NORMAN, Okla. -- As early as he could crawl, Seth Littrell would drag himself in front of the television for the annual Nebraska-Oklahoma showdown.

When he got a little older, Seth's father Jim would take his son to Norman to watch the game in person. There they would shake the hand of coach Barry Switzer and stare in awe at the tenacity of linebacker Brian Bosworth. Nothing was better.

	Seth Littrell grew up knowing about the rivalry between Oklahoma and Nebraska.

It was the game that usually decided it all, with the winner usually going on to the Orange Bowl and, more often than not it seemed, a shot at the national championship.

But then something happened. Thanks to NCAA probation and a carousel of coaching changes, the Sooners slipped off the college football cliff and the luster of this rivalry was gone. So much so that the Big 12 scheduling format allowed a two-year hiatus between games and few complained.

Until now.

The Sooners are once again in the thick of the national championship race, and just like the old days, Nebraska is one of the teams standing in the way.

While Texas may be a more hated opponent and Oklahoma State a more important one, the Sooners realize a meaningful game against Nebraska can mean only one thing -- there's some hardware on the line.

In this case, it's the inside track at the national title, as well as a possible Heisman Trophy for quarterback Josh Heupel. Though it's a lot to throw into one game, you have to understand that never before have the top two teams in the BCS poll met in the regular season.

And few are happier that it's Nebraska and Oklahoma than Littrell. The senior co-captain and H-back for the Sooners takes pride in knowing that he played a part in bringing the rivalry back. And when he visits with his Dad, a former Sooner himself, Seth can see how much OU's return to dominance is appreciated.

"It's back to being two great ballclubs and that means a lot to both of us," Seth said. "He hasn't said much about it, but you can just tell. Dad's happy. There's a lot of pride there."

Saturday's game will mark the 13th time in 79 meetings that one of the two teams is ranked No. 1. On two separate occasions OU-Nebraska have hooked up as Nos. 1 and 2, with second-ranked Oklahoma winning 17-7 in 1987 and No. 1 Nebraska winning 35-31 in 1971.

It's that 1971 game that many considered the greatest college football game ever played. So it's only fitting that the first season of the new millennium offers Nebraska and Oklahoma, No. 1 vs. No. 3.

Senior free safety J.T. Thatcher, who grew up in Norman, said he doesn't remember a buzz like this since the 1985 Nebraska game, when the Sooners won 27-7 en route to the national championship.

"I remember watching it on TV," he said. "It seemed like (Oklahoma) played for the national championship every year back then. Now I'm part of something like that."

Heupel, a self-admitted contrarian, grew up in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where everyone bleeds red -- Husker red. All of Heupel's friends -- and their families -- wore Nebraska, T-shirts, hats and jackets all the time. Heupel refused. When his uncle offered to buy him some Nebraska apparel one year, he said no.

Instead, a nappy maroon Oklahoma hat covered his head -- just so he could be a little bit different.

"South Dakota was a Nebraska state, no question about it," Heupel said. "And when you are surrounded by Nebraska fans who all they do is buy Nebraska and talk about it, you just want to go against everybody else. So I wore that Oklahoma hat."

	“	You couldn't wait to watch this game, it was that big. I was a big fan of Oklahoma in those younger years. I loved the Greg Pruitt's and Joe Washington's -- knew them all. And I loved the way coach Switzer's teams played in big games. ”
		— Bob Stoops

Since Heupel's success at Oklahoma (he's the nation's 5th-ranked passer), the tides have slowly shifted in Aberdeen. In fact, Heupel said that his best friend's grandma, a life-long Nebraska season ticket holder, will wear Sooner Red this Saturday.

"It'll be the first time in her life," he said.

Second-year Sooner coach Bob Stoops, the architect of the OU revival, will have his first sideline view of the rivalry come Saturday. Stoops, who grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, said it was family tradition growing him to gather around the television the Friday after Thanksgiving to watch the two Big 8 beasts go at it.

"You couldn't wait to watch this game, it was that big," Stoops said. "I was a big fan of Oklahoma in those younger years. I loved the Greg Pruitt's and Joe Washington's -- knew them all. And I loved the way coach Switzer's teams played in big games."

Stoops said that since his arrival at Oklahoma, he's watched the videotapes from just about all of those games. He plans on showing some of the highlights to his team this week.

"Sure, we'll show a few plays," he said. "That's something we need to be proud of. And the players need to recognize the impact this game had for so long."

But not everyone has such intimate memories -- especially on Oklahoma's side. With the rivalry's glory days some 10-20 years ago, many of the current Sooners only remember lopsided blowouts. Since 1991, Nebraska has won seven straight in this series, including a 73-21 victory in 1996 and a 69-7 wallop in '97.

Sooner placekicker Tim Duncan, who grew up in the tiny Western Oklahoma town of Clinton, remembers those games more than the great ones.

"To me, I was just a little kid when those great games were going on so I don't know much about it," Duncan said. "In fact, Nebraska was never that big of a deal to me because it wasn't such a good game."

Not to the Litrell's.

"Dad played in a lot of big games, but it always seemed like Nebraska was special," Seth Littrell said. "When you talk about the great all-time rivalries in college football, this is one of them. So I'm having fun with this. It's means a lot that we brought it back."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com