DALLAS — Bob Stoops is a true believer on this Oklahoma-Texas stuff.

He can say it’s hardly a neutral field because it’s not the Oklahoma State Fair in which the Cotton Bowl sits, but don’t believe it. Five of the seven times he’s led teams down that famous ramp, it was only his fans there when it was over. Twice, it was only his fans after the half.

“It gets your competitive juices flowing,” he said of the setting and circumstance of one of college football’s greatest and perhaps most unique rivalry. “It gets the hair up on the back of your neck, and it’s exciting. It’s as good as it gets.”

As good as it gets.

The only thing better than as good as it gets?

As good as it gets and winning.

It’s worth considering, because if not now, when?

Today is OU’s chance to do so many things: take control of the Big 12 South, prove to the nation it’s an elite team, to remain in the — laugh if you must, but it’s true — national championship chase.

It’s even a big day for Stoops on a personal level.

When was the last time one of his teams won a huge game?

This one, maybe, two years ago?

If not, the 2003 Rose Bowl?

So OU’s got this huge chance and Stoops is in position to summon Sooner Magic, just like he always seemed to every time OU met some until-then-unbeatable foe way back when.

That’s all great.

But turn it around.

The Sooners have to win.

And not for what it might do for them this season, but the next one and the one after that.

Remember, next season was always going to be OU’s turn to rebuild. But at least the Sooners would have Rhett Bomar beginning this third season behind center and a bunch of great receivers to throw to, too. There were always going to be question marks but an experienced, possibly all-conference quarterback with proven targets cures many ills.

Well, Paul Thompson’s great, but one thing he ain’t is a sophomore.

So this may be it Sooner Nation.

You’re about to say goodbye to your quarterback. Barring injury or Tonya Harding’s ex-husband stepping in, Adrian Peterson isn’t coming back to Norman. Your best defenders are leaving.

Three units will return basically intact: offensive line, secondary and receivers. But who’s that line going to block for and who’s going to get the ball in those receivers’ hands and just how strong will that secondary ever be, really?

Think about what Stoops said earlier in the week, comparing this year’s Sooners to last year’s Sooners heading into Dallas. Better offensive line, he said. Better quarterback play, he said. Better return game, healthy Peterson, more experienced receivers, stronger kicking game, he said.

But what if he had been willing to compare this year’s Sooners to next year’s Sooners?

Different story.

It’s just one more reason why today is so important.

Maybe the biggest one of all.

Because one win, against the right team, still can mean so much.

Say the Sooners win today and then go on to do whatever they do.

Good chance, they’d finish no worse than 10-2 with a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game where they’d be big favorite. So we’re talking BCS bowl.

It’s not a huge leap.

Now here’s another thing about the way sports tend to go.

Teams don’t fall off the earth.

They rebuild, take their lumps, but rarely go into hibernation.

If OU can’t get it done, the fall might well begin today.

Maybe it’s another 8-4 campaign. Heck, maybe it’s 7-5 because this time the Sooners lose in San Diego. There’s no way to know but rebounding will be tough. And what will it mean to next season, after so many leave?

But win today and it can be so different.

The Sooners are still rebuilding next year, but maybe they do it in the top 10 or 15.

Maybe winning today means that much to recruiting, that much to the psyche and expectations of those coming back, that much to just how this team, the part that’s coming back, carries itself a year from now.

From here, it’s always about the story.

Already, it’s been discussed what victory does for OU the rest of the season.

All bets are off, or maybe they’re back on, but you get the idea.

Well, that’s just the half of it.

Clay Horning366-3526cfhorning@normantranscript.com