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Texas aims to improve a checkered history at AT&T Stadium

by:James Hayden•01/06/25
Jaydon Blue
Jaydon Blue (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Texas is returning to the most famous stadium in all of Texas, and maybe even America, when the Longhorns take the field for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on Friday night. Known as “Jerry World,” AT&T Stadium has served as a major stage in college football and for the Longhorns since it opened in 2009.

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The stadium hosted that year’s Big 12 Championship between Texas and Nebraska, an instant classic with a game-winning field goal giving Texas the 13-12 win and sending the Horns to their most recent appearance in the national championship game.

Texas has a historic record in Cotton Bowls, winning it 11 times. However, UT hasn’t played in the game since 2003. Even then, it was still in the Fair Park at the old Cotton Bowl Stadium.

Their record at AT&T Stadium is more of a mixed bag, going 2-2 in games played in Arlington. Recent memories are more positive as their last contest was the 2023 curb stomping of Oklahoma State en route to Texas’ last Big 12 Championship.

Ohio State has good memories at AT&T Stadium. The Buckeyes won their latest national championship at the end of the 2014 season in Arlington when they defeated Oregon 42-20. They’ve also won a Cotton Bowl, but their most recent showing at the host of Friday’s game was a 14-3 loss to Missouri at the end of last season.

Texas and Ohio State are two of the all-time historic programs, but they’ve seldom played each other. In their few matchups, Texas leads the series 2-1 with a memorable win in Columbus during Vince Young‘s magical 2005 Championship run. Ohio State and Troy Smith earned revenge in Austin the following year.

Their last matchup came in a Fiesta Bowl thriller at the end of the 2009 season. Colt McCoy led Texas on a game-winning drive and threw a touchdown pass to Quan Cosby earn the victory.

While these two titans of college football haven’t met on the gridiron enough up to this point, they are guaranteed to meet twice in the 2025 calendar year. After the Cotton Bowl, Texas is traveling to Columbus and likely starting week 1 of the Arch Manning era at Ohio State. The script is writing itself.

The Longhorns will worry about this game for now and this game is about more than just beating Ohio State and advancing to the National Championship, it’s about Texas reclaiming their legacy. Jerry World is a symbol of football excellence in Texas, and means a lot to players who grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and in the Lone Star State.

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The Longhorns have a chance to dominate in their home state and prove to the country that they are a force to be reckoned with under Steve Sarkisian. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and whether it will be a reflection of past glory or the beginning of a new chapter, this Cotton Bowl showdown promises to be a memorable one.

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