Bad blood continues to boil in OU-Texas feud
JAKE TROTTER
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61
Published: July 30, 2009
IRVING, Texas — In the days leading up to the 1976 Red River Rivalry, bad blood boiled to a point not even our nation's President could strike an accord.
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Texas coach Darrell Royal accused Barry Switzer of spying on his practices, prompting both coaches to volley insults through the media. There for the pregame coin toss, President Gerald Ford failed to get either coach to talk to one another while meeting both before the game, which ended in a tie.
Now, another tie has ratcheted up the bad blood.
Texas fans continue to be incensed their Longhorns were passed over for the Big 12 Championship for a team they beat by double digits.
Sooner fans remain irate Texas tried to change the rules midstream, then claimed a Big 12 title it didn't even play in.
"Some of our fans are still bitter about things that were done," said Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford.
Tiebreakers and flyovers and asterisks and Jamarkus McFarland have left fan bases on both sides seething still.
"It's out there and you can't help but notice it," said former Texas football and baseball player Keith Moreland, now color commentator for the Longhorn radio broadcasts. "I cover other sports and do other things, but always, there's not a chance I can walk into any place with anybody who's known what I've done for the last 10 years that they don't ask about this particular rivalry and something that's taken place between last year's game and this point.
"It should be an interesting October."
Every time rising tensions begin to settle, another pail of gasoline, it seems, is tossed into the fire.
"Pretty sure people out there are still upset," said linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy, whose Longhorns were the featured event Wednesday during the final morning of Big 12 Football Media Days.
Among other things, the catalyst for all the acrimony was Texas' push the last week of the 2008 regular season to stay ahead of OU in the BCS via a political campaign that made the Big 12 tiebreaker feel like a gubernatorial race.
Numerous Texas students and boosters contributed to a fund that paid for a flyover in Stillwater before the Bedlam game carrying a banner with the inscription "45-35, settled on a neutral field" to remind voters of Texas' victory over OU in the Cotton Bowl. Texas coach Mack Brown also went on TV during the OU-OSU game to plead his team's case for several minutes, which wasn't received well by Sooner fans.
Later, unrelated to the tiebreaking controversy, a juicy New York Times article detailing the recruitment of high schooler Jamarkus McFarland to Norman suggested recruiting improprieties and questionable behavior on the part of Texas boosters. Longhorn coach Mack Brown later slammed the article as biased.
Finally, sparking an outrage among Sooner fans, reporters in Austin revealed in April that someone on the Longhorn football staff had put "2008" with an asterisk on a wall listing Texas' Big 12 championships inside the school's Moncrief-Neuhaus training facility.
The next day, the asterisk was taken down.
The bad blood, however, boiled yet again.
"It's going to be pretty rough this year, because of how much controversy there was last year," said OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. "Not with the players. But with the fans, it's going to be outrageous."
Said Bradford, "I'm sure this year when we meet in the Cotton Bowl, there's going to be a little extra added on it."
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Everyone is just looking forward to this year. Quit beating a dead horse and let's play ball!
coach. He used to walk the side lines with a smirk on his face because he knew he was the
man to beat, he was in charge, not so since his brother left. His brother and him were a
brilliant pair of defensive minds. They had give and take on game situations, not so since
he left. When Leach, Mangino, Long, were in charge Stoops didn't care, he knew they would put enough points on the board to win, and he and Mike would formulate a defense to
win. 90% of the time it worked. His ego got the best of him a few times playing OSU, he
underestimated Lester Miles, thats when the smirk started coming off and he realized OU
fans and supporters wanted wins with OSU as well as Texas. If Stoops goes to the Cotton Bowl in October and throws out another performance like last season, all those UT supporters
and Alumni that paid for the fly over of Lewis Field in Stillwater will get their money back in
spade's Switzer had many changes in staff during his tenure, and the team always prospered. The AD, the Press, the Sports Animal, etc. can't cover forever what we as fans
see every Sat. on Fox, ESPNU, Foxsw. Remember Stoops is Deans, Al's, Mark's, WWLS,
Morning Animals, and to a certain extent the DO cash cow. Believe what you see not
what you hear or read.
Let's talk about some facts:
1) UT scored more 4th quarter points in 2008 than OU did. Please, do some research before you get all righteous on anybody.
2) UT led TT for a total of 1:32 seconds. You weren't exactly lighting it up the entire game.
3) UT scored 21 4th quarter points on a terrible A&M team to try and sway votes.
4) Your out of conference schedule did you in. Why do none of you recognize that? It will happen again this year. Wyoming, seriously? That's the best you could come up with?
5) The season consists of more than one game. - Why is this such a hard concept to grasp?
Now, about that pipe...
Also I know you are so high and mighty about head to head lately (don't be too quick to forget the 5 straight trouncings of UT a few years ago), but as someone stated, thet ultimate goal is championships. So let's count up national titles while we're at it. Let me know when you get to 7
Eric, Yukon - Jul 30, 2009 at 10:13 am
You meant to say "keep winning and losing the bowl/NC" I'll take 2nd in the conference and 5 stright bowl victories. sounds like that Florida/Boise St/W.Virginia game(s)are still hurting a little.
The "asterisk" wasn't sanctioned by coaches and it wasn't meant for view outside of the team. Obviously someoneone internally thought it was motivational. That pales in comparison to BCS Bob keeping starters in during the 4th Quarter of blowouts to impress voters. He learned that from his classless mentor - Spurrier.
I love your defintion of "crying". Pointing out that we beat BlowU on a neutral field but only lost ON THE ROAD in the last seconds isn't crying. The bottom line is we need a playoff - pure & simple.
Henry - if you can get Jesus Christ to come ref a RRR or decide the Big XII tiebreaker I'm all for it!
Hook'em
Put that in your peace pipe and smoke it up on the reservation.
Hook'em
David, Spring - Jul 30, 2009 at 9:12 am
Report as inappropriate or Ignore David
David it's spelled "WON" not "ONE", and for a team that does not care about playing for that BIG XII trophy sure did a lot of crying last year on national TV, and sure felt the need to put up BIG XII 2008 * champions in their locker room... in the end you play the season for one reason, to play in the national championship game, so win or lose while we are playing for it all, you sitting at home crying about a game (BIG XII) that you claim not to care about....... YOU SOUND REAL SMART
Hook'em
Again - common sense not so common north of the Red River.
Hook'em
What you dirt burglars don't seem to have the intelligence to grasp is that the Horns whipped BlowU on a neutral field, but lost their only game on the road on a last second play. Say what you want about how badly you beat Tech - but you couldn't beat us on a neutral field.
Obviously common sense is not so common in Norman. I guess our overall winning record againt BlowU is too much to take, or our 3 of 4 wins in last four years.
I always root for BlowU to get a bowl game, so I can enjoy watching the 5 straight losses including BCS Bob being outcoached by Boise St., and an interim-coach at WVU, and of course being hammered by Florida. Thank goodness you can recruit (pay) players from Texas - otherwise you may have trouble fielding a team that can read a playbook.
I know how important the Big XII Championships are to the little sawed-off general (BCS Bob) with the Napolean complex. Of course he forgets that there is a game AFTER the Big XII Championship.
While BlowU has one all those Big XII titles, Texas has gone on to win a NC, beat you 3 of 4 times and won 5 straight bowls.
Put that in your peace pipe and smoke it up on the reservation.
Hook'em
just win. no subjective votes then unless you are from a non BCS and then we start over again...Play offs please!!!!!!
At least Smack Clown has a few brain cells left.