Re the Golden Hat, two former Sooners on the post-game radio coverage just reinforced your comment about the trophy. Ted Lehman, the guy who caught the Chris Sims pass that Roy "Superman" Williams flew in and deflected and ran it into the end zone, said that it is like a Wal-Mart cowboy hat that has been spray-painted gold.
It's not a real hat. It was originally cast in bronze and then was plated in gold some two or three decades later.