Texas Longhorns Football - Culture - Rivalries - Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooners

Texas has a long-standing rivalry with the University of Oklahoma. The football game between the University of Texas and Oklahoma is commonly known as the "Red River Rivalry" and is held annually in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl. Dallas is used as a "neutral site" since it is approximately mid-way between the two campuses. The stadium is split, with each team having an equal number of supporters on each side of the 50 yard line. Texas state flags fly around the Longhorn end of the stadium and Oklahoma state flags fly around the Sooner end. This border rivalry is often considered to be one of the top five current rivalries in the NCAA.

The Red River Shootout originated in 1900, while Oklahoma was still a territory of the United States, and it is the longest-running college-football rivalry played on a neutral field. Since 2005, the football game has received sponsorship dollars in return for being referred to as the "SBC Red River Rivalry" (changed to AT&T Red River Rivalry in 2006 after SBC merged with AT&T), a move which has been criticized both for its commercialism and its political correctness. The University of Texas holds its annual Torchlight Parade during the week of the Red River Rivalry.

In recent years, this rivalry has taken on added significance, since both football programs have been highly ranked and compete in the same division of the Big 12 conference. In 2005, the Dallas Morning News did an opinion poll of the 119 Division 1A football coaches as to the nations top rivalry game in college football. The Texas-OU game was ranked third.

The game typically has conference or even national significance. Since 1945, one or both of the two teams has been ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation coming into 60 out of 65 games. Twice Texas has defeated the Sooners a record eight straight times from 1940–1947 and 1958–1965. One of the most significant meetings was in 1963 with Oklahoma ranked No. 1 and Texas ranked No. 2, the game won by Texas 28–7 en route to their first officially recognized national championship. The series has also had its share of games that came down to the wire and comebacks most recently in 2009 when Texas cemented a 16–13 victory in the fourth quarter over OU. Texas leads the all-time series 59–43–5, with a 47–38–4 edge in Dallas. Texas also holds a 33–31–3 advantage over Oklahoma in the post-modern era. The game has also been the result of controversy. The meeting in 1976 was a heated affair as the Oklahoma staff was accused of spying on Texas' practices, a move later confirmed by former OU head coach Barry Switzer. In the 2008 season Texas scored 45 points over then number 1 Oklahoma for the win, but even with the victory Texas would not go on to the Big 12 Championship game due to BCS rankings. Six of the last ten showings featured one of the participants in the BCS National Championship Game (2000, 2003–2005, 2008, 2009), including national titles won by Oklahoma in 2000 and by Texas in 2005.