Red River Rivalry 2026: Texas vs. Oklahoma Time, TV & Preview
The oldest fixture on the Texas calendar, played in a stadium split straight down the middle, at a state fair, with a gold hat on the line. There is nothing else quite like it.
Texas meets Oklahoma on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. It is the 123rd meeting in a series Texas leads 65-51-5, and the Longhorns arrive off their only bye week of the season.
Quick Facts
| Matchup | Texas Longhorns vs. Oklahoma Sooners |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, October 10, 2026 |
| Kickoff | 2:30 p.m. CT / 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Venue | Cotton Bowl, Fair Park, Dallas, Texas |
| TV | ABC or ESPN (network not yet assigned) |
| Official name | Allstate Red River Rivalry |
| Meeting number | 123rd |
| All-time series | Texas leads 65-51-5 |
| Setting | Neutral site, split 50-50 down the middle |
| Context | Texas comes off its only bye of the season |
Why This Texas Football Game Matters
Both schools moved to the SEC and the first thing everyone wanted to know was whether the Red River Rivalry would survive intact. It did. Same date in October, same neutral field in Dallas, same even split of the crowd. The only change is that the result now counts in the SEC standings rather than a non-conference ledger.
That change matters more than it sounds. Under the nine-game conference format with one unified table, a loss here goes directly against a team's league record. In the old arrangement this was a rivalry game with national implications; now it is also a standings game with immediate consequences for who reaches Atlanta.
Texas gets the better run-in — you can see how the whole year sets up on the printable 2026 schedule. The October 3 bye is the Longhorns' only open date all season and it falls precisely here — two weeks to prepare after a road opener at Tennessee, then eight straight conference games with no further relief.
Recent Meetings
Recent editions have been either blowouts or one-score finishes, with very little in between. Texas has taken three of the past four by an average of 32.3 points.
| Year | Result | Site |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Oklahoma 55, Texas 48 | Cotton Bowl |
| 2022 | Texas 49, Oklahoma 0 | Cotton Bowl |
| 2023 | Oklahoma 34, Texas 30 | Cotton Bowl |
| 2024 | Texas 34, Oklahoma 3 | Cotton Bowl |
The 2022 shutout and the 34-3 result in 2024 were as one-sided as this rivalry gets. In between, Oklahoma won a 2023 game that Texas led late, which is a fair summary of how little recent form tells you here.
Across 122 previous meetings the series has run in streaks rather than alternating neatly. Texas holds the overall lead at 65-51-5 by the university's count. Oklahoma records the series slightly differently, a discrepancy that traces back to how each school counts an early meeting — a small thing that rivalry message boards have kept alive for decades.
The Cotton Bowl, the Fair and the Split Crowd
The game has been at the Cotton Bowl since 1932, inside Fair Park, during the State Fair of Texas. Your ticket gets you into the fair, and most people make a day of it before kickoff. The smell of the midway is part of the memory for anyone who has been.
Inside, the stadium is divided at the 50-yard line: burnt orange on one side, crimson on the other. Almost no other game in American sport is staged this way, and it changes the texture of everything. There is no travelling section to be drowned out. Every swing is answered instantly from the other half of the building.
Practical advice, if you are going: take DART's Green Line to the Fair Park station rather than driving. Parking around Fair Park fills early and leaving afterwards is slow. Whatever time the map suggests, add an hour.
Key Matchups
A rested Texas team against a rivalry week
Texas has its only bye of the season the week before. That is a genuine advantage in preparation and health, and Sarkisian's teams have generally used extra weeks well. Oklahoma arrives without the same runway.
Trench play in a game that ignores form
The Red River Rivalry has a long record of producing results nobody saw coming. What travels across those upsets is the line of scrimmage — the team that controls it usually wins regardless of what the rankings said on Friday.
Turnovers in a split stadium
Half the Cotton Bowl is burnt orange and half is crimson, so momentum swings land differently here than at a normal road or home game. Games in this series are frequently decided by two or three possessions changing hands.
Discipline in the first quarter
Both teams tend to come out overheated. Pre-snap penalties and personal fouls in the opening drives have shaped more editions of this game than any tactical wrinkle.
Prediction
Lookahead lines exist but shift heavily once both teams have five games on the board. Check a current sportsbook in the week of the game rather than trusting an early number.
Texas by a touchdown
The bye week is the difference on paper — extra preparation and a healthier roster in a game that regularly comes down to who is fresher in the fourth quarter. That said, this is the single fixture on the schedule where a confident prediction is least worth making. Recent editions have swung by 49 points in one direction and four in the other.
Odds move all week. Check a current sportsbook before kickoff. Please gamble responsibly. Nothing on this page is betting advice.
How to Watch and What to Know
The 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff sits in an ABC or ESPN window, confirmed roughly six days out. Streaming runs through the ESPN app or any live-TV package carrying those networks.
Tickets are distributed by each school to its own half of the stadium, with donors and students taking priority. For everyone else it is the resale market, where prices for this game climb sharply in the final week and rarely soften.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Red River Rivalry in 2026?
+
Saturday, October 10, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. CT (3:30 p.m. ET) at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
What channel is Texas vs. Oklahoma on?
+
The game is in an ABC or ESPN window, with the specific network typically confirmed about six days beforehand. It streams through the ESPN app and any live-TV service carrying those channels.
Where is the Red River Rivalry played?
+
The Cotton Bowl in Fair Park, Dallas — a neutral site roughly halfway between the two campuses. The game has been played there since 1932.
Who leads the all-time series?
+
Texas leads 65-51-5 according to the university's official records. The 2026 game will be the 123rd meeting between the programs. Note that Oklahoma's official count differs slightly, as the schools record one early result differently.
Why is it played at the State Fair?
+
The Cotton Bowl sits inside Fair Park, and the game has coincided with the State Fair of Texas for over ninety years. Your ticket includes fair admission, and the midway outside the stadium is part of the day.
Why is the stadium split in half?
+
Tickets are divided evenly between the two schools, with the 50-yard line as the dividing line. It is one of the few games in the sport where the crowd is genuinely half and half, which is why the atmosphere is unlike a normal home game.
What is the Golden Hat?
+
The trophy awarded to the winner — a gold-plated ten-gallon hat that has been part of the rivalry since 1941.
Has the game changed since both teams joined the SEC?
+
It is now a conference game rather than a non-conference or Big 12 fixture, so the result counts directly in the SEC standings. The date, venue and ticket split have stayed the same.
Who won the last few meetings?
+
Texas has won three of the past four by an average margin of 32.3 points, including a 49-0 result in 2022 and 34-3 in 2024. Oklahoma's win in that stretch came in 2023, 34-30.
Does Texas have a bye before the game?
+
Yes. October 3 is the Longhorns' only open date of the 2026 season, falling directly before this game.
How do I get tickets?
+
Each school distributes its half through its own ticket office, with priority to donors and students. Public resale is the realistic route otherwise, and prices climb steeply in the final week.
What is parking like at Fair Park?
+
Lots inside and around Fair Park fill early, and DART's Green Line runs directly to the Fair Park station, which is the easier option for most. Give yourself far longer than the map suggests.
Who does Texas play after Oklahoma?
+
Florida at home on October 17, followed by Ole Miss on October 24 and Mississippi State on October 31 — three straight home SEC games in Austin.