Loss could be costly in Red River Rivalry

DALLAS – The food item – and we use the term loosely – judged "most creative" at this year's State Fair of Texas is the fried bacon cinnamon roll. Really.

If the very idea seems outlandish, it should perhaps not be measured against its predecessors. In recent years, "most creative" has been awarded to fried bubblegum, fried butter, fried Coke – and sure, fried beer.

Judged against those offerings, can you pass me a corny dog?

But those who've tried the fried bacon cinnamon roll say it is actually pretty good.

Which brings us to the Red River Rivalry. Oklahoma vs. Texas at the Cotton Bowl is annually one of college football's best visual feasts, the old stadium awash crimson and burnt orange, fans milling about on the midway before, and then after – and two heavyweights in a grudge match between. Often, it's one of the most important games of the season, a can't-miss event for college football fans.

The focus today is elsewhere – in South Bend, maybe, or Baton Rouge. Oklahoma and Texas aren't battling for BCS supremacy, but to remain in the Big 12 chase. The 10th-ranked Sooners lost to Kansas State on Sept. 22, the 15th-ranked Longhorns to West Virginia last week. Not coincidentally, those teams are currently atop the Big 12, and ranked in the Top 5.

But the Red River Rivalry remains important. The loser will drop completely off the BCS championship radar, and far behind in the Big 12 race. But the winner remains in contention, at least to some degree, for both prizes. So the stakes remain important, with every chance for an entertaining matchup.

It might not be, say, a fried Twinkie – which probably remains the undisputed champion of State Fair fare. But it's still worth tasting.