Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (OU just doesn't matter as much any more...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
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Graduated in ‘93. I remember Peter Gardere’s four victories over OU vividly. Admittedly, aggie under Sherril and Slocum were formidable for that decade.
Those Texas teams were not completely talented and were poorly coached.
I would be curious what former players would say.
The reality is the importance of the game has been here since the 60’s with Darrel Royal and Bud Wilkinson. You really don’t know the history behind this game Ketch. You’re just not looking at history.
You got me. I don't know the history of the game,
I suppose I need to go back and read my book, which is largely about the history of the program, which features a photo on the cover from the game.
Fair points on all accounts. I believe the ou game still means a bunch to the players for pride, recruiting, bragging rights, etc. Making a playoff run or SEC championship is also a huge part of the season. Besting the Aggies is similar to beating ou. Dismissing a loss to Georgia in hopes of catching them in the SEC championship game is fools gold. ALL games matter if we're gonna step into tier 1🤘🏻💯
We've gone from there being sometimes 1 truly big game a per year to numerous.
THat's kind of part of my point.
That point is valid for 2023 because we ran the table for the rest of Big 12 play and had a chance to win against UW in the playoff. Had the remainder of the regular season played out differently, the narrative about a diminished ou game wouldn’t be a topic right now. @Ketchum seems to forget that Texas was sitting 6th or 7th in the CFP rankings heading into CCG precisely because of the ou loss. The team took care of business and the loss didn’t keep us out of the CFP, but that was hardly assured right up until the time the final rankings were announced.
This has been an interesting thread, and ultimately I look at it this way. Last year was so much fun and the team met if not exceeded expectations. Because of that, the loss to ou was somewhat discounted in the final analysis. I’m not willing to go out on a limb and conclude that means Red River won’t be as important going forward. Nor am I willing to project the type of improvement for Aggy that is implicit in Ketch’s original post. Elko may be the guy to harness their talent and get them going in the right direction, but that’s nothing more than speculation right now. But it makes for excellent offseason debate and a 12-page thread and counting. Cheers. 😎
Last year's example is just a small piece/later of the overall point.
Look at the Ohio State/Michigan game. In the last few years, that hame has sent the winner into the playoff and the loser into a place where the season feels a little like a failure.
Moving forward, the winner and the loser of a game between 1-loss or undefeated teams won't result in the same situation because both teams will/would make the playoff.
It makes the stakes of that game lower. It doesn't quite mean as much as it meant as recent as the last two years.
It doesn't mean that the two teams hate each other less. It doesn't make the game meaningless. Iy just means that it means less.
This is a situation true across college football.
Then how is UGA number 1? It doesn’t make sense. One of them has to have the top spot, it can’t be both. It’s obviously UGA
The series meant something before Mack and Stoops.
I’m of the era when ou, aggy and Arkansas all meant something. And whoever beat you last year or years, meant even more.
Compared to the mid 70s-80s? It was pretty serious shit then.
Of course, but it changed in the mid 80s and 90s... changed again in the 2000s.
Since I’m still here, I lived that too.
77 ou, 89 ou, 90 aggy, 95 aggy, 05 ou.
They each have significance as streak busters and were all huge in their time.
Maybe I missed your point. Is this limited to a discussion of the 90’s? If so what does that have to do with 2024?
And Nebraska was supposed to benefit by joining the Big 10. We know how that turned out. The SEC is all downside for OU. They are not one of 2 elite programs, but one of many in a charmless place at the edge of the SEC.
Texas kids looking to get out of state will have multiple great SEC options.
The point is this is a game that has seen ebbs and flows when it comes to the weight of it in conjunction with the primary needs/aspirations of the program.
In the 90s, the game wasn't nearly as important when I was at Texas as the A&M game.
It feels weird to talk about a game like TX/OU not mattering as much, but it will be a part of adjusting to the SEC for these fan bases. Think about it, name a rivalry in the Big 12 bigger than RRR. You can't. And it was so important to the conference race. Name a rivalry bigger than RRR in the SEC. Multiple come to mind. There are few things in college football that can cast a shadow on UT and OU. I would argue Bama, UGA, and the SEC itself absolutely do. After the game in Dallas, Texas gets UGA at home the next week, and OU hosts Bama in November. The winner AND loser of RRR might not matter by season's end. When's the last time we could say that?
i get the layers, but, had we been left out of the playoffs I think the narrative would have been much more of a "all roads still lead through Dallas" because even with a 12 team playoff a loss to ou leaves Texas in a precarious position if they stumble down the stretch.
btw, I do agree with your larger point that ou is no longer Orangeblood Enemy # 1...
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I see where you’re going but I still don’t think it’s a bigger game. Sure there are recruiting implications and both fan bases WANT that win. However, in the grand scheme of things I don’t think it matters much, unless Elko is the guy to turn it around for them. I don’t think he is.
Texas still would have been Big 12 champion, even if left out of the playoffs.
It reminds me of the scene in Rocky IV when Rocky is trying to tell Apollo that the fight with him and Drago is just an exhibition match.
Apollo tells him that he might not get it now, but he will when it's over.
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