Oklahoma and Texas are forced to use the same tunnel at the Cotton Bowl for the Red River Shootout. As you could imagine, that creates some logistical challenges before and after pregame warmups which oftentimes lead to a fight.
Saturday is the latest example.
Two heated college football rivals converged upon each other in the same place at the same time. Steve Sarkisian had to get in the middle of the players to prevent further escalation.
Oklahoma and Texas hate each other.
It is not a secret that the Sooners and Longhorns do not like one another. The two schools are separated by approximately 370 miles but they meet in the middle at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas each fall.
The Red River Rivalry, formerly known as the Red River Shootout, has been played 120 times in total dating back to October 10, 1900. Texas currently leads Oklahoma in the series 64-51-5.
This latest matchup is one of the most intense in recent years.
The Longhorns needed a statement win to stay alive for the College Football Playoff. The Sooners hoped to stay undefeated as the No. 5 team in the country.
As you could imagine, tensions were extremely high.
The Cotton Bowl only has one tunnel.
This college football rivalry game is played at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, not on the campus of either school. It is a true neutral site.
However, the 95-year-old stadium presents some logistical challenges.
Both locker rooms are attached to one tunnel that leads on/off the field. Both teams need to use that tunnel at the same time before, during and after pregame warmups.
And thus, they are forced to fight over who gets to use the tunnel when. Literally.
Texas and Oklahoma hit the tunnel at the same time and predictably it gets a bit intense pic.twitter.com/lGtt3Vnapc
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) October 11, 2025
Officials and coaches from both teams had to separate the players.
Not quite a scuffle or fracas, but Oklahoma and Texas exchange words heading to the one tunnel. pic.twitter.com/6h0GmpVxzJ
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 11, 2025
Sarkisian ultimately kept his team on the field and let his opponent go first.
Oklahoma and Texas using the same tunnel always leads to words exchanged and minor skirmishes after pre-game warmups. pic.twitter.com/ksnt18Xzzn
— Wescott Eberts (@SBN_Wescott) October 11, 2025
Here is the full sequence of events:
A little pregame jawing pic.twitter.com/h4vmrUePz9
— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) October 11, 2025
The year is 2025. How do we not have a solution to this issue?
It seems to me like there should be a plan in place for these two teams to use this singular tunnel at different times. This should be arranged in advance. And yet, here we are. Another kerfuffle!