Texans vs. Cowboys 2015 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online

The Cowboys and Texans face off in the annual Governor’s Cup game.

Sep 3, 2015, 3:00 PM UTC

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Thursday night, as they do most seasons, the Cowboys and Texans will play in the Governor's Cup game. The Cup, like most rivalry trophies, has a fairly strange history. In 1965, the Houston Oilers drafted star offensive tackle Ralph Neely out of Oklahoma in the second round of the AFL Draft. On the same day, the Baltimore Colts drafted Neely in the NFL Draft, also in the second round.

Neely, a first-team All-American as a senior, wanted to stay close to home, so he immediately agreed to a deal with the Oilers that included a signing bonus of a Houston gas station. There was only one problem -- the 1965 drafts were held in November 1964, so Neely had agreed to his deal before Oklahoma had played in the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Day. So the Oilers and Neely kept the contract secret, and when the Colts realized he didn’t want to come to Baltimore, they traded his rights to the Cowboys.

Neely then returned his check (and his gas station) to the Oilers and signed with Dallas. Lawsuits were filed, and things got ugly until the teams were forced to settle in 1966 as part of the NFL-AFL merger deal. The Oilers got four 1967 draft picks from the Cowboys -- that was the first team of the joint draft -- and the Cowboys kept Neely, who turned out to be a long-time star. Dallas also agreed to play annual exhibition games with Houston, and the Governor’s Cup was born.

The series obviously stopped when the Oilers moved to Tennessee, but it was revived upon the birth of the Texans. These days, it is played in an annual preseason game, unless the teams happen to play in the regular season that year, in which case that game determines the winner.

Obviously, last year’s game -- a 20-17 overtime win for Dallas in October -- is probably going to be more exciting than watching backups trying to win roster spots in the final preseason game.

Like most head coaches, Jason Garrett of the Cowboys doesn't let his starters anywhere near Week 4 of the preseason, so any drama on the Dallas side will come from position battles. The most notable might be Dustin Vaughan vs. Jameill Showers for the third quarterback spot behind Tony Romo and Brandon Weeden. At this point, the winner might be "none of the above," as neither has shown enough for the Cowboys to even keep three QBs. Both will hope to change that against Houston. Showers might have a slight edge, because he's been playing special teams, including tackles on kick coverage.

For Houston, the big storyline will be how the Texans players adapt to life once the Hard Knocks cameras go away. Will Vince Wilfork still show up for practices wearing overalls (and only overalls)? Will players and coaches still compete in spelling bees? Will J.J. Watt still hand out sleep advice and hang out with Carli Lloyd?

In the actual game, with Tom Savage expected to play the entire game at quarterback, will Ryan Mallett spend the evening taunting Brian Hoyer about the 2007 Michigan-Michigan State game where Mallett's Wolverines beat Hoyer's Spartans? Granted, Mallett barely played, as Chad Henne threw four touchdown passes, but there's a lot of time to kill during a preseason game.

Savage's performance will have a major impact on the battle for the last few receiving jobs, with as many as six players trying to win two or three roster spots. The favorites are probably Damaris Johnson, Keshawn Martin and third-round pick Jaelen Strong, but fifth-round pick Keith Mumphery -- another Michigan State grad to go with Hoyer and Martin -- has been impressive in camp.