Texas-OU legends weigh in on game

— -- Charlie Strong has coached in the Florida-Georgia rivalry. He has taken part in the Louisville-Kentucky feud. But he has never been a part of something like this.

"The Texas-Oklahoma rivalry is a special rivalry," Strong said Monday. "We know how big it is."

If he doesn't know, he'll find out fast. But really, there's no easy way to teach Texas' first-year head coach the entire rich (and violent) 108-year history of the Red River Showdown before he makes his rivalry debut Saturday.

In an effort to help Strong catch up, ESPN.com interviewed nearly 20 legendary players and coaches this week -- half of them Sooners, half of them Longhorns -- and offered them a chance to share their favorite Red River lessons and memories. We also asked them to give Strong a little advice before he steps into the crimson-and-orange filled Cotton Bowl for the first time.

What makes the Red River Showdown different?

Roy Williams, S, Oklahoma (1999-01): It's OU-Texas. You don't have to say anything more than that. No one has the home-field advantage. The game is rich in tradition. Two great schools going to battle. All the festivities outside the Cotton Bowl, all that fat food you should never be eating, but you eat anyway.

Doug English, DT, Texas (1972-74): It has everything. It has the obvious rivalry and each of our schools representing our states. And then you do it over and over, you do it in a special place and in a special way, and it becomes a big game.

Mack Brown, head coach, Texas (1998-2013): I've often said it's like a bowl game at midseason. So you have to play that game and start over. There's so much emotion. The game before it and the game after it are very, very dangerous games.

Bob Stoops, head coach, Oklahoma: The stakes all increased when they put us in the same division. Not only in the same conference -- in the same division. So as opposed to being an out-of-conference game ahead of that, to me, that increased the stakes tenfold. And then for I don't know how many years, one of us was going to represent the South in the Big 12 championship game. You knew that was a big part of getting to that game.

Jordan Shipley, WR, Texas (2004-09): In years past, it's honestly kind of been the slugfest for whoever was going to have a legitimate chance of winning the Big 12.

Peter Gardere, QB, Texas (1989-92): This game can make or break your season.

Jason White, QB, Oklahoma (2000-04): You have to get through this game to get to the other goals you have. A Big 12 championship. A national championship. You have to win that game. It has the atmosphere of a championship game. If you were a normal person and had never heard of the game, and you went to it, you'd think there was some major hardware on the line -- which there is I guess with the Golden Hat. There are major bragging rights in this one.

Jamelle Holieway, QB, Oklahoma (1985-88): When I played, the majority of our team was from Texas. The kids that do not get recruited from OU that go to Texas have a chip on their shoulder. The kids that did get recruited from Texas that go to OU, they want to show Texas up.

Thomas Lott, QB, Oklahoma (1976-78): You know something about the guys on the other side. People ask me about playing Nebraska. Nebraska was business. Texas was always personal.

Mack Brown: When Bob and I showed up, it wasn't really the national game anymore. That's one thing both of us were fighting to do. Kids came to each of our universities to play in that game.

Tony Casillas, DT, Oklahoma (1983-85): If you go to Oklahoma or to Texas, it's because of a signature game like that. Not too many people can be part of a rivalry like that. It represents so much. My son goes to UT now and that doesn't resonate well with me.

Derland Moore, DT, Oklahoma (1970-72): We have so many Texas players that play for Oklahoma. It's pretty emotional for them. For the most part they came up to Oklahoma because they wanted to play with a winning program. Nothing against Texas. Texas is used to getting anybody they wanted. But a lot of Texas players go to Oklahoma for that opportunity.

Barry Switzer, head coach, Oklahoma (1973-88): [The Longhorns] are playing [against] a program, in my estimation, that has a greater tradition than them. That's something that isn't easy for Texas to swallow. But all you got to do is check the records. Check the record book. Go back to the war. Don't give me this 1800s bulls---. Oklahoma has more national championships, won more games than they have. We're a step better.

Steve Worster, FB, Texas (1968-70): It's a hell of a weekend, I know that. It's a hoedown. It's a big time of the year for both schools and we have one hellacious rivalry, and now that we've lost A&M, they're about the only heavy-duty rivalry Texas has from the past. It probably means a little more since we lost the Aggies.

Case McCo y