The Red River Rivalry

By: Leland Berg

As the college football season kicks off, passion and hatred flow throughout rival schools as they get ready to play a game. A game that means just a little more to the students and players than any other game. There are many great rivalries within the college football landscape, but when talking about these epic rivalries it is hard to skip over The Red River Rivalry.

The Red River Rivalry is a game played between Texas and Oklahoma, their first matchup dating all the way back to 1900 when Oklahoma was still a territory. The Red River refers to the river that forms part of the border between Texas and Oklahoma. This matchup has been renewed every year since 1929, with Texas leading the series 65-51-5. The name of the rivalry has even changed from the original name, The Red River shootout, to discourage gun violence.

Since 1934, this game has been played annually the second Saturday of every October, and since 1932 it has been played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Even though this site is played in Texas fans from both sides come to support their team, as the Cotton Bowl is approximately the same distance from both universities. The largest attendance for this game came on October 17, 2009 when 96,009 spectators came to watch Texas defeat Oklahoma 16-13. This game is notorious for being important to every college football fan in the country as at least one of these teams has been ranked in the AP poll on 70 occasions.

Year after year it seems as though the passion and buzz surrounding this game becomes more evident. The rich history behind this matchup and these two programs has withheld the task of time. It makes us wonder will this rivalry ever die? Or it is something that will live on forever.