Media Voices: Rod Babers on the 2013 Red River Rivalry

DURING HIS annual pilgrimage to the Cotton Bowl to watch the Red River Rivalry, Rod Babers has a few traditions he likes to uphold as part of the festivities. During the Sports Buffet (at the Hoffbrau House the Friday afternoon before the game) he dons a cowboy hat and takes on his alter-ego of “Rooster Blackburn.” For the past three years, he has slept in his car to ensure that he doesn’t miss the early call time for the pre-game show at the fairgrounds.

Horns Illustrated sat down with Babers, with his traditions aside, to discuss five important factors that will go into the this year’s Texas vs. OU game.

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 5. The Texas losses the past two years were some of the most lopsided losses in the history of the rivalry (Oklahoma won 63-21 in 2012 and 55-17 in 2011). Those types of losses happen every now and then. When I played, we lost 63-14 in 2000. The Sooners gave Vince Young a similar beating in 2003 (65-13). Cyclically, we’ve been blown out a few times. We had young teams and as a young football player, you can’t grasp the intensity of that environment. They’re just not ready.

4. I remember in 2011 when Carrington Byndom — a player with NFL potential — had a pass break with Kenny Stills in the corner of the end zone, closest to the locker room. After knocking him down on the pass break up, Byndom stood over him and offered Stills a hand up as a sign of sportsmanship. Stills refused the hand, and was like ‘no don’t help me up, that’s not what this game is about.’ That made me realize those guys didn’t really understand what the game is about. They didn’t understand that OU is not a ‘help your opponent up’ type of game. It is a true blue rivalry and hatred exists on either side. This game is a street fight, and in a street fight the last man standing usually wins. In the 12th round you have to find a way to get the job done.

3. In 2011 and 2012, Mack Brown started more freshmen than any team in the country. Now the team has 19 returning starters, and they should be prepared and know what to expect. When we lost in 2000, we obsessed about that game for the next 364 days until we got a chance to meet them again. In 2001 we had one of the best defenses in the country and one of the best (statistically) that Brown ever had. I attribute that to the 2000 OU game. As a group we were embarrassed about the product we put out there and wanted to make sure we corrected that. This team has had this game marked on the calendar since the day they lost last year.

2. Texas A&M is no longer part of the Big 12, which makes the OU game even more important. Oklahoma is our only true rival. We don’t have A&M at the end of the season to make up for any losses. Everyone knows you have to beat your rival. Period.

1. The Red River  Rivalry is like the midterm for the season. If we don’t win that game, we’re not going to get an A for the 2013 campaign. We can still work hard and make a B+ for the season, but the A is gone. You can’t have your fans walking out of that game with their heads low. Our identity as a program is wrapped up in that game more than any other. Point: we have to win that game.

The Sports Buffet will broadcast from the Hoffbrau Steaks in the West End in Dallas on Friday October 11 from 2-7 p.m.. The AM 1300 The Zone Pre-Game Show will broadcast from 7-10 a.m. before the Texas vs. Oklahoma Game at the State Fair of Texas on October 12th. More info available at AM1300thezone.com

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