The annual "Red River Shootout" between Texas and Oklahoma was downgraded to "Red River Rivalry" a few years ago because "shootout" was thought too strident a word to describe a fiercely competitive game between schools that, deep down, respected each other.
Keep your powder dry -- it could be headed back to "shootout."
Fans from both base campuses were ordered to active duty with Sunday's release of the Bowl Championship Series standings.
Alabama stayed at No. 1, but that wasn't the news. The Crimson Tide has two remaining days of reckoning: this week against Auburn in the Iron Bowl and the Southeastern Conference title game on Dec. 6 against Florida.
The news wasn't USC moving up one spot, to No. 5. It was forward progress, for sure, but the Trojans still need a lot of help to gain, in two weeks, the three spots necessary to book passage to the BCS championship game Jan. 8.
The news was Oklahoma, a 65-21 winner against Texas Tech on Saturday night, pulling to within a sliver of Texas in the BCS standings.
Texas is holding on to No. 2 the way Davy Crockett held that fort in San Antonio.
The Longhorns lead No. 3 Oklahoma in the BCS by a hair on Bevo's chin: .9209 to .9125.
It stands to reason Oklahoma might jump Texas next weekend if the Sooners score a victory at BCS No. 12 Oklahoma State and Texas handles lousy A&M (4-7) in Austin.
Oklahoma has already jumped to No. 2 in this week's USA Today coaches' poll. Texas is No. 4.
Should Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech win next weekend (the Red Raiders host Baylor), there will be a three-way tie in the Big 12 South at 11-1, requiring the BCS standings to be used to determine which team plays Missouri in the Dec. 6 conference title game.
If Oklahoma finishes ahead of Texas, goes on to beat Missouri, and then finishes No. 2 in the BCS ahead of No. 3 Texas, you won't hear the end of it.
Texas, you may recall, defeated Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. It was in all the papers, but unfortunately, the BCS computers can't read.
It wouldn't be the first time an "outrage" had occurred in BCS history, and the last outrage didn't shut the BCS down.
In 2000, Miami defeated Florida State in the regular season, but Florida State edged out Miami out for the national-title berth.
Hurricanes Coach Butch Davis got over it by going to the Cleveland Browns.
