Even with Oklahoma’s rough start, the Red River Rivalry is still priced like one of the biggest events on the college football calendar.
The Sooners have slipped from the top 10 to outside the AP Poll after opening 2-2, but that hasn’t made tickets to the annual showdown with Texas any more affordable. The unranked Sooners and No.
1 Longhorns are set to meet at the Cotton Bowl, and fans looking to get inside are still staring down prices in the hundreds just for the cheapest seats. If you want to be close to the field, the number climbs into the thousands.
What stands out most is how sharply the market splits along the stadium’s 50-yard-line divide. Texas fans occupy one side of the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma fans the other, and with five days left before kickoff, the cheapest ticket on the Longhorns’ side was more than $50 higher than the cheapest seat on Oklahoma’s side. The gap gets even wider at the top end: Oklahoma’s priciest tickets were around $2,000 in one case, while several tickets on Texas’s side were listed as high as $2,200 apiece.
“What are we doing? pic.twitter.com/S11b487ZCe
- Random SEC (@therandomsec) October 4, 2026”
The pricing lines up with the moment. Texas comes in undefeated and ranked No. 1, while plenty of Oklahoma fans have already turned their frustration toward head coach Brent Venables. That difference in mood shows up in the market, too, with Longhorn fans willing to pay more to see their team and Sooners fans less eager to chase expensive seats.
Those numbers could still swing as kickoff gets closer. Prices may rise if demand spikes, or drop if Oklahoma fans keep backing away.
Either way, the game remains one of the most watched on the schedule, and the trip to Dallas still comes with plenty to do beyond football. The State Fair of Texas is right there, with carnival games, corndogs, and drinks on tap.
That’s the Red River Rivalry every year: a massive crowd, a split stadium, and fans on both sides paying up to be part of it. This time, Texas supporters are the ones digging a little deeper.
In Other News...
Texas Knows Exactly Why This Oklahoma Game Still Feels Dangerous
Texas heads into the Red River matchup as the higher-ranked team and, on paper, the one carrying more momentum. But this rivalry rarely cares much about rankings, and Oklahoma still brings enough resistance to make the game feel far from routine. The Sooners have been fighting through offensive issues, yet their defense remains sturdy enough to create problems if Texas lets the game turn choppy.
For the Longhorns, the concern is less about talent than about whether the matchup settles into the kind of tense, field-position battle that can erase the gap between records. The key players on both sides and the way each staff handles the strategic wrinkles will matter, because this game has a way of rewarding the team that stays cleaner and more composed. Even with Texas favored by the broader picture, this one still carries the usual rivalry volatility. [Read more 🡒]
Sarkisian Faces Real Pressure As Texas Tries To Fix Costly Mistakes
Steve Sarkisian spent part of his pre-Red River Rivalry press conference talking about a problem Texas has not been able to fully shake: penalties. The Longhorns have been giving away too much field position with costly mistakes, and the issue has become a regular talking point as they prepare for Oklahoma. Sarkisian said the staff made reducing penalties a priority during the bye week, with an emphasis on cleaning up the little things that can decide tight games.
For Texas, the concern is not just the flags themselves but the timing and the yardage they erase. In a rivalry game like this, one drive-killing mistake can change the feel of the entire afternoon, which is why Sarkisians message has centered on sharper discipline and better execution. He sounded optimistic that the extra preparation would help, but the Longhorns still have to show they can carry that progress into a setting where every mistake gets magnified. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Is Preparing For Red Rivers Most Intense Challenge
The Red River Rivalry always brings a different kind of tension, and Texas is leaning into it as this weeks trip to the Cotton Bowl approaches. Steve Sarkisian and defensive lineman Hero Kanu both spent time talking about the setting, where Longhorn and Sooners fans are split on opposite sides of the stadium and the noise rarely lets up. For Texas, it is less about getting used to the atmosphere and more about respecting what makes the game feel unlike anything else on the schedule.
Sarkisian pointed to the special nature of the rivalry and the traditions that come with it, underscoring how the matchup asks players to handle more than just the football. Kanu, meanwhile, described the constant volume as part of what makes the environment so energizing, and the pregame routine around the stadium adds another layer for younger players trying to soak it all in before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]