Texas, Oklahoma rule Big 12, but Longhorns own rivalry

DALLAS -- There's this booth off in a corner at Bob's Steak and Chop House, one of the nation's great power eateries. It is allegedly the place where Texas AD DeLoss Dodds and his Oklahoma counterpart Joe Castiglione helped "save" the Big 12 this summer.

Mack Brown has led Texas to two Big 12 titles, two BCS title games and one national championship in the past five seasons. (Getty Images)

It was one of the few times lately that Texas and OU have met as equals.

It's no secret that the two schools wield a lot of power in a conference that barely survived its own self-destruction in June. It is more of a secret that the administrations of both schools have helped shape conference and college sports history. Dodds and former OU AD Donnie Duncan basically brought the Big 12 together 15 years ago. These days, Dodds and Castiglione are colleagues and friends.

If it were only that easy. In the only relationship that matters to most fans, Oklahoma finds itself looking up at Texas during the latest trend in their epic rivalry.

"The bus ride home is the worst part," said Sooners linebacker Travis Lewis, recalling his team's latest loss last season to Texas in the annual Red River Shootout in the Cotton Bowl. "You're just sitting there thinking about all the things you could have done, all the things that could have happened.

"It's quiet. ... The bus will be totally silent -- for three hours."

Oklahoma has had its share of silent rides in recent years. In a rivalry decided by streaks recently, Texas has won four of the past five meetings. In that stretch it has played for a pair of national championships, winning one -- as well as two Big 12 titles.

Bob Stoops would counter with the fact his team was won three of the five conference titles in that span and been to the BCS title game once. But it's just not the same in a super power rivalry in which the programs measure themselves against each other every day.

Texas has taken on the image of king, not only in the Big 12, but in the country. Conference realignment basically has boiled down to the whims of Texas and Notre Dame. When Texas decided to stay in the Big 12 that stopped -- for now -- the beginning of the age of super conference. Without that radical upheaval, there was no reason for Notre Dame to join the Big Ten.

It was almost as if Texas knew the result before this process began. By Texas staying put, the conference ended up with a promise from Fox and ESPN for at least $20 million a year in revenue per team during the next rights fees negotiations.

There was a time in the previous decade when Texas couldn't get out of its own division. It looked like Mack Brown never would break through against Stoops. From 2000 through 2004, Oklahoma won five consecutive games, twice scoring 60-plus points. Then Brown got Vince Young and also got a whole lot more comfortable in his own skin. Young begat Colt McCoy who begat Garrett Gilbert, who takes over this year.

"When they changed [from] Vince we got happy, then they gave us Colt," Lewis said Wednesday at the conclusion of Big 12 media days. "With a school like Texas you're expecting greatness. You're expecting them to replace Colt with a great player."

It's somewhat of a surprise, then, that there is an undercurrent of support nationally for Oklahoma this season. A couple of preseason magazines have the Sooners ranked in the top five. The Big 12 media picked OU to win the South Division.

Have they been watching what's going on lately?

"It's [Texas] always in the back of our head," Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles said.

The general feeling in Norman is that things can't get worse than last season. In 2000, OU won the national championship without losing a single starter to injury. In 2009, Mother Nature got even.

Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford was knocked out of the 2009 opener and played only eight quarters. All-American Jermaine Gresham was lost before the season. Shifty tailback DeMarco Murray injured a hamstring and never seemed to reach full speed.

"I don't know about anybody else, after those first couple of games I was ready for the season to end," Murray said. "We weren't used to even losing. It was hard to regain yourself each week knowing that you don't have a chance at the national championship or the Big 12." "But," reminds Stoops, "we're in a lot different situation now. You've got to believe that could never happen again."

Until further notice, though, it is hard to pick against Texas. Things just seem to be falling its way. It lost McCoy in the BCS title game but in the long run benefitted from getting valuable playing time for Gilbert. Texas won the 2008 Red River game 45-35 then watched the BCS's fuzzy math break a tie that allowed OU to play for the national championship.

They'll never forget in Austin, but it helps that the Horns are 19-2 since that Oklahoma game. The Sooners are 15-6.

Success has fed off itself lately to the point that Texas has become the richest athletic department in the country.

"We have 101,000-seat stadium," Brown said, "and we make a lot of money and we're on TV a lot."

Deal with it.

Brown is so comfortable in his own skin running this football Cadillac that he might "pull a Bobby Johnson" and just quit one day. No warning, no ceremony.

No worries. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is two decades younger and patiently waiting in the wings. Officially, the 38-year-old is the "coach designate" making $900,000 a year. Unofficially, Texas keeps the pipeline stocked, recruiting coaches like it does players -- carefully and wisely.

Muschamp could leave before Brown retires -- especially if Georgia or LSU come open. But why would he? He's going to have everything he needs to win in Austin.

"It would be wrong of me to sit here with my personality and say, 'I'm going to quit at such-and-such time,'" Brown said. "If you do, it's hard to coach when you're thinking about quitting.

"The day it's not working I'll walk in ... and we'll quit. It will not be: 'I will wait one more year.' "

If that sounds like a retirement speech, you've spent too much time sipping Shiner Bock on the Midway at the Texas State Fair. Brown has threatened to fire any staffer who mentions "the future."

If the teams reach this season's Oct. 2 meeting unbeaten, no one will be surprised. Until then, for Oklahoma, silence is anything but golden.