All Sooners

The Rivalry is Back: Oklahoma-Texas Game Takes its Old Nickname

The Sooners will meet the Longhorns for the annual Red River matchup in October, this time with a name fans haven't seen in almost a decade.

Randall Sweet

Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

OU and Texas announced on Monday that their historic rivalry game will once again be titled the "Red River Rivalry".Β 

The two squads have met 118 times dating back to 1900, before Oklahoma was a state. The matchup was originally known as the Red River Shootout before the name was changed to the Red River Rivalry in 2005.Β 

In 2014, the matchup's title shifted to the Red River Showdown until this season, when the name will return to its mid-2000s moniker. Fans on social media were happy with the change, lamenting the 'Showdown" piece of the game's former name.Β 

This season, Allstate will also sponsor the contest, moving away from AT&T, the rivalry's previous backer.Β 

"Our annual iconic matchup with the Longhorns each October features more than a century of tradition between our two programs, so it's fitting that we revive the 'Rivalry' name," OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said in a statement. "On the field, we're certainly arch-rivals, with both our teams bringing fierce competition year after year."

The OU Daily reported Monday that OU and Texas have begun negotiations with the State Fair of Texas to renew the current contract in downtown Dallas.

After an abysmal performance in their matchup against Texas last season, the Sooners will look to rebound against the Longhorns in 2023. OU and Texas will meet on Oct. 7 at their typically stomping grounds, the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, where the two squads have played every year since 1929.Β 

There have only been 17 matchups between the two historic programs outside of the Dallas area. The Red River matchup was played in Oklahoma six times between 1901 and 1922.

Texas leads holds the all-time series lead with a 63-50-5 advantage. Since 1948, however, the matchup has favored Oklahoma, with the Sooners holding a 39-34 advantage since then.

2023 will mark the final Red River Rivalry game in the Big 12, as both Texas and Oklahoma are slated to join the SEC in 2024.Β 

This year's game will be broadcast on ABC on Oct. 7, with the kickoff time still to be announced.

Published
Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail. Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state. A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder. Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK.Β 

Home/Football