UT beating OU as a 17-point underdog in 2015 a necessary rivalry game reminder

On3 imageby:Eric Nahlin10/06/22

That win was more improbable than anything we might see on Saturday.

There are countless reasons we love watching sports. A driving force, at least for me, is the unpredictability of outcomes. Sure, we often have a decent idea who will win, but we never truly know.

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I grew up hearing about the Miracle on Ice more than most. I can confidently state that because my dad is from Sweden, grew up playing hockey, loved America and hated communism. Needless to say that miracle came up frequently in our 1980’s household.

I was sure the A’s were going to roll the Dodgers in the 1988 World Series but Kirk Gibson and his lone at bat in that series had other designs. He taught me a valuable lesson — in sports a spark can start a wildfire. This 10-year old didn’t know it at the time but that series was over after Game 1.

I remember watching Buster Douglas defeat Mike Tyson. It wasn’t even on Pay-Per-View. Driven by emotion, Douglas got in shape for that fight and struck one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, if not the biggest. Like so many upsets in sports, that one wasn’t replicable.

A more relevant upset to you will be Texas’ 2015 victory over Oklahoma. Texas entered that game after getting smashed in South Bend, defeating Rice, finding a way to lose to Cal, and then being the victim of one of the greatest examples of officiating malpractice the sport has ever known.

The heartbreaking loss to Cal, followed by the demoralizing officiating screw job against Oklahoma State, led to an embarrassing no-show in Fort Worth the week before the RRS. Texas was obliterated 50-7 and the game wasn’t even that close. It was 37-0 at the half. That TCU squad beat UT much more resoundingly than 2022 TCU beat OU, and that was a resounding win.

Last week, after losing to Kansas State the week prior, a listless Sooners team lost in Fort Worth 55-24. Oklahoma found a way to surrender 668 yards through an impressive mix of coverage busts, horrendous tackling and physicality, and mounting injuries. Some of those injuries will likely follow them into this week’s game.

Texas fans are understandably confident with the game less than 48 hours away. The matchups, whether personnel or on the headsets, seemingly favor Texas despite identical 3-2 records. Because of those matchups, along with being the healthier team, I find myself confident in UT’s chances, but I still can’t shake the memory of UT’s victory over OU in 2015.

Between that TCU debacle and Texas’ highly improbable 24-17 victory in the Cotton Bowl, I drove to Austin to check in with sources. The word out of practice made it clear things were not good. That year I probably had the least amount of confidence I’ve ever had heading into the game. Many OU fans undoubtedly know that feeling this week.

After the win I circled back to sources to try and figure out how in the hell they were able to pull that off after the previous string of performances. The reply was simple, the players woke up and decided they were going to be more physical and win. Numerous players (I remember defensive tackle Tank Jackson being singled out as leading the way), put it in their head they were not going to be denied. Essentially they harnessed their emotion and it worked even against a Baker Mayfield led playoff-bound team.

I’m not overly concerned about the game Saturday. The upsets that grip us to the TV and that we remember forever don’t happen all that frequently. But they do occur enough for us to tune in to find out what will happen. You know OU fans will be watching, even as a 10-point underdog and after two dispiriting losses.

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