“It’s ridiculous, man. It’s just part of the rivalry,” Jones told the Tulsa World on Wednesday. “Go to the game and that’s all people are doing. ‘Horns down’ or ‘Hook ‘Em Horns.’ Coach Stoops, he didn’t care. There were times he would throw the Horns down.

“That’s part of it, man. Like certain times in their fight song, they make fun of us. You don’t hear us whining about it.”

OU fullback J.D. Runnels raised an index finger for a moment after scoring on Texas in 2003, then went right to “Horns down.”

“Me and Kejuan, it was a reaction,” Runnels told the World. “We were Oklahoma kids. We scored in their end zone. That’s just what you do. It’s a signal. We’re not flipping ‘em off.”

Another point by Runnels: “Tom Herman last year in their bowl game, that was the most immature act I have ever seen a head coach perform. When he mocked Drew Lock (Missouri’s quarterback). That was the most embarrassing thing I have ever seen a head coach in college do. And it was not penalized. Nobody from the Big 12 said anything.”

Some see convenient hypocrisy. For others, this is an unnecessary paling of college football color. It’s losing sight of characters like Brian Bosworth, who could respect Texas while still detesting them.