What Happened During the Most Recent Red River Rivalry?

Week 5 on the college football calendar marks one that will spark the interest of any fan in support of either the Texas Longhorns or Oklahoma Sooners, as that brings the two teams to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX for the Red River Showdown.

The glitz and glamour of this rivalry needs no introduction. Everyone is well aware of the history and how far back it goes, and the aesthetically pleasing split at the 50-yard line split perfectly into two sections, a burnt orange one, and a crimson one.

The Longhorns hold a steady lead in the all-time series, 65-51-5, and since the two teams joined the SEC in 2024, it's been all Texas in the game's storied history, and last year was perfect proof of that.

A Recap of the 2025 Red River Game

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) runs with the ball during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

In Week 6 of the 2025 season, Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns were in desperate need of a bounce back after suffering a harrowing loss on the road to the Florida Gators, a loss that cost the Horns their No. 9 ranking in the AP Top 25, and in the eyes of many analysts, a spot in the College Football Playoff since it was already loss number two on the year for the team.

Quarterback Arch Manning was still struggling to find his rhythm in his starting role, and because of that, the Texas offense overall was starting to become a liability.

Meanwhile, the Sooners came into Dallas on Cloud Nine, with a 5-0 record and fresh off of a blowout win over Kent State, riding with all the momentum in the world against their most notorious foes.

The first half of the game was nothing more than a war of field goals, as Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell would boot a 42-yard kick early in the first quarter to put the Sooners up first before sailing a 41-yard attempt through the uprights in the early stages of the second quarter to give the team a 6-0 lead.

With 4:24 left in the first half, Texas finally found some points to throw onto the board with a 22-yard field goal off the cleat of Mason Shipley with the halftime score still in favor of the Sooners, 6-3, despite two interceptions thrown from Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer.

The second half, however, was all Texas.

Using a 14-play drive that covered 75 yards and took up nearly half of the third quarter, Manning and the Longhorns would score the game's first touchdown courtesy of a 12-yard pass to wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr., giving Texas their first lead of the afternoon, 10-6.

The Sooners could only muster a three-and-out, giving the ball right back to Texas, who again milked the clock with a 13-play drive that lasted over six minutes, and resulted in three more points thanks to a 48-yard kick from Shipley.

Texas would open up the fourth quarter by picking off Mateer for a third time, only for the ensuing drive to result in a missed 56-yard field goal by Shipley.

Ryan Niblett would redeem the miss for the Horns later on, however, taking a punt return 75 yards all the way to the house to extend Texas' lead to two scores, which was later advanced by three points after the defense forced Oklahoma to turn it over on downs and Shipley nailed field goal number three.

After the make, the Longhorn defense again was too much for Brent Venables' team to handle, and the Sooners would again turn the ball over on downs after Mateer was sacked by Lance Jackson and Brad Spence with just over a minute left to play.

A pair of Arch Manning kneeldowns later, and the Golden Hat was staying in the Lone Star State.

Manning finished his first game against the Sooners with 21 completions on 27 attempts for 166 yards and a touchdown, while edge rusher Colin Simmons sacked Mateer 2.5 times throughout the day.

Texas and Oklahoma meet in Dallas for the 2026 Red River Rivalry on October 10.

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