Burnt Orange Nation

It's Texas-OU (sucks) week, so we're skipping the rest of the country and just focusing on this game.

"We won the game. Stats are for losers. I like winning games." -- Longhorns savior defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. What an incredible quote from our new favorite person. As PB points out, Texas might have an actual coaching advantage against the Sooners for the first time that we can remember with this guy roaming the sidelines.

"Will Rogers never met Barry Switzer." -- Texas Head Coach Darrell K. Royal, referring to Will Rogers' famous saying that he never met a man he didn't like. What isn't as well known is that Rogers was originally referring to Leo Trotsky. Intentionally or not, then, DKR was saying that Switzer was worse than Trotsky: double zing!

"I have no doubt that coach [Mack] Brown and the Longhorns will make it two in a row over the Sooners this Saturday in Dallas. Fortunately, OU's trip across the Red River won't be for nothing. They can get a look at the Longhorns' national championship trophy while they are in Texas." -- Texas Governor Rick Perry before the 2006 Texas-OU game. Yes, this one is outdated. But it illustrates the one beautiful thing about Texas politics, no matter which side of the aisle you fall on. In a time when the Longhorn athletic teams are far more relevant than those of Texas A&M (see: all eras except the 1980s), an Aggie governor is forced to talk smack on behalf of UT. He may also talk Aggie noise before their games, but we're not sure anyone cares.

"Whatever you think of me, you should know he hates old people, children, and dogs." -- Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy, presumably about current Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops. No comment necessary.

"Let me put it this way: I don't think a Texas grad has ever come north of the Red River to make a living, but a whole lot of Oklahoma grads have gone south." -- Former Oklahoma cheater Head Coach Barry Switzer. We ran into Barry Switzer in the D-Day Museum in New Orleans shortly before the 2004 Sugar Bowl (LSU 21, OU 14). It was the first time we had ever met a celebrity and weren't certain whether to say hello, thank him for the kind words about Texas or flick him off. We just let him pass and to this day aren't sure how we should have handled the situation.

"It's hard to go through the weeks focusing on (other) teams when you know you've got OU ... We're looking forward to playing them. We're going to come out energized." -- Texas DT Roy MIller on this week's game. What? A quote that's actually relevant to the 2008 game? That's right! It's always refreshing when players let their guards down and tell reporters what's actually on their minds instead of the standard, rehearsed cliches from Bull Durham. Miller is damn right that it's hard to focus on other games when you know the Oklahoma game is looming; we're glad the players feel the same way we do.

And your quote of the (OU) week:

"It'd be a damn shame if they left Dallas...Texas-OU is a rare jewel. It's so unique and wonderful. Where else can you take a day and go to the State Fair, ride a Ferris wheel, grab a few cold refreshments and walk over to watch one of college football's greatest rivalries?" -- ABC college football broadcasting legend Keith Jackson. To be honest, we've always found Keith to be a bit of an annoying homer for the Big Ten and Pac Ten, particularly USC. But here, he just nails it. With apologies to our friends in Columbus, Ann Arbor, Tuscaloosa, and Auburn: this is college football's absolute greatest rivalry.

BEAT OU!