Texas has taken two of the last three games from Oklahoma in the rivalry.
Red River Rivalry Ranked Inside Top-5 for Best College Football Rivalries originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Texas Longhorns first faced their hated rival, the Oklahoma Sooners, in the "Red River Rivalry" in 1900.
A lot has changed since then, with both programs now competing against each other in the SEC as opposed to the Big 12. However, one thing that has remained the same is the importance of the rivalry.
The Athletic's Scott Dochterman could not agree more and ranked it No. 3 on his list of the top college football rivalries.
The only rivalries above it were "The Iron Bowl," between the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide, and "The Game," featuring the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes.
Texas has won two of the last three meetings with Oklahoma. Last season, the Longhorns crushed their rival by a score of 34-3, the biggest margin of victory since Texas' 49-0 win in 2022.
Plenty of quarterback talent will be on display, with Arch Manning set to battle Washington State Cougars transfer John Mateer. Manning is in a position to win the starting job now that Quinn Ewers is in the NFL.
Mateer joined the Sooners in the offseason after setting career highs in passing yards (3,139) and touchdowns (29) at Washington State.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian is 2-2 against Oklahoma since his first season in 2021. He revealed when he knew the program had turned around in a recent interview.
He referenced the 20-19 loss to Alabama in 2022 after the players were upset with how close the game was.
Sarkisian later discussed two ways the Longhorns needed to improve when he arrived, which were internal growth and recruiting.
The Longhorns seem to have changed both for the better, with the top athlete from the 2026 class, Lamar Brown, naming the program as a finalist.
This season's edition of the "Red River Rivalry" will be on October 11 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Related: Steve Sarkisian Names Two Key Issues Texas Faced Early in Tenure
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
