Red River Shootout trophies
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[edit] Summary
The AT&T Red River Rivalry (formerly the Red River Shootout) is a common name for the annual college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the University of Texas Longhorns. The series is considered one of the greatest rivalries in American sports. The name is derived from the Red River that forms part of the boundary between the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Texas. The game originated in 1900, while Oklahoma was still a United States territory and the Oklahoma campus was still in Oklahoma Territory. Until the 2005 meeting, the 100th meeting between the schools, the game was called the Red River Shootout. In 2005 it was sponsored by SBC Communications, and the game was officially renamed the SBC Red River Rivalry. Since 2006, with SBC's renaming as AT&T, the game is referred to as the AT&T Red River Rivalry. The term Red River Shootout or Red River Rivalry is also sometimes applied to meetings between the two schools in sports other than football.
The game typically has conference or even national significance. Since 1945, one or both of the two teams has been ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation coming into 60 out of 65 games. Texas leads the all-time series 57-39-5, with a 45-35-4 edge in Dallas, and currently has a two-year win streak. Four of the last six showings featured one of the participants in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game (2000, 2003-2005), including national titles won by Oklahoma in 2000 and by Texas in 2005. Four times during 2000-2004, a loss to Oklahoma was what kept Texas from playing in the Big 12 Championship Game.[1] In 2005, the Dallas Morning News did an opinion poll of the 119 Division 1A football coaches as to the nations top rivalry game in college football. The Texas-OU game was ranked third.
There are three Red River Shootout trophies given to the winner of the annual Red River Shootout which is a college football rivalry game between The University of Texas Longhorns and the University of Oklahoma Sooners. The trophies are the Golden Hat, the Red River Rivalry trophy and the Governors' trophy. The trophies reward the annual winner of one of college football's longest and most intense rivalries. 2005 marked the 100th meeting of the two football programs. The rivalry began in 1900 while Oklahoma was still a territory of the United States. In the first 100 games of the rivalry, Texas won 56 times to 39 Oklahoma victories and 5 ties.
[edit] Golden Hat
The Golden Hat is by far the best known of the three, and the only one to be awarded on the field at the end of the game. The trophy is a gold cowboy hat mounted on a large block of wood.
According to The Daily Texan, "...Both teams signed a contract to play in Dallas during the Texas State Fair, beginning with the 1929 season. The deal was for 10 years, but the tradition has carried on for three-quarters of a century. To show its gratitude, the fair donated the Golden Hat trophy, a golden replica of a 10-gallon cowboy hat, which the two teams play for every year. The Longhorns won the first Shootout, but since then the Golden Hat has crossed the Red River many times." The trophy was created in 1941. When it was created it was known as the "Bronze Hat" and it was bronze in color. However, when the hat was reworked in the 1970s it came out gold, and is now known as the Golden Hat.
The Golden Hat trophy is kept each year by the winning team's athletic department.
[edit] Red River Shootout Trophy
Since 2003 the Red River Rivalry trophy has been exchanged between the student bodies of the two schools. This trophy was developed by Alex Yaffe, former OU Student Body President, and Katie King, UT's former student body president. The trophy bears the image of the two states as well as miniature football helmets to represent both teams.
[edit] Governors' Trophy
There is also a governors' trophy exchanged between the governors of the two states. The governors of Texas and Oklahoma often place a bet on the game such as the losing governor having to present a side of beef to the winning state governor, who then donates the beef to charity.
[edit] Notable Games
1900-1990
The first meeting between Texas and Oklahoma's football teams occurred in 1900, before either team had acquired their current nickname. At that time, the Texas team was typically called "Varsity". The write-up in the Austin American-Statesman article referred to the game as a "practice game". The paper reported:
The game of football yesterday afternoon at the Varsity athletic field was an interesting contrast, notwithstanding the rather one-sided score of 28-2 in favor of the Varsity.
The Oklahoma men played a very good game, but they had weak points and the Varsity men found this out, and proceeded to take advantage of them. For instance, the visitors' tackles and ends were weak, and the Varsity men made most of their gains through these men. Their guards and center, though, were stiff enough, and the Varsity's attack at these points never netted large gains, and were frequently futile.
While Oklahoma should be given credit for the stiffness of her center trio, the fact that the Varsity backs made but small headway at these points is partly due to the Varsity backs themselves. They had not the life and dash that is necessary to successful line plunging, and they failed to heed Coach Thompson's oft repeated admonition to hit the line low and with speed, and the consequence was that when they got to the line they did not have the necessary momentum to plunge on through.
This was the case, notwithstanding the fact that the men are coached to play a good distance behind the line, so that they can get up speed by the time they reach it.
In 1958, Texas defeated Oklahoma by one point, breaking OU's series dominance of the 1950's. The game was ironic in that UT coach Darrell Royal had 10 years earlier been the quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners. Royal defeated his former coach and mentor Bud Wilkinson in the game. Wilkinson would lose to Texas the next five years before retiring in 1963.
In 1976, the game was overshadowed by allegations by Texas coach Darrell Royal that Oklahoma had been "spying on his practices". Royal and OU Coach Barry Switzer (who was 3-0 against Texas as a head coach coming into this game) were involved in a serious feud at the time. The 1976 game was attended by then-U.S. President Gerald Ford. Ford made an appearance with Royal and Switzer before the game. Switzer and Royal both spoke to Ford but not to each other. The game ended in a 6-6 tie. It was Royal's final Red River Shootout.
In the 1977 game, Texas lost both their starting and backup quarterbacks in the first half. Yet, behind the power running of eventual Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, a strong defense, and the unheralded composure of third-string-quarterback Randy McEachern, the Horns prevailed 13 to 6.
In a rain-soaked 1984 game, Texas entered the game ranked #1, Oklahoma #3 (#2 in some polls). OU coach Barry Switzer wore a ballcap during the game that read "Beat Texas." This game also marked the only time that future UT head coach Mack Brown participated in the Red River Shootout not as a Texas Longhorn (Brown was OU's offensive coordinator). Texas jumped to a 10-0 halftime lead but OU rallied to lead 15-12 in the game's closing seconds. With 10 seconds remaining, trailing by 3, Texas was driving and was within field goal range but decided to take one more shot at the end zone. Texas QB (and future North Texas head coach) Todd Dodge appeared (in replays) to be intercepted in the end zone by OU's Keith Stanberry, but the officials ruled it incomplete. Texas's Jeff Ward subsequently kicked a field goal and the game ended in a 15-15 tie.
1994
Texas 17 - Oklahoma 10 Stoney Clark Stops James Allen at the 1
1995
Oklahoma 24 - Texas 24 Nobody Wins
1996
Oklahoma 30 - Texas 27 Oklahoma Wins in Overtime
The first Big 12 Conference overtime game, the 1996 meeting featured a John Blake squad under the direction of freshman quarterback Justin Fuente. The game saw an amazing come from behind victory in the final seven minutes. Jarrail Jackson returned a punt 51 yards for a Touchdown, then Fuente completed a 2-point conversion pass to Stephen Alexander to cut the lead to 24-21. The Sooners forced the Longhorns to punt, and drove to the Texas 28. Jeremy Alexander kicked a 44-yard field goal to tie the game at 24.
In overtime, Texas was forced to settle for a 43-yard Phil Dawson field goal, after losing 1 yard on three plays. Lining up at the Texas 25, James Allen broke a ten-yard run, carried for two and three yards, then caught an 8-yard screen pass from Fuente on 3rd and 5 from the 10. On the next play, Allen took a pitch from Fuente two yards into the endzone, doing what he was unable to do two years before.
2000
Oklahoma 63 - Texas 14
Griffin Sets Oklahoma Record for TDs in a Game
The 2000 game was marked by rain and 49-degree weather, but it ended up being noted for bringing the most lopsided margin of victory in the history of the match-up. Oklahoma came into the game ranked 10th, with Texas ranked 11th. This was the highest combined rankings of the teams since 1984. The Sooners got up to a 42 point lead before Texas was able to prevent the shut-out, and Oklahoma won the game 63-14. OU also held Texas to minus-7 yards rushing, an all-time regular-season low for the Longhorns.
Longhorn coach Mack Brown said "It wasn't even a game because we did not play in the first half." Sooner coach Bob Stoops said, "This was a total team victory, everybody made plays. ...We had a little bit of everything." Stoops improved his record vs the Longhorns to 1 win, 1 loss as a result of the game.
Sooner running back Quentin Griffin scored six touchdowns, an all-time Oklahoma record for rushing touchdowns in a game. Oklahoma went on to an undefeated season, and won the 2000 National Championship. (See also 2000 Oklahoma Sooners football team.)
2001
Oklahoma 14 - Texas 3
Roy Williams and The Play
The 2001 game was a classic defensive struggle that will be forever remembered for one incredible play late in the 4th quarter.
Both the Sooners' and the Longhorns' defenses were outstanding, holding their counterparts to less than 100 yards rushing for the entire game. When either offense could muster any momentum, they were often let down by their kicker-OU's Tim Duncan missed two field goals and UT's Dusty Mangum had one blocked.
OU led 7-3 at the half on a Quentin Griffin 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter. That score held until late in the fourth quarter.
The Sooners got the ball with just over eight minutes to play on their own 20-yard line, and put together a 12-play, 53-yard drive that took them all the way to the Texas 27-yard line. Facing a 4th & 16, OU sent out Tim Duncan for what appeared to be a 44-yard FG attempt. Instead, Duncan sent a pooch punt deep into the Texas zone, which caught UT's Nathan Vasher off guard. Confused, Vasher caught the ball at his own 3-yard line and was immediately downed.
Down 7-3, Texas had 2:06 to drive 97 yards on the stiff Sooner defense. On first down, Texas quarterback Chris Simms' pass was deflected by OU safety Roy Williams, who had blitzed and literally leapt over a blocker to collide with Simms at the moment he released the ball. The ball landed right in OU linebacker Teddy Lehman's hands, who walked into the endzone for a touchdown. The play happened so fast, many fans did not know exactly what had happened. Duncan's extra point sealed the 14-3 OU victory.
2003
Oklahoma 65 - Texas 13
Oklahoma Sets new Record for Margin of Victory
2004
Oklahoma 12 - Texas 0
Red River Shutout
2005
Texas 45 - Oklahoma 12
Texas Crushes Oklahoma to Break 5-year Skid
The 2005 game was the 100th meeting in the series and a special logo was created to commemorate the event. The game logo included both team logos as well as the logo of the sponsor for that game, SBC communications, as well as the number 100. Prior to the game, the Longhorns were ranked 2nd by the Associated Press, and the Sooners were unranked for the first time since 1999, which was also Texas's last victory over OU.
By breaking the string of five consecutive losses to Oklahoma, Longhorn coach Mack Brown preserved the Longhorns's National Championship hopes. With the win, Texas tied its largest margin of victory in the series. Freshman running back Jamaal Charles set a record for rushing yards by a Texas freshman in the series. With his 80-yard scamper, Charles also had the longest touchdown from scrimmage by a Texas running back in the series. The game also featured one of the most violent hits in the series history, when Texas DE, Brian Robison, blindsided Oklahoma quarterback, Rhett Bomar, in the 4th quarter, causing a fumble and ensuing touchdown by Longhorn tackle, Rodrique Wright.
As had occurred the two seasons prior, the road to the National Championship game went through Dallas. Oklahoma left the game with a 1-1 conference record and a 2-3 record overall, finishing with a 6-2 conference and 8-4 overall record, including a victory in the Holiday Bowl. The Longhorns improved to 5-0 overall, 2-0 in the Big 12 on their way to an 8-0 conference, 13-0 overall record, including a victory in the Rose Bowl and the 2005 football National Championship.
