2005 Oklahoma vs . Texas football game The 2005 Oklahoma vs . Texas football game , played October 8 , 2005 , was the 100th meeting between the University of Oklahoma and The University of Texas at Austin in a college football game . The annual game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners is called the Red River Shootout . It is considered by college football coaches to be one of the three greatest rivalry games in college football , and " Fox Sports " says the rivalry includes some of the most unusual traditions in the sport . The game often has conference or national title significance ( as this game did ) and the series is unusual in that it is played at a neutral site instead of the home teams ' stadium . The 2005 Texas Longhorn football team ( variously " Texas " or " UT " or the " Horns " ) was coached by head football coach Mack Brown and led on the field by quarterback Vince Young . The 2005 Oklahoma Sooners football team ( variously " Oklahoma " or " OU " ) was coached by Bob Stoops with Rhett Bomar at quarterback . This was the fourth game of the 2005 season for both teams . Texas came into the game with a 4 – 0 record and a No . 2 ranking . Oklahoma was 2 – 2 and unranked . Both teams were 1 – 0 in conference play . Since the two teams are both in the South Division of the Big 12 Conference , winning this game would be an important step towards winning the Division and possibly the Conference . For Texas , a loss would likely eliminate hope of them playing in the BCS National Championship Game . Prior to the game , UT was favored by 14 points . They took an early 7 - point lead and led for the rest of the game . Although the score was close for the first quarter , Texas eventually won the game by 33 points , tying the biggest margin of victory for the Longhorns ( a 40 – 7 victory in 1941 ) in the 100 - game history of the rivalry . For Mack Brown , beating Oklahoma for the first time in five years allowed him to " get the monkey off his back " and shed his reputation as a coach incapable of winning the most important games . The stadium attendance was 75 , 452 people , and the game was televised over most of the United States on ABC . Texas ' win kept them near the front of the national championship picture . They ultimately finished the season unbeaten , snaring the Big 12 Conference and NCAA championships . Oklahoma finished the season with eight wins and four losses and ranked No . 22 in the nation . The Red River Shootout . The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are two of the most storied programs in college football . Prior to 2005 each school had participated in college football for more than 100 years . They are home to nationally - known traditions from the Sooner Schooner and the RUF / NEKS at Oklahoma to Bevo and the Hook ' em Horns of Texas . The annual OU / UT football game is considered to be one of the greatest rivalry games in all of college sports . The 2005 matchup was officially called the Red River Rivalry , but the game is better known by its traditional name , the Red River Shootout . It is played at a neutral site , the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas , Texas , amid the atmosphere of the Texas State Fair which is held adjacent to the Cotton Bowl . Dallas is approximately half the distance between the two school campuses , and the stadium is divided down the 50 - yard line , with half of the stadium clad in the " crimson and cream " colors of Oklahoma , and the other half wearing the burnt orange and white of Texas . Three rivalry trophies are presented to the winning of each year ' s contest . The anticipation for the 2005 meeting was especially keen since it marked the 100th Red River Shootout . The game typically has conference or even national significance . Since 1945 , one or both of the two teams has been ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation coming into 60 out of 65 games . Prior to the 2005 game , Texas held an advantage in the all - time series 55 – 39 – 5 , which included a 43 – 35 – 4 edge in Dallas , but Oklahoma had won five consecutive games , including the worst loss ever for a Texas team in the series . That was the longest losing streak for the Longhorns going back to the 1950s and during those five years the Sooners had 189 points to 59 points by UT . Those five straight losses had helped build a reputation for Mack Brown that he was not capable of winning in so - called " Big Games " . Four times during those five years , Texas ' loss to Oklahoma was what prevented them from playing in the Big 12 Conference Championship Game . The 2005 game was the 100th meeting in the series and a special logo ( above right ) was created to commemorate the event . The game logo included both team logos as well as the logo of the sponsor for that game , SBC communications , as well as the number 100 . Prior to the game . Oklahoma is the winningest program in what is widely considered the modern era of college football . OU has the most victories and best winning percentage of any team since the end of World War II . The Sooners have earned seven AP National Championships ( 1950 , 1955 , 1956 , 1974 , 1975 , 1985 , 2000 ) in that span and are recognized by the NCAA for 16 titles . They have been ranked first in the AP and BCS polls more than any other team , have been ranked in the top 5 of the AP and BCS polls more than any other team , and have scored more points than any other team in the modern era . Naturally , Oklahoma had high expectations for the year . Their pre - season ranking of No . 7 in the nation and the fact they had made it to the national championship game in both 2003 and 2004 only served to support this assumption . One of the three most victorious programs in college football history as judged by either number of wins or winning percentage , the University of Texas has traditionally been considered among the elite of college football . From 1936 to 2004 , the team finished the season in the top ten 23 times , or one - third of the time , according to the Associated Press . The team that coach Mack Brown fielded in 2005 has been called one of the most memorable in college football history by " College Football News " . The 2005 UT team was attempting to follow on the success of the 2004 season , in which quarterback Vince Young led the team to Mack Brown ' s first Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) game in the 2005 Rose Bowl and a top - 5 finish in the polls . However , even that successful season was marred by a loss to Oklahoma , the fifth straight loss for the Horns . With the exception of Cedric Benson , Derrick Johnson , and Bo Scaife , Texas returned most of their key players from 2004 – 2005 , including redshirt junior quarterback Vince Young . Texas was given a pre - season No . 2 ranking ( behind defending National Champions University of Southern California ) by " Sports Illustrated " magazine and was also ranked second in the pre - season Associated Press Poll and " USA Today " Coaches Poll . This created anticipation that Texas might play for the national championship if they could win their road game against the Ohio State Buckeyes and if they could snap their five - game losing streak against the Sooners . For either team to play in the national title game , that team had to end up ranked No . 1 or No . 2 at the end of the regular season . Since the Bowl Championship Series was formed in 1998 , 9 of the 14 teams were unbeaten going into the championship game . The only time the national champion has not been unbeaten during that stretch was in 2003 when LSU and USC claimed a share of the title as each finished with one loss . Ohio State tackle Kirk Barton would later say " There ’ ll probably be two undefeated teams at the end of the road and if you ’ re not one of them you ’ re probably not going to be playing for the championship . So you ’ ve got to treat every game like it ’ s the Super Bowl . You only get one opportunity . " First quarter . Oklahoma won the coin toss and deferred to the second half . Texas used 5 : 52 worth of game clock to score on their first possession ( 12 plays , 82 yards ) with a touchdown by Ramonce Taylor . It marked the first time Texas had taken a lead in the Red River Rivalry since 2002 . OU and UT traded punts and then OU ' s Garrett Hartley scored a 52 - yard field goal to make the score Oklahoma - 3 , Texas - 7 . This was the longest field goal of Hartley ' s college career . OU kicked off for a touchback and Texas started on their own 20 . On the first play , tailback Selvin Young rushed over the right guard to the UT22 where OU ' s D . J . Wolfe forced a fumble ; the ball was recovered by OU ' s Zach Latimer at the UT26 . The Sooners ran two rush ing plays to acquire a first down at the fifteen . A short run - play , a short pass play , and an incomplete pass followed to set up fourth and four from the 9 . OU elected for field goal making the score 6 – 7 in favor of the Horns . OU kicked off for another touchback so Texas again started at their 20 . The first play was a hand off to Jamaal Charles and he ran it 80 yards for a touchdown . The Sooners punted on their next possession , and the first quarter ended with Texas on their own 23 - yard - line and an eight - point lead . Second quarter . Texas was not able to score on that drive and they punted the ball to Oklahoma , who began their drive on their 32 - yard line . It was the first of four consecutive combined punts for the two teams and during this time the clock wound down to 6 : 54 remaining in the first half . Texas snapped the scoring drought with an eight play , 32 - yard drive that culminated in a 38 - yard field goal . The Sooners punted on their next possession , giving the ball to UT on their 30 - yard line with 0 : 55 remaining . Vince Young rushed for eleven yards and a first down , but the next play was called back because of a Longhorn penalty . Young then completed a pass to Billy Pitman who ran 64 yards along the left sideline for a touchdown with 0 : 17 in the half . The extra point made the score OU - 6 , UT - 24 and Oklahoma took a knee to end the half . Third quarter . The Longhorns scored once in the third quarter as Young threw a 27 - yard pass to Billy Pittman to increase the Longhorn lead to 25 points . As stated by the Associated Press , " the rout was on " . The Sooners only got within UT territory once , and that drive ended abruptly when Michael Huff intercepted Rhett Bomar ' s pass at the UT36 . This was the first interception for Bomar in 73 attempts . As the third quarter ended , UT had just gained a first down at the OU37 . Fourth quarter . UT did score a touchdown on that drive to go ahead 38 – 6 . The kickoff by UT ' s Greg Johnson went 54 yards to the OU 11 where Lendy Holmes caught the ball and made a 21 - yard return to the OU 32 . UT committed two penalties on the play : a face mask penalty for 15 yards and a personal foul , also for 15 yards . This gave the Sooners their best starting field position of the day : 1st and 10 , OU ball on the UT 38 . From there , OU punched in the touchdown with a five - play series culminating in a 15 - yard pass to Joe Jon Finley . Texas ended their next series by punting . OU drove to the Texas 23 when Brian Robison sacked Bomar and forced a fumble . The ball was picked up by UT ' s Rodrique Wright , who ran 67 yards for a touchdown with 7 : 41 left in the game . For the second time in a row , the Sooners combined a kick - off return with a penalty against Texas . This time , Lendy Holmes fielded the ball at the OU 17 and returned it 29 yards to the OU 46 . The penalty was another personal foul against Texas , which move the ball to the UT 39 . The Texas defense stopped Oklahoma and Garrett Hartley came in to attempt a 41 - yard field goal but it went wide right and UT took over at its own 24 with 2 : 21 remaining and a 45 – 12 lead . Texas ran three running plays and then took a knee to run out the clock . Analysis . Prior to the game , the Longhorns were ranked second by the Associated Press , and the Sooners were unranked for the first time since 1999 , which was also Texas ' s last victory over OU . Texas was favored by 14 points ; they ended up winning the game by 33 points , tying the biggest margin of victory for the Longhorns ( a 40 – 7 victory in 1941 ) in the 100 - game history of the rivalry . The game also marked the sixth time the Longhorns have entered the contest ranked second nationally , and they have won all six times . With the win , Texas started their season 5 – 0 for the first time since 1983 . That also happened to be the last time UT had legitimate national title hopes , ending the regular season 11 – 0 before losing to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl Classic game . For Mack Brown , beating Oklahoma for the first time in five years allowed him to " get the monkey off his back " and shed his reputation as a coach incapable of winning the most important games . By breaking the string of five consecutive losses to Oklahoma , Longhorn coach Mack Brown preserved the Longhorns ' s National Championship hopes . UT Freshman running back Jamaal Charles set a record for rushing yards by a Texas freshman in the series . With his 80 - yard scamper , Charles also had the longest touchdown from scrimmage by a Texas running back in the series . Vince Young completed 14 out of 27 passes for 241 yards and also ran for 45 yards . As a result of the loss , Oklahoma ' s record changed to 39 – 56 – 5 all - time in the Red River Rivalry , while Bob Stoops ’ is 5 – 2 against the Longhorns and 21 – 6 vs . ranked opponents . After the game . As had occurred the two seasons prior when Oklahoma won the Red River Shootout en route to a national title game , the road to the 2005 National Championship game went through Dallas . This time it was Texas who eventually finished the season of 2005 – 2006 as the only undefeated team , winning both the Big 12 Conference championship and the National Championship . The Longhorns ' penultimate victory of the season , in the Big 12 Championship Game , featured the biggest margin of victory in the history of that contest . Their ultimate victory in the 2006 Rose Bowl against the University of Southern California Trojans for the national championship , as well as their overall season , have both been cited as standing among the greatest performances in college football history by publications such as " College Football News " , the " Atlanta Journal - Constitution " , " Scout . com " , and " Sports Illustrated " . The Longhorns and the Trojans were together awarded the 2006 ESPY Award by ESPN for the " Best Game " in any sport . The Longhorns finished the season as the only unbeaten team , with 13 wins and zero losses overall . < ref name = " Win / Loss > College football team records are conventionally expressed in number of wins / losses . 13 – 0 means 13 wins and zero losses . < / ref > The season gave Texas its second Big 12 football championship ( 27 conference championships total , including 25 in the Southwest Conference ) , and fourth consensus national championship in football . It was the ninth perfect season in the history of Longhorn football . UT set numerous school and NCAA records , including most points scored in a season ( 652 ) . After the season ended , six Longhorns from this championship team were selected by professional football teams in the 2006 NFL Draft . With Texas going on to Pasadena to cap the 2005 season by playing for a national title , four of the last six Red River Shootouts have featured a team that went on to play in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game ( 2000 , 2003 – 5 ) . Just prior to the start of Oklahoma ' s 2006 season , Rhett Bomar was kicked off the team for accepting improper cash contributions . On July 11 , 2007 , the NCAA announced a finding of " failure to monitor " the employment of student athletes and handed out penalties . These included a verdict that all wins from the 2005 OU season were vacated , changing the team ' s record from 8 – 4 to 0 – 4 for that year . The University of Oklahoma has announced that it will appeal the finding and the vacation of the wins from the 2005 season . Notes and references . † Oklahoma was later made to vacate their wins from the 2005 season due to violations of NCAA regulations regarding receiving extra compensation .