What fans need to know about first SEC edition of the Red River Rivalry

The annual football battle royal between the University of Oklahoma and the Texas Longhorns has been going on since the first meeting of the two teams in 1900, when Oklahoma was still a territory. Texas won that game 28-2 and lost just once to the Sooners (with one tie) in the first 10 games.

The series has evened out a little more over the years, although Texas dominated for much of the first half of the 20th century. As the two teams get ready to play the 120th game in one of college football's most renowned rivalries on Saturday, the Longhorns still lead the overall series 61-53-5

Saturday's annual renewal of the storied rivalry will be the first contested as members of the Southeastern Conference. For the past 28 years, Oklahoma and Texas competed as members of the Big 12. Over that span, Oklahoma has won 18 times to 11 for Texas, including a 34-30 Sooner victory last season in the final meeting between the two teams as members of the Big 12.

Has the game always been played in Dallas?

In the early days of the rivalry, the game was played at the two campus sites in addition to Oklahoma City, Arlington (Texas), Dallas and Houston. The game has been played in Dallas since 1912 and at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas beginning in 1932. One of the unique features of the Oklahoma-Texas game is that it is played every year during and on the grounds of the State Fair of Texas.

Dallas is the ideal neutral-site destination for this rivalry game because it is located equidistant from the Texas campus in Austin and the Oklahoma campus in Norman. On the Friday and Saturday of the game, you can see long lines of traffic heading north and south up and down I-35 en route to the game in Dallas.

The setting of the Cotton Bowl

Another of the unique features that make this game so special is the crowd arrangement. The Cotton Bowl holds close to 92,000, which is double the size of the stadium when it was first constructed. The 50-yard line divides the crowd. The north end of the stadium bowl between the 50-yard line is decked out in the burnt orange color of Texas, while the south end is replete in crimson, the official color of Oklahoma. You can always tell which direction the game is going by which end of the stadium is cheering the loudest.

The two schools alternate as the designated home team. This year, Oklahoma is the designated home team and will wear its traditional crimson jersey with the white pants and double crimson striping.

Name of the game

The game was called the Red River Shootout until the 100th game in the series in 2005. That's when SBC Communications acquired the naming rights and changed the name to the SBC Red River Rivalry. The following year, with SBC Communications' purchase of AT&T, the name was changed to the AT&T Red River Rivalry. The game was renamed again in 2014 to the AT&T Red River Showdown. Allstate secured the naming rights in 2014 and dropped "Showdown," going back to "Red River Rivalry."

What do the teams play for?

The winner of the regular-season game receives a golden, 10-gallon cowboy hat trophy. The trophy is kept by the winning school's athletic department until the next game.

Game time needs to know

After a recent string of Red River Rivalry games scheduled for an 11 a.m. kickoff, this year's game returns to an afternoon time slot. The game will be broadcast by ABC beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT.