Red River Shootout is Dead

The annual OU/Texas game in Dallas is just a few years away from becoming a home and home series unless the University of Texas is pulling off the mother of all bluffs.

Texas and OU have a contract to play at the Cotton Bowl through the 2008 season with an opt-out clause after the 2007 game. Texas officials, however, have told Dallas officials they will not opt out of the contract after the 2007 game and will play OU at the Cotton Bowl in 2008, the source said.

Texas has not been willing to pursue a means to keep the rivalry game in Dallas beyond that point and have now begun working with the University of Arkansas to renew that rivalry with a game in Dallas beginning in 2010.

Under the agreement, which has not been finalized with a contract, Texas and Arkansas would play in Austin in 2008 and in Fayetteville in 2009.

According to a source for the Dallas Morning News there is also internal discussion that the Texas-Arkansas rivalry could continue beyond 2009 on an annual basis in Dallas – most likely at the Cowboys’ new stadium in Arlington – if the Longhorns opt not to renew their current agreement to play Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl.


Texas has nothing to gain from losing to OU at the Cotton Bowl or the Cowboys new stadium. Rhett Bomar, Adrian Peterson and Tommie Harris are just a few names of kids from the state of Texas who chose to come to OU based on the recent competition.

The problem for Texas is not playing in Dallas it’s losing to Oklahoma. The Longhorns are 1-5 against Oklahoma over the last six years and even with a national championship under their belt Texas still must overcome a sorry winning percentage against their biggest foe. How do you do that? Move the game back to campus where at least every other year you have the home field advantage. If the Texas-Oklahoma series goes home-and-home beginning in 2009, the first on-campus game between the two schools would be in Austin.