Red River Shootout: History lessons

It's that time.

As the Oklahoma Sooners embark on their 107th edition of the Red River Shootout, one player has a chance to make history. Meanwhile, the Sooners hope that history can be repeated at the Cotton Bowl Saturday.

With a win Saturday, Landry Jones will break Steve Davis’ record as the all-time winningest quarterback in OU history with 33 wins.

Jones also has a chance to do what only two other Sooner starting quarterbacks have done—beat Texas three straight times in a complete game. He guided OU to a 28-20 victory in 2010 and a 55-17 win last year. The other two quarterbacks to accomplish such a feat were Jimmy Harris from 1954-56 and Davis from 1973-75. Jamelle Holieway started against the Longhorns from 1986 to 1988, but was injured in the first quarter of the ’88 contest and left the game not to return that day.

Heck, only one Texas player is in the exclusive club of winning four straight in the series. Peter Gardere beat the Sooners from 1989-92. No other Texas quarterback can claim three straight wins in the series.

A Sooner victory will give Bob Stoops his ninth win against the Longhorns, equaling the school record for most wins over Texas set by Bud Wilkinson and Barry Switzer.

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As for the hopes of history repeating itself: The Sooners have defeated Texas seven straight times after blowing out the Longhorns (28 or more points) the year before. They also hold a 7-1 record (and seven straight) when blowing out Texas in the history of the rivalry. Will they follow last year’s blowout (55-17) with another victory?

*OU won 50-0 in 1908, but lost 30-0 in 1909.
*OU won 49-20 in 1952 and won 19-14 in 1953.
*OU won 45-0 in 1056 and won 21-7 in 1957.
*OU won 52-13 in 1073 and won 16-13 in 1974.
*OU won 47-12 in 1986 and won 44-9 in 1987.
*OU won 44-9 in 1987 and won 28-13 in 1988.
*OU won 63-14 in 2000 and won 14-3 in 2001.
*OU won 65-13 in 2003 and won 12-0 in 2004.

Class dismissed.