30 bucket list items college football fans need to experience

5. Red River Rivalry: Oklahoma vs. Texas

Another great neutral site rivalry game worthy of a spot on our college football bucket list, the Red River Showdown between the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners, held annually at the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair of Texas.

The Red River Rivalry hasn’t always been played in Dallas, which is located roughly halfway between the campuses of the two schools, but obviously inside the state border of one. The first seven meetings, and 13 of the first 16 games, alternated between the campuses in Austin and Norman. Two during that period were held in Oklahoma City, and Houston hosted once. But, beginning in 1912 and every season since 1929, when the game resumed after a six-year hiatus, Texas and Oklahoma have met in Dallas. And, like the “Cocktail Party,” the stadium could be cut evenly down the middle, this time into Burnt Orange and Crimson beginning at the 50-yard line.

The Longhorns hold a 61-45-5 edge in the series overall. Though the teams have split the 71 meeting since World War II 34-34-3, the Sooners have won five of the last seven games, and two of the last three contests, including last year’s 45-40 thriller.

The Red River Rivalry is a perfect bucket list item for many reasons. Among them, it’s a heated rivalry game between two of college football’s biggest and best programs. It is also traditionally held in early October, in the middle part of the season, separating it from many other rivalry games held at the end of the regular season. Therefore, it’s easy to schedule a trip to the game in addition to one or two other mega matchups during the year – if tickets are available, of course.