Mike Farrell Sports

College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

Red River Rivalry and Lone Star Showdown Could Quickly Emerge as Best in SEC

The SEC will earn immediate benefits of two new yet classic, historic rivalries in 2024

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Oklahoma coach Brent Venables poses for a photo wearing the Golden Hat Trophy after the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables poses for a photo wearing the Golden Hat Trophy after the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas

By Rock Westfall  

The SEC will earn immediate benefits with the addition of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners this season. These two blueblood historic power brands figure to compete for SEC titles soon, if not immediately. Texas is coming off a College Football Playoff appearance, while the Sooners are coming off a 10-3 season and a final ranking of 15th in the nation.

Besides quality, tradition, and large, passionate fan bases, the Sooners and Longhorns bring the added benefit of the Red River Rivalry, better known and still often referred to as the Red River Shootout. Additionally, the arrival of Texas means that one of the most bitter college football rivalries will be renewed. The Lone Star Showdown between the Longhorns and Texas A&M will be played for the first time since 2011.

SEC Rivalries – It Just Means More  

They say in the SEC that “It Just Means More.” Certainly, no league has more or better historic rivalries.

The Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn is considered the best. However, Auburn has only three wins since 2008 and is currently on a four-game losing streak. With Alabama coach Nick Saban’s retirement, perhaps a competitive rebalance will emerge.

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The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party between Florida and Georgia is another SEC classic. Lately, Georgia has won six of the last seven meetings, including three straight. With Georgia coach Kirby Smart forging a potential new dynasty to replace Saban’s and with Florida coach Billy Napier on the hottest seat in the land, things are unlikely to change soon.

The Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State is among the most heated, although it is rarely played for high stakes. It has served as the Thanksgiving college football TV game on ESPN, but that is over as of this year.

Other historic SEC rivalries worthy of reverence include Alabama vs. LSU, Georgia vs. Auburn, Tennessee vs. Alabama, Georgia vs. Tennessee, and Tennessee vs. Florida.

As good as those rivalries are, the two new ones will quickly challenge as the best in the SEC.

Yes, they are that dang good. 

The Red River Rivalry – A Consistent, High-Stakes, Thrilling Shootout  

Fans of offensive football should not miss the Texas vs. Oklahoma game on October 12. The Sooners and Longhorns play each year at the neutral site of the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, during the Texas State Fair. Half the stadium is dressed in Texas burnt orange, while the other half is dressed in Oklahoma crimson. Most important of all, the games are exciting, close, and usually have a lot on the line.

Last year Oklahoma won a 34-30 thriller at the end, having to rally late and with time running out. It was Oklahoma’s 11th win in the last 15 meetings, including five OU wins in the most recent six matchups. The winning team has scored 30 or more points in eight of the last nine games in this series. Both teams have been ranked in five of the last seven Red River Rivalry matchups. Additionally, in nine of the most recent 11 games between the Sooners and Longhorns, the losing team was within one score.

Oklahoma and Texas may not like each other, but they keep things reasonably respectable both on the field and in the stands. The Red River Rivalry constitutes everything that a college football fan wants.

Name any SEC rivalry that offers such a complete package. 

Lonestar Showdown – Texas A&M Can’t Escape Bevo’s Burnt Orange Shadow

Texas A&M University hates the University of Texas more than anything in life. Conversely, the Longhorns are more condescending about the Aggies. Texas is in the trendy locale of Austin, where beautiful people love to hang out, play, and arrogantly sneer about the Aggies. 

By contrast, Texas A&M is in College Station and has a military feel to its culture, best shown by the precision of its marching band. Aggie fans perpetually seethe with resentment over the Longhorns’ conceit.

Texas thinks of itself as cool and beautiful, while Texas A&M has an image of toughness and character. This cultural clash is at the heart of the Lonestar Showdown, where the only things in common are donor bases that print money, dedicated, multi-generational fan bases, and football programs that want for nothing.

Texas defeated Texas A&M 27-25 in the last meeting of this series, which ended in 2011 when the Aggies moved to the SEC. Texas A&M specifically wanted its own identity and was looking to finally break free of Texas’s overbearing influence, which ran the Big 12 as if it were the chairman of a country club.

After the Aggies escaped, they began to recruit better than Texas because they played in the SEC. Texas developed a soft image of being entitled tea sippers, which hurt the program. Thus, Texas believed the best way to regain its football manhood (and enlarge its already massive bank account) was to partner up with Oklahoma to join the SEC. There was no way the SEC could reject such power brands despite the vehement objections of Texas A&M.

Texas A&M’s dream of becoming independent from Texas has turned into the nightmare of again potentially becoming Little Brother, after years of flexing on the recruiting trail.

On Saturday, November 30, the Aggies host the Longhorns at Kyle Field. The game is not to be missed. Texas is a favorite to contend for the national championship. In comparison, Texas A&M has plenty of raw talent and a proven (via Duke) new coach in Mike Elko ready to unleash it with polish.

SEC Superiority Complex to Increase 

Real rivalries with meaning are one of the key reasons why college football is God’s game. This year, the best conference in college football gains two elite programs and two new rivalries that can stand with any of the best the sport has to offer.

Two teams will painfully and likely dramatically lose in this pair of 2024 rivalry showdowns. But college football fans, so often abused in recent years, will be the big winners.

Score one for the good guys!

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