This weekend’s matchup between Texas and Oklahoma marks the 122nd edition of the Red River Rivalry.

The rivalry is one of, if not the most storied in all of college football, and is a game that is circled on the calendar all year by fans on both sides.

But the circumstances coming into this game are the most unique they’ve been in years. For the first time since 1987, one side comes in as the No. 1 team in the nation while the other is unranked. Last time, the Sooners were the top team and subdued the Longhorns 44-9.

Now it is Texas’ turn at the top, and on paper the team should dominate — but the Longhorns are smart enough not to underestimate the Sooners.

“I can promise you, nobody’s overlooking anybody in this game,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “The guys that have been part of this game know what it’s about. We were in the same situation a year ago.”

For the first time in a long time, this will be a situation where Texas has everything to lose and Oklahoma has everything to gain. In fact, the Longhorns were in a similar position as the Sooners this time last season.

Texas knows what it is like to be a desperate team, and knows how dangerous that makes Oklahoma. Now, the Longhorns are trying to remain undefeated, while the Sooners are trying to turn their season around.

Both teams are under different kinds of pressure, exacerbated by the emotions of a rivalry like this one.

To Sarkisian, that is one of the keys of the game — keep the emotions in check and stay grounded.

The fervor is great for pregame locker room speeches and running out of the tunnel to cheers on one side, boos on the other. But during the game, not so much. Emotions can lead to uncharacteristic mistakes and penalties that change a game’s trajectory. Just look at what happened against Tennessee.

“We talk about playing with emotion, not (being) emotional,” Sarkisian said. “This game can get emotional at times, and so how do we harness that? How do we stay enamored with us?”

Those emotional moments ebb and flow throughout sixty minutes, making it imperative that the team stays focused on the task at hand through all four quarters, no matter what the scoreboard looks like.

“I think the message has been to focus on ourselves,” fifth-year defensive tackle Hero Kanu said. “Don’t worry about them. Focus on themselves. … (Even) after warmups, focus on the game. We’re not worried about them when we run into the tunnel. Let’s go focus on our own thing. Let’s make sure we finish it right.”

Red River is also known to bring out the wackiest football possible — trick plays, odd turnovers and late-game comebacks — but the outcome of this game generally comes down to the fundamentals of football. Whoever can run the ball more, take care of the ball, stay out of third-and-long situations and pressure the quarterback has the best chance of coming out victorious.

Texas has the chance to win three-straight games against Oklahoma for the first time since 1999, and Oklahoma will give everything it’s got to pull off the upset of the decade.

If the Longhorns want to leave the Cotton Bowl with the golden hat, they’ll have to block out the noise and prove it can handle the pressure that comes with being the best of the best.