Pointless Drivel for the Drive South

October 6th, 2005

By Justin Waganer
Senior Sports Writer

Welcome to the freak show. Our relatives of yesteryear used that term to describe the fairs and carnivals that inhabited their towns with such attractions as the “bearded lady” and “turtle boy”. Our fairs are just a bit different now, there are no tents with half-man, half-beast. The closest thing you’ll get to that is Adrian Peterson or Vince Young, freaks yes, but these freaks play on the Texas State Fair’s grandest stage, the Cotton Bowl.

If you’re a Sooner fan, a numbers guy, or a general fan of college football who is headed down to Dallas to watch the game this weekend, here’s some numbers to bat around. Enjoy them and take them for what they are worth.

Oklahoma is a porous 4-16 when entering the Cotton Bowl unranked with their last victory as an unranked team in the series coming in 1996 when John Blake’s 0-4 Sooners upset the 25th ranked Longhorns in overtime 30-27. Texas is 5-0 when entering the shootout with a #2 ranking in the country with the last victory coming in 1983, 28-16.

OU defeated Kansas State last weekend 43-21 in Norman to get to 2-2. When playing Texas the week after the Wildcats the Sooners are 4-1-1 with the last win coming in 2001 when Roy Williams played more like Clark Kent’s alter-ego. The loss was in that same 1983 contest when Texas was #2 and the tie was the infamous 1984, 15-15 tie that any Sooner will tell you was a sham to this day.

Oklahoma is 5-4 when the game is played on October 8th and Texas is 15-5-1 when coming in as the higher ranked team. Even though Oklahoma has won five in a row in the series and won those by a combined total of 125 points, Texas still leads the series 55-39-5. However, since WWII the series is tied 28-28-3 and the series average final is 17-16 Texas. Actually, it’s even less than a point, break it down and the final is Texas 16.27 and Oklahoma 15.76.

What does all this tell you about picking the winner this weekend? Nothing! Picking OU-Texas is an impossible feat. The numbers can support any argument, the only one to pay attention to is that last one. These two have played 99 times and are separated by just an average of .51 points per game. Chew on that during the hours of construction that stall your trip.

Entry Filed under: Sooners