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What was the best OU-Texas football game of Big 12 era? Let's rank the Red River Rivalry

ryan aber, justin martinez and joe mussatto, the oklahoman
·9 min read

Long before they were in the same conference, the Red River Rivalry, OU-Texas or whatever you want to call it, was among the most unique rivalries in college football.

But when the Big Eight and Southwest Conference combined to form the Big 12 ahead of the 1996 season, the rivalry took on a different edge. The game went from sometimes influencing the national title race to often swaying the Big 12 race. The game will still be a conference game next season when the pair move to the SEC, but Saturday’s game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas will be the last in the Big 12 era — unless there’s a rematch at the Big 12 Championship Game.

In honor of the finale, OU beat writers Ryan Aber and Justin Martinez and Oklahoman columnist Joe Mussatto conducted a draft to rank the top OU-Texas games of the Big 12 era. For this exercise, we didn’t include the 2018 Big 12 Championship Game match, won by the Sooners 39-27. Here’s our rankings:

More: Mussatto: A 2:30 p.m. OU-Texas kickoff? New SEC deal with ABC/ESPN could open door

1. 2020 (OU 53, Texas 45 4OT)

It's too bad this classic was played to a less-than-full house with no state fair going on around it. Spencer Rattler got benched, Texas came back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, Rattler bounced back and the legend of Drake Stoops was born in one of the great games of college football history. — Aber

OU receiver Drake Stoops (12) runs to the end zone past Texas' Chris Brown (15) in the fourth overtime of the 2020 Red River Showdown at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Sooners won 53-45.
OU receiver Drake Stoops (12) runs to the end zone past Texas' Chris Brown (15) in the fourth overtime of the 2020 Red River Showdown at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Sooners won 53-45.

2. 2018 (Texas 48, OU 45)

I didn't expect us to go with back-to-back recent games, but this one had it all. A fourth-quarter rally from Kyler Murray and the Sooners, Dicker the Kicker winning it for Texas and then the drama of defensive coordinator Mike Stoops being fired later that weekend. — Mussatto

3. 2008 (Texas 45, OU 35)

The last time both teams were 5-0 entering the Red River Showdown. It was a battle of top-five teams, and Chris Ogbonnaya’s 62-yard run late in the fourth quarter helped the No. 5-ranked Longhorns dethrone the top-ranked Sooners. — Martinez

4. 2001 (OU 14, Texas 3)

Saying “Superman” to any Sooners’ fan brings up a very specific image — Roy Williams hurdling a blocker and knocking the ball into Teddy Lehman’s hands to put the game away. — Aber

5. 2000 (OU 63, Texas 14)

One of the most famous scores in OU history. Josh Heupel, Quentin Griffin and the No. 10 Sooners trounced the No. 11 Longhorns. An iconic win en route to a national championship season. — Mussatto

More: For OU football's Drake Stoops, it's 'an honor' to play in his final Red River Showdown

OU legend Roy Williams flies into Texas quarterback Chris Simms during the 2001 Red River Rivalry. The Sooner safety knocked the ball loose, and Teddy Lehman caught it for a victory-clinching interception return for a touchdown. Now known as the Superman play, the moment ranks as the greatest in the history of the rivalry.
OU legend Roy Williams flies into Texas quarterback Chris Simms during the 2001 Red River Rivalry. The Sooner safety knocked the ball loose, and Teddy Lehman caught it for a victory-clinching interception return for a touchdown. Now known as the Superman play, the moment ranks as the greatest in the history of the rivalry.

6. 2004 (OU 12, Texas 0)

The Sooners put on a defensive clinic by shutting out Vince Young and the Longhorns. Meanwhile, Adrian Peterson ran for 225 yards on 32 carries. OU was the last college team to ever get the best of Young, who went on to win 20 straight games and lead Texas to a 2005 national championship. — Martinez

7. 2021 (OU 55, Texas 48)

The Caleb Williams game. The Sooners trailed by 21 in the first quarter and by 18 late in the third but came back to take the lead, the Longhorns tied it again and then Kennedy Brooks finished off Texas and lift Williams not only into the role of starting quarterback as a freshman but into Red River lore. — Aber

8. 2007 (OU 28, Texas 21)

Texas coach Mack Brown, left, and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops shake hands before the 2007 Red River Rivalry game.
Texas coach Mack Brown, left, and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops shake hands before the 2007 Red River Rivalry game.

A redshirt freshman quarterback named Sam Bradford completed 66% of his passes and threw for three touchdowns. DeMarco Murray rushed for 128 yards. Meanwhile, Jamaal Charles rushed 79 yards for Texas. Both Murray and Charles went on to rush for more than 7,000 yards in the NFL. — Mussatto

More: OU football focusing on 'present' tense in trying to avenge last year's rout vs. Texas

9. 2005 (Texas 45, OU 12)

The 100th meeting between the two teams. Jamaal Charles set the tone in the first quarter with an 80-yard touchdown run, and the Longhorns never looked back. They then went on to win the national championship that season. — Martinez

10. 1996 (OU 30, Texas 27)

The Sooners were winless heading into the Cotton Bowl, but OU found some Sooner Magic in the form of James Allen. Allen ran for 159 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to help give John Blake his first win as OU’s coach and snap a program-record seven-game losing streak that began the previous season. — Aber

11. 2002 (OU 35, Texas 24)

Quentin Griffin rushed for a career-high 248 yards as the No. 2 Sooners topped the No. 3 Longhorns. — Mussatto

12. 2017 (OU 29, Texas 24)

After trailing 20-0 in the first half, the Longhorns took a one-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. But in what marked the final Red River Showdown of his career, Baker Mayfield found Mark Andrews for a 59-yard touchdown on the following drive to secure OU’s win. — Martinez

13. 2016 (OU 45, Texas 40)

Baker Mayfield threw two interceptions but put up big numbers otherwise — throwing for 390 yards and three touchdowns.. The game set up Mayfield and Dede Westbrook as Heisman contenders, as Westbrook had 10 catches for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Samaje Perine had a monster game as well. Perine ran for 214 yards and two touchdowns as the Sooners came from behind in the second half and then held on late. — Aber

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Oklahoma's Ahmad Thomas (13) and Baker Mayfield (6) hold up the Golden Hat trophy after the Red River Showdown college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns (UT) at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Oklahoma won 45-40.
Oklahoma's Ahmad Thomas (13) and Baker Mayfield (6) hold up the Golden Hat trophy after the Red River Showdown college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns (UT) at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Oklahoma won 45-40.

14. 2019 (OU 34, Texas 27)

Jalen Hurts, in his only OU-Texas game, had a couple of turnovers but otherwise put up big numbers through the air and on the ground. CeeDee Lamb had 171 receiving yards and caught three touchdowns. But I'll remember this as the Mike Defee game. Defee, the head referee, assessed a blanket unsportsmanlike penalty on every player after a pregame skirmish. — Mussatto

15. 2015 (Texas 24, OU 17)

One of the biggest upsets in recent Red River Showdown history. D’Onta Foreman and Jerrod Heard ran for a combined 232 yards to lead the unranked Longhorns to a win over the No. 10-ranked Sooners. — Martinez

16. 2009 (Texas 16, OU 13)

A rare defensive battle in an era of offensive explosion, neither team scored a touchdown until more than halfway through the fourth quarter. Texas took the lead with a field goal early in the fourth quarter, stopped the Sooners on fourth down and then twice intercepted Landry Jones to hold on for the victory. — Aber

17. 2014 (OU 31, Texas 26)

Trevor Knight and the Sooner offense didn't do much, but OU was aided by two non-offensive touchdowns: a 91-yard kickoff return by Alex Ross and a pick-six from Zack Sanchez. This was Charlie Strong's first OU-Texas game, and the first OU-Texas game in which Bob Stoops coached against anyone other than Mack Brown. — Mussatto

18. 2013 (Texas 36, OU 20)

The last time Bob Stoops and Mack Brown coached against each other. Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Brown ran for a combined 243 yards to help Brown get the win, although Stoops still won the overall coaching series 9-6. — Martinez

More: OU vs. Texas football: What you need to know about Sooners-Longhorns in Red River Rivalry

19. 1997 (Texas 27, OU 24)

Ricky Williams and DeMond Parker each put up monster games — 223 yards and two touchdowns rushing for the Longhorns’ Williams and 291 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the Sooners’ Parker. Parker’s 66-yard touchdown run with 2:42 remaining pulled OU close, but Williams closed it out with 49 yards on five carries on the next drive as Texas ran out the clock. — Aber

20. 1999 (Texas 38, OU 28)

OU led 17-3 after the first quarter, but Texas stormed back to spoil Bob Stoops' OU-Texas debut. The Sooners would get their revenge a year later. — Mussatto

21. 2010 (OU 28, Texas 20)

Despite holding a three-score lead early in the fourth quarter, the Sooners got a late scare from the Longhorns. Texas scored 10 unanswered points to make it a 28-20 game and was set to begin a drive with 1:02 remaining, but OU’s Adrian Taylor recovered a muffed punt to end the comeback. — Martinez

22. 2011 (OU 55, Texas 17)

Brent Venables’ final OU-Texas game as the Sooners’ defensive coordinator was a memorable one as OU scored three defensive touchdowns — a 55-yard interception return by Demontre Hurst, a 19-yard fumble return by David King and a 56-yard fumble return by Jamell Fleming — and Landry Jones threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns. — Aber

23. 2022 (Texas 49, OU 0)

It was OU's most lopsided loss in the history of the rivalry, and the first time the Longhorns shut out the Sooners since 1965. This one will never be fondly remembered north of the Red River, but depending on how Brent Venables' OU career unfolds, this will be a reminder of how rocky it began. — Mussatto

More: Mussatto's Minutes: OU fares well with ESPN's 'College GameDay' at Red River Rivalry

24. 2006 (Texas 28, OU 10)

One year after winning a national championship and losing star quarterback Vince Young, Texas discovered its new leader in Colt McCoy. The redshirt freshman led Texas to a Red River Showdown victory and went on to become the program’s winningest quarterback. — Martinez

25. 2012 (OU 63, Texas 21)

The Sooners dominated from the start, jumping out to a 36-2 halftime lead. But even in a blowout, Trey Millard turned in one of the iconic plays in the series’ history, hurdling over a defender while stiff-arming another and rumbling for 73 yards on a second quarter reception. — Aber

26. 2003 (OU 65, Texas 13)

OU's largest margin of victory in the history of the series. OU amassed 552 yards and Texas committed six turnovers. — Mussatto

27. 1998 (Texas 34, OU 3)

The Longhorns fed Ricky Williams the ball 31 times, and he finished with 139 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Williams went on to become the all-time leading rusher in NCAA history five games later. — Martinez

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Red River Rivalry: Ranking top OU-Texas football games of Big 12 era