Every second Saturday in October, with the iconic Cotton Bowl as its stage and the smells of the State Fair of Texas serving as an olfactory backdrop, one of college football\u2019s great rivalries comes to the forefront: the Allstate Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma. <\/p>\n
Speaking to Sports Illustrated in the lead-up to Saturday\u2019s renewal of the rivalry, former Texas All-American wide receiver Jordan Shipley looked back on some of the scenes that make this game so special. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like all the best memories you have as a kid all rolled up into one,\u201d Shipley says of game day in the Red River Rivalry. \u201cYou\u2019ve got state fair, you\u2019ve got football, you\u2019ve got Texas vs. OU. You\u2019re coming out of the same tunnel. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re popping off all those little rocket things. You\u2019re trying not to get into fistfights on the field before the game because the emotions are so high. It\u2019s a setting unlike any other in college football that I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shipley played for the Longhorns for four seasons, starring for the program in his final two years, during which he set the program\u2019s single-season records for receptions (116), receiving yards (1,485) and touchdown receptions (13) in 2009. <\/p>\n
The Temple, Texas, native also played in four Red River Rivalry games, including the 2008 classic the fifth-ranked Longhorns won, 45\u201335, over the top-ranked Sooners, which is widely considered to be one of the greatest games in the 126-year history of the contest. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re the underdog, you feel like you have a chip on your shoulder,\u201d Shipley says. \u201cI just remember them coming out early and I think they went up 14\u20133 and just feeling like, \u2018Man, we\u2019ve got to make something happen here.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Make something happen, Shipley did. <\/p>\n
Down 14\u20133 in the second quarter, Shipley fielded the ensuing kickoff return at his own five-yard line, burst past a diving Sooner at the 25, then turned on the jets to race past three more Oklahoma gunners to take it 96 yards to the house, sending the burnt orange at the Cotton Bowl into a frenzy. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember walking out onto the field and thinking, \u2018Something big\u2019s about to happen.\u2019 And sure enough, the guys did a great job, the blocks were there and it just kind of opened up. Hit the seam as fast as I could hit it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that was just a huge moment for, obviously our team and our season, and for me individually. I remember thinking after that week thinking, \u2018All right, I got to have a small piece in this rivalry.\u2019 And it was just one of the most fun experiences of my life for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Led by 277 passing yards from Colt McCoy and 112 receiving yards and two total touchdowns from Shipley, the Longhorns prevailed in the back-and-forth affair. <\/p>\n
The rivalry again takes center stage at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, when the top-ranked Longhorns, this time the favorites, take the field against the unranked Sooners at the Cotton Bowl, the 96-year-old stadium that has been the home of every Red River game since it opened in 1930. <\/p>\n
The Longhorns are riding high coming out of the bye week, with a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 boasting a come-from-behind win over the then-No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes, and a triumph over No. 14 Tennessee in Week 4. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Sooners enter the game on shaky footing coming off of a blowout loss to Georgia in which quarterback John Mateer turned the ball over three times, sparking questions about his status as the starter entering Saturday\u2019s game. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a fistfight, you can throw the rankings out the window,\u201d Shipley says. \u201cSome of the key things are the same as every big game. Explosive plays and turnovers are the two big things. Penalties. You cannot beat yourself. I think that\u2019s the No. 1 thing. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou go in there, you play loose and you have fun. If I\u2019m Coach Sark [Texas coach Steve Sarkisian], that\u2019s what I\u2019m telling the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the atmosphere on Saturday afternoon?<\/p>\n
\u201cElectricity is the best way to describe it. It\u2019s a combination of love of football, love of college football rivalries. Some hatred probably,\u201d Shipley says with a laugh. \u201cThe stands are right on top of the field, so there\u2019s hardly any room on the sidelines. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got it split right down the middle\u2014crimson on one side, burnt orange on the other side. So, it\u2019s just electric.\u201d<\/p>\n
PODCAST: Listen to Sports Illustrated\u2019s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, on Apple<\/a> and Spotify<\/a>. Watch the show on SI\u2019s college YouTube channel<\/a> or on SI TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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