Oklahoma or Texas A&M? Red River Rivalry or Lone Star Showdown? Who ya got?
The rivalries are what make college sports fun, and that's clearly the case for more than just the fans. Players get into it just as much, and sometimes those emotions bleed over onto the field or onto social media.
Texas Longhorns edge rusher Colin Simmons spent part of his summer recently stirring conversation about the Horns' biggest rivals. It's a worthy debate because not every team has two definitive enemies quite like the Longhorns do in the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas A&M Aggies.
Simmons was being interviewed by EA Sports, as he's among the cover athletes on this year's College Football 27 video game. The incoming senior - who will likely be a first-round NFL Draft choice - is a perfect 2-0 thus far against the Sooners in Texas' annual Dallas meeting at the Cotton Bowl in the Red River Rivalry.
"The atmosphere says rivalry," Simmons said about the 50/50 split of burnt orange and crimson at the annual mid-day contest. "But when you're on that field playing against them, it doesn't say rivalry.
"I say Texas A&M is more of a rivalry than OU."
Simmons justifies the hot take by saying how, in addition to the two-game streak, the Texas-OU rivalry has been going for so long that it's hard to "get up" for it in comparison to the matchup with the Aggies, whom Texas just began facing again after joining the SEC two years ago.
Simmons is also 2-0 against Texas A&M since the series has renewed.
Inside the Numbers: Texas' Top Rivals
Let's take a look at the numbers, because both matchups have included their fair share of history despite being on two different timelines in current day.
Red River Rivalry
Out of 121 all-time meetings dating back to 1900, Texas leads the series against Oklahoma 65-51-5.
Other notes to consider...
* The Longhorns own the series' longest win streak, two eight-game runs from 1940-47 and 1958-65. That was a long time ago, but history is history.
* Texas 11 shutouts in the series while OU has 10. The most recent was the Horns' 49-0 blowout in 2022.
* Texas won the 100th all-time meeting, 45-12, in 2005 - the same year the Longhorns won their last national title.
Lone Star Showdown
An even longer-standing rivalry with a first meeting in 1894 (but only 120 games), Texas holds the series lead over Texas A&M, 78-37-5. That's a more decisive win percentage than the RRR.
More...
* Texas owns the longest win streak at 10 games (1957-1966)
* Twelve of the first 15 meetings were shutouts (Texas winning 9 of them). Hilariously, games No. 8 and 14 were 0-0 ties.
* The Longhorns have won 11 of the 14 games since 2000. Both teams were ranked in four of those games, including the last two in 2024 and 2025 (Texas winning both).
So, who is your pick?
Drop in the Longhorns Roundtable Community whether you think Oklahoma or Texas A&M is a bigger rival to Texas.
