OU vs. Texas Gets Its Old Nickname Back

October 7th is a day that many Oklahoma sports fans have had circled on their calendar since the Big 12 released their 2023 schedule. It’s the annual matchup between two of the biggest names in all of college football as Oklahoma will take on Texas at the Cotton Bowl. And this year, things will sound a little more familiar when those two teams take the field in Dallas.

OU and Texas announced on Monday that this year’s 119th meeting between the two schools will once again be called the “Red River Rivalry”. The original name of the rivalry was the “Red River Shootout” and was called that until 2005 when they changed the name to the “Red River Rivalry”. The rivalry went by that name until 2014 before changing things up again to the “Red River Showdown”. While that name wasn’t terrible, it just didn’t hit the same way the “Red River Rivalry” or even the “Red River Shootout” used to hit. And with 2023 being the last year Texas and Oklahoma are in the Big 12, it just felt right that they go back to one of the older nicknames for the rivalry.

The return of the 𝑹𝒆𝒅 𝑹𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒚

OU vs. Texas ➡️ Oct. 7 #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/4ORAhVzolw

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) July 17, 2023

“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.”

There will also be a new sponsor of this year’s rivalry game as Allstate is stepping in and will be the title sponsor of this year’s matchup. Allstate will be taking the place of AT&T who has been the title sponsor since 2014. There’s also been reports that OU and Texas have begun negotiations with the State Fair of Texas to renew the current contract in downtown Dallas.

Texas leads the all-time series with a 63-50-5 record. However, since 1948, the matchup has favored Oklahoma, with the Sooners holding a 39-34 record since then.