may have bought Venables and his staff some extra time to figure things out and right the ship. Oklahoma’s offense was not great, but it was good enough. The remaining games on the Sooners’ schedule are daunting, to say the least. A losing record is not out of the realm of possibility for this team. We cannot predict the future, but the road is rocky up ahead.
Oklahoma is a historic blue-blood college football program that has a standard of winning national championships. Fans expect not just to have a winning season, but they expect to compete for titles.
In the worst-case scenario, Oklahoma could still produce a losing season, causing some fans to call for staff changes. But then there will be others who, despite their frustrations, will remember the moment that Peyton Bowen intercepted the throw from Arch Manning and ran it home for the touchdown. They will think of Courtland Guillory’s interception, or Isaiah Sategna’s one-handed catch, and then they’ll feel the rush they felt watching Tate Sandell launch the ball, sending it through the uprights, to seal the upset against their biggest rival.
At Oklahoma, beating Texas means everything. The team could go on to lose more games, but nothing will take that joy away from Sooner fans, and perhaps the belief in Brent Venables will endure just a while longer.
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