AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas and Oklahoma will meet for the 120th time Saturday afternoon. While the best college football rivalries are largely regional, Texas vs. Oklahoma, or the Red River Rivalry, can certainly stake its claim as the best of the best with its regular fall meeting at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
The setting immediately sets it apart from all others. The game has been played at a neutral site in Dallas since 1912 and at the State Fair of Texas since 1929.
To add to the pageantry, the stadium is split with 46,000 Texas fans from midfield and around the north endzone and 46,000 OU fans from midfield and around the south endzone. Both teams enter the field through a tunnel in the south endzone where they will be surrounded by thousands of OU fans.
“I love pulling into the State Fair and seeing different fans from both teams, horns up, horns down.” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said, who will be coaching in his fourth Texas-OU game this Saturday. “I love walking the field, I love both teams being in the tunnel together, I love coming down and their fans are on top of us, I love looking at the sea of burnt orange and running to that end of the field.”
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Texas kicks off to Oklahoma in this overall view of the Cotton Bowl during the first half of an NCAA college football game at the Cotton Bowl, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Dallas. Oklahoma won 34-30. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter) -
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, left, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pose for a photo before an NCAA college football game between Texas and Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter) -
FILE – The Dallas skyline rises behind the Cotton Bowl stands as Texas fans watch during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter, File) -
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, left, drops back to pass against Oklahoma during the first half of an NCAA college football game at the Cotton Bowl, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter) -
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers celebrates by donning the golden hat with fans after winning an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma 49-0 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/LM Otero) -
FILE – Divided at the 50-yard line, Oklahoma fans in red and Texas fans in burnt orange fill the Cotton Bowl for the annual Red River Rivalry NCAA college football game Oct. 11, 2008, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin, File) -
Oklahoma wide receiver Jayden Gibson (1) celebrates with the Golden Hat after defeating Texas 34-30 in an NCAA college football game at the Cotton Bowl, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter) -
Oklahoma fans celebrate a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Texas at the Cotton Bowl, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
“There’s nothing like it, you see a wave of orange and crimson,” Texas sixth-year linebacker David Gbenda said. “You see one side cheering us on and you see the other side throwing the horns down and booing, it gets you fired up.”
Longhorns senior safety Michael Taaffe will be part of his fourth Texas-OU game, but his first experience on the Cotton Bowl field came as a Westlake High School sophomore.
“Me and my buddy snuck on the field, we watched Sam (Ehlinger) and all of them run out of the tunnel,” Taaffe said. “I was trying to get in Sam’s way and just get his acknowledgment because we’re family friends and I felt a grab on my neck and I got thrown out, thrown out of the stadium.”
Taaffe was able to work his way back into the stadium to watch UT’s 48-45 win on Cameron Dicker’s last-second field goal in 2018.
Texas at No. 1
Texas enters the game ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and Coaches poll, it’s the first time that’s happened since 1984 and only the fifth time in the rivalry’s history.
Since 2000, both teams have been ranked in this game 17 times. While Texas owns a 63-51-5 series record, Oklahoma has won eight of the last 10 meetings. In that span, the game has been decided but eight points or less nine times, with UT’s 49-0 win in 2022 as the only lopsided game.
Sarkisian was informed Monday that Texas was a 14-point favorite and immediately dismissed the information.
“Didn’t know that, it’s a rivalry game, forget whatever we’re favored or not, it doesn’t matter,” Sarkisian said.
The higher-ranked team has normally had the upper hand with 19 wins in the last 31 games where at least one team was ranked. Texas has won eight of the 11 games as the lower-ranked team.
Red River Rivalry perspective
This is also a rivalry about state pride with not one, but two trophies at stake. The Governor’s Cup is awarded to the winning team, a tradition that started when Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe donated the trophy and every year it is transported from the office of the previous year’s winning governor to Dallas.
“I love how crowded the sidelines are, I turn around and Gov. Abbott’s right next to me on the field, and there’s just stuff that happens in his game and that’s what makes this game special,” Sarkisian said.
For the players, the biggest prize is the Golden Hat, which was donated in 1941. The winning team is immediately presented with the Golden Hat on the field and players take their turn wearing the hat. The trophy was originally made out of bronze and called the “Bronze Hat”, but it was reworked in 1970 and came out of gold, leading to the name change.
There are plenty of other great college football rivalries. The closest one to the Texas-OU game is Florida-Georiga. The two schools have played more than 100 times, and since 1933 they have played, like Texas-OU, at a neutral site in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry will also play their 120th game in November. When it comes to in-state rivalries, Alabama-Auburn is at or near the top of the list. The game was dubbed “The Iron Bowl” by Auburn coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan in 1964 and has stuck ever since. For 52 years, the game was played at a neutral field, four times in Montgomery, Alabama and the the next 48 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The series moved back to each school’s campus in 1989.
Notre Dame-USC is up there when it comes to national rivalries. The 94-game series began in 1926 and has produced 24 national championships and 15 Heisman Trophy winners.