Texas and Oklahoma will play the 119th iteration of the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. Both teams are undefeated. Both teams believe that they have a path to the Playoff.
One of the most historic and heated rivalries in college football will be crucial for each of their chances.
A single loss is not a season-killer. Especially if it is close!
With that being said, a single loss will require the loser to battle its way back into the conversation as the season goes on. On the flip side, the victor will be in great position to control their destiny.
It’s going to be a fantastic matchup. Dillon Gabriel and Quinn Ewers set up an electric quarterback battle. The Longhorns and Sooners each have a defense ranked within the top 30 thus far this year.
Things only get even more intense when you factor-in the hatred between the two sides. They first played in 1900 and the cross-state rivalry gets even more intense when both teams are ranked inside of the top-15, like they are through the first five games of 2023.
The sold-out crowd at the Cotton Bowl will be ROCKING!
In addition to the standard cheers and fanfare, Oklahoma and Texas fans will get some unexpected help in making noise. A cricket infestation took over the 46,000-seat stadium, which was built in 1930.
The Cotton Bowl stands were overrun by loud orthopteran insects on Friday.
Fortunately, the birds were there to help clean things up as the game approached on Saturday morning. However, the infestation was still causing issues with just hours until kickoff.
They were even inside of the urinals.
A little cricket never killed nobody, but hosting a football game with nearly 50,000 fans inside of a stadium that is dealing with a severe insect issue is not ideal. The Longhorns and Sooners will have a few thousand extra fans — in form of crickets — cheering them on!