Oklahoma football: Cotton Bowl gets plenty of love from Fox

But nothing can eclipse the NFL. ESPN is out of the NFL business from Week 17 on, thus FOX spent Sunday promoting Landry and Johnny Football and the renewal of a rivalry that appeared over when A&M jumped to the Southeastern Conference.

“It's like we're playing an NFL playoff game, the attention they're giving to this game,” said OU center Gabe Ikard. “It's a cool experience.”

This is OU's biggest bowl game since the 2008 national title game. Since then, the Sooners have played in the Sun Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl against Connecticut and the Insight Bowl.

“It's just been interesting to see how this game's dynamic is so different than any other bowl game I've played in,” said Landry, who is 3-0 in bowl games as the OU quarterback. “It's been fun, and everyone around this place is really excited about playing it.”

None of Landry's three previous bowls registered on the national scale. This one does, thanks to Big Fox and Manziel winning the Heisman Trophy.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@opubco.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.