Barry Switzer guided Oklahoma through 16 Red River Rivalry contests from 1973-88. Now the former Sooner coach is giving his opinions for a living.
Switzer, who turns 70 today, works as a college football analyst for XM Satellite Radio, but still remembers the pressure surrounding an OU-Texas game.
“I know how that game goes. I know the pressure,” he said. “It’s tremendous.”
The former OU coach said the weight to win the game is always heaviest for those on the OU sideline.
“I don’t think I’ve met anybody that’s graduated from the University of Texas and come north of the Red River to make a living,” he said. “But we’ve got a lot of our graduates who left and have gone south of the Red River, to Dallas and Houston, that make a living and live in those communities, the social clubs, the golf clubs … It’s very important to us. There’s tremendous pressure on Oklahoma to win this game every year. I’ve always felt that.”
Switzer endeared himself to OU fans by winning three national championships and 12 Big Eight titles, but his 9-5-2 record against the Longhorns certainly didn’t hurt.
Switzer is returning to the site of the Red River Rivalry. His show, XM Sports Nation, will broadcast live from the Cotton Bowl from 5 a.m.-8 a.m. today and 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Saturday.
It’s the former coach’s first season to work as a college football analyst, but so far he has no complaints.
“They put a box right here behind me in my home here in Norman, and in 15 seconds I’m around the world, they tell me,” he said. “I don’t know that, but they tell me that.
“They ship me to Washington and beam me back down to their outlets. They say the soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq can hear us on the Internet. That’s pretty neat. To be a part of college football for 40 or 50 years, I’m glad to be a part of the team.”
Don’t hate ’em
Sooner coach Bob Stoops doesn’t get carried away with the OU-Texas rivalry. He tries to leave all the hatred for the fans. Coaches and players try to keep things a little more civil.
“I just know we don’t ever talk about hating anybody. I don’t believe you need to,” he said. “The Bible says not to hate anyone, but you can sure dislike them a whole lot. That’s probably OK.”
Stoops said any of the increased emotions between the players usually disappear quickly.
“In the end, people talk about hating or being angry, that doesn’t get you 2 minutes into the game,” he said. “After that, you’ve got to play and know what you’re doing and be able to do it and have the focus and ability to get it done.”
Point to make
OU wide receiver Malcolm Kelly has some extra motivation going into Saturday’s game. He didn’t catch a pass last Saturday against Colorado and, beyond that, hasn’t exactly shined in two games against the Longhorns.
He caught two passes for 31 yards in last year’s game and didn’t have a reception his freshman season.
Kelly has always said one of the main reasons he came to OU was the success it had against Texas from 2000-04. But the fans back in his native Longview, Texas, haven’t let him forget about the Sooners’ two-game losing streak against the Longhorns coming into Saturday.
“Going into this game, there’s a lot of people back at home that’s mad at you for being up here, so you want to go down there and show them why you came up here,” Kelly said.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
Local Sports
October 5, 2007
Switzer says pressure's always on Sooners
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