Someone wrote during the OU-Texas game, wondering if this could be the greatest of the 103 games between the ancient rivals.
It had a chance. High stakes. Back-and-forth momentum swings. Huge plays.
But in the end, this OU-UT game fell just a little short. It lacked last-minute drama. Texas’ fourth-quarter surge made the final four minutes anticlimactic, and with OU failing to at least make those last minutes interesting, 2008 falls short of being the greatest ever. In fact, I don’t think it would crack the top 10. I put a lot of emphasis on late-game drama.
Here’s my top 10 from 2005, when the series reached 100 games:
1. 1958: Texas 15-14
2. 1975: OU 24-17
3. 1984: 15-15 tie
4. 1968: Texas 26-20
5. 1996: OU 30-27
6. 1977: Texas 13-6
7. 1905: OU 2-0
8. 1950: OU 14-13
9. 1974: OU 16-13
10. 1990: Texas 14-13
2008 had a chance to crack that list. If the Sooners had scored late, and somehow got the ball back, OK. But the Sooners withered in the fourth quarter, and the final moments Saturday were not spent with 92,000 people holding their breaths. Texas fans celebrated lustily and OU fans looked like they had seen a ghost.
This game ranks somewhere in the teens. No. 13, No. 14. Somewhere along those lines. Epic, fabulous game for about 56 minutes.
October 12th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Texas fans would say 1994 was better than 1996.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
As a lifelong Longhorn fan, I agree with most of this list AND with the previous comment.
The 1994 game HAS to be on the list.
I was in school at the time and most of my friends (on both sides of the rivalry) consider that to be one of the most memorable games of all-time.
Good choices, though.
‘96 still hurts. LOL
October 12th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
1994 was a great game, but to make the list of the 10 best games in a series with the stature of OU-Texas requires not just a great game, but something truly heroic and/or historic. 1996 was certainly the most astonishing upset in the history of the series. OU was at it’s lowest point in generations, and entered on a school-record 7-game losing streak. I’ve been to the last 29 OU-Texas games, and it’s the only one I went to with absolutely no thought or hope of victory; I expected a BLOODBATH against a UT squad that won 10 games the year before. It’s the only game of the series to go into overtime, which itself required a shocking late-game comeback to achieve. It’s absolutely top 5. The goal-line stand of 1994 certainly makes it a worthy nominee for top 15 or 20 in the series, and I’d rank it above 1990, myself.