Posted on: Saturday, October 6, 2001
Longhorns, Sooners in battle of unbeatens
Associated Press
The memory of 63-14. The Big 12 title. The national championship.
There are plenty of motivators for the Red River Shootout between No. 3 Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) and No. 5 Texas (4-0, 1-0) at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas today.
Texas wants revenge for the 63-14 beating inflicted by the Sooners last year. "It's about heart, respect and it's about letting them know who you are," said Texas linebacker D.D. Lewis.
It's also full of national title implications.
It's the first time since 1984 that both teams are in the top five, and the first time since '85 that both are undefeated.
The winner gets the inside track on the Big 12 South Division title, a prerequisite for any national title ambitions.
Last year's victory launched the Sooners on their national title run and they carry a 17-game winning streak into today's game.
"There's an excitement in this game, you can't deny that," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "There's no question, they're fired up for this game. It gets the hair up on the back of your neck and it's hard to wait for. It's hard to wait for Saturday."
It's been a very long wait for Texas. Razzing about last year's whipping has come from everywhere.
"All during off-season workouts, every day you have to think a little about OU. It's a long time coming," said defensive end Cory Redding.
Particularly galling for Texas was the Sooners' post-game celebration last year. An OU flag was planted into the field at the 20-yard line as the Sooners took an impromptu team picture. The OU band camped outside the Texas locker room while it blasted away on the school fight song. Oklahoma officials canceled classes for the following Monday.
Shocked and befuddled by what had just happened, Longhorns coach Mack Brown immediately laid the post-game blame upon himself. He now says his team just wasn't very good, even though Texas finished 9-3 and have lost only once since.
"I was not proud to have my name on that football team that day," Brown said this week. "I was ready. I could have hit somebody on the sideline and they wouldn't have hit me back."
Oklahoma led 42-0 in the first half. Sooners running back Quentin Griffin scored six touchdowns, all on runs of 8 yards or less.
Brown said his team may have been complacent last year. The Longhorns had won three straight over the Sooners, including a 38-28 victory in 1999 when Texas rallied from a 17-0 deficit.
To which Stoops replied: "I found it interesting that they overlooked us. For who? I think they played Colorado and Missouri the next two games, so how do you overlook us in the Big 12 South?
"I think their staff had only been there two years, so that's not like they're on a 17-game winning streak," Stoops said. "We choose to look at it like we had something to do with it as well."
Getting back to this game undefeated wasn't easy for Oklahoma, which survived a 38-37 slugfest with Kansas State a week ago. The Longhorns have yet to be challenged, winning by an average score of 45-14.
Nate Hybl is OU's starting quarterback. Josh Heupel was the heart of the Sooners' offense last year but Brown believes Oklahoma is just as good as they were then.
"They've got basically the same offense they had last year, only Heupel's out and Hybl's in," Brown said. "You just change a few letters and the arm he throws with."
Chris Simms now starts for Texas, not Major Applewhite, and is getting better each game. He was razor sharp last week against Texas Tech with 21-of-26 passing for 224 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for two scores.
"This is the biggest game of my career," Simms said.
Some Texas players want to guard against putting everything into one game.
"We can't put all our emotions in this game. The national championship is in January," guard Antwan Kirk-Hughes said. "If we did beat OU and lose to somebody else down the line, what was the point?"
