It’s the reason players come to Oklahoma. It is the reason that more than half of OU's roster hail from the Lone Star State. It’s the reason ESPN Gameday will be in Dallas instead of watching an SEC or Big 10 slugfest.

When No. 1 Oklahoma (5-0, 1-0 Big 12 and No. 5 Texas (5-0, 1-0) square off Saturday in front of 90,000 fans at the Cotton Bowl, the eyes of the college football world will once again, be focused on the best rivalry in the sport.

While other games try to boast they have the top matchups, such as LSU and Florida or Michigan and Ohio State, no contest matches the states of the Red River Rivalry year in and year out. National titles, Big 12 titles, rankings and recruiting are all on the line when the two foes meet up.

End of the season awards also could be impacted by the game. With both Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and the Longhorns Colt McCoy already being considered for the Heisman Trophy, the one who pulls out a victory and produces solid numbers, can propel themselves past the competition.

“This is going to be an awesome game,” McCoy said. “Two top five teams in the Cotton Bowl in a rivalry game. The atmosphere in the game is awesome. It is a fun week. I love this week every year. Sam Bradford is a great quarterback. They have a great team. It’s going to be fun for us to go in there and play against them.”

But more importantly, the game is about tradition and bragging rights. With so many of the players involved coming from Texas, when the summer comes, you don't want to be on the losing end of the game.

“It means a lot to me,” Texas’ Roy Miller said. “My God Brother, Tommy Harris, went up there to Oklahoma. I know a lot of guys on the Oklahoma team, and they are going to be talking trash to me all week. I’m looking forward to it.”

The Longhorns own a commanding 57-40-5 record over Oklahoma. However, since Bob Stoops arrived, his squad is 6-3 in the Red River Rivalry.

Even moore important is how both teams play when they are at the top of their games. Saturday’s game will be the 11th time Texas and OU have faced each other when both are ranked in the top-5. The Sooners have won the six of those contests, including all three played since 2000.

Even if both teams had losing records, the rivalry would still be intense. But when you add national rankings and BCS implications, even more is riding on the outcome of the game.

However, the coaching staffs for both teams are publicly trying to slow down the hype around the game. While that it is impossible, it shows just how crucial the game is to each team;s title hopes. Even though the loser will still be in the hunt for a BCS championship birth, the winner’s path is now a lot easier, as long as they avoid the usual upsets that come in the Big 12.

“You still have to take it game by game just like it is another game, but who doesn’t get excited about playing the number one team and it happens to be Oklahoma,” the Longhorn’s Ryan Palmer said. “It’s all the merrier, and we are just going to get ready, have a hard practice and get ready to go play.”