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Red River Rivalry Meaningless Conversation for the Trip Down I-35 October 9, 2002 by Jason Waganer Executive Editor Need some facts, rumors and statistics to debate and discuss on your drive to Dallas this Friday or Saturday? Simply click the print icon on your browser window and take this story along for the ride. Enjoy! * The Sooners have won their last 12 meetings against teams from south of the Red River. Including a victory over Arkansas in last year's Cotton Bowl, the Sooners have won six straight inside the state of Texas. * ESPN's College GameDay will broadcast from the State Fair of Texas for the second year in a row. The set will be located between the Centennial Building and the Esplanade Fountains on International Boulevard in the Fair Grounds, which is open to the public beginning at 8 a.m. The live telecast will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. * No. 3 Texas and No. 2 Oklahoma each enter the game ranked among The Associated Press Top Five for the second consecutive year, which marks the first two-game stretch of Top Five matchups in series history. All totaled, Saturday will mark the eighth Top Five matchup between the Red River rivals. The series is tied at 3-3-1 in the previous seven Top Five meetings. The higher ranked team has won three of those meetings, while top-ranked Texas and No. 2 Oklahoma played to a 15-all tie in 1984. Last year's game, a 14-3 Sooners' victory, and the No. 2 Longhorns' 28-7 win against top-ranked Oklahoma in 1963 are the only two times a UT/OU Top Five contest was decided by more than a touchdown. * ABC Sports is broadcasting this year's game, which marks the 50th time the Oklahoma-Texas matchup will be televised. ABC will be carrying the game for the 11th time in the past 12 years. FOX Sports Southwest's telecast of the 1998 game snapped a string of seven consecutive contests carried by ABC. Thirty-one OU-Texas games have been network telecasts. The first-ever television appearance came in 1948 when a Fort Worth station carried the game live. Excluding OU television probation years (1974-75 and '89), the game is being televised for the 27th year in a row. * Everyone knows about Nate Hybl's 148 consecutive passes without an interception. But did you know that Hybl has thrown 10 passes for over 30 yards this season. His touchdown to interception ratio is an impressive 6-0. Hybl shouldn't hurt the Sooners on Saturday. * Many Sooner fans have complained this season about Senior Running Back Quentin Griffin. However, Griffin is currently 12th all time in the Big 12 for all-purpose yards at 3,383. He only needs another 129 yards to move into the top 10. He's number four in the league for career touchdowns and should end the season in the top three. He also has logged his longest three runs of his career this season. Could he just be getting warmed up? * Before the season, Senior Linebacker Teddy Lehman was the favorite nationally to win the Butkus Award. However, Lehman's own teammate, junior Lance Mitchell, might be the only person standing in his way. Mitchell is currently the leading tackler for Oklahoma with 62. He had 19 tackles (13 solo) against Missouri. If Mitchell has a big game against Texas, he might become the leader for the award. It's doubtful that Lehman is upset about his new challenger. * OU is 5-0 for the third straight year. It's first time since 1983 that the Horns have had such a record. * Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating announced that state pride, along with a side of beef, will be on the line when No. 3 Texas meets No. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The two agreed the losing governor will donate a side of home-grown beef to the home charity of the winning governor's choice. The leaders of the two states traditionally have placed a friendly wager on the outcome of the annual SBC Red River Shootout. * Which current Sooner has had the best performance(s) against the Horns? In two Red River Shootouts, Derrick Strait has had 18 tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble and one pass broken up. In a game where the Horn's receivers could be a major factor, Sooner fans better hope Strait keeps up his streak against Texas. * Special teams will no doubt play a role in Saturday's big game. In the Bob Stoops era, the Sooners have scored a dozen special teams touchdowns. OU has scored six of those TDs in the last 18 regular season games. The breakdown: two punt returns for TDs; two faked field goals; a kickoff return; and a fake punt. * Do you think OU's offensive output has been disappointing so far this year? Well maybe so, but the Sooners are a scoring 40.8 points per game while the Longhorns are scoring 37.2. The Sooners are averaging 404 yards of total offense per game while Texas is getting just over 408 yards per game. Pretty even, huh? With the dominance both team's defenses have shown so far this season, the offensive output is more than enough. Turnovers and field position will be the key. *Through 96 games in the series the average final score is separated by a margin of just a single point, Texas 16- OU 15. The Sooners lost the first four in the series, tied, and lost two more before getting their first victory, 2-0, in 1905. The series has been renewed every year since 1900 with the exception of 1918 and 1924-28, but met twice in 1901 and 1903.
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