The Southeastern Conference is finally a 16-team league with the official addition of Oklahoma and Texas on Monday.
With the expansion of the league, which was initially announced in July 2021, the conference will be ditching the football divisions format for the 2024 season and the top two teams will meet for the SEC Championship on Dec. 7.
Arkansas is likely set to face rival Texas on a yearly basis moving forward, including a Nov. 16 meeting in Fayetteville this year. The Razorbacks will see Oklahoma on the schedule at some point in the future, but not in 2024.
Part of the 1992 SEC expansion along with South Carolina, the Razorbacks' rivalry with Texas — which dates back to Arkansas' time with the Longhorns in the Southwest Conference — is something that fans have to be ecstatic about.
"This is a day we have been building toward for years," Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said Sunday. "Our fans are really excited about this. You can tell by the turnout. It just means more to the fans in the Southeast Conference and their schools."
To see how much fans are ready for the Razorbacks and Longhorns to rekindle their heated back-and-forth affair, look no further than the 2021 football season. On Sept. 11 of that year, Arkansas hosted Texas for a 40-21 beatdown of the team in burnt orange with 74,531 fans in attendance at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
In the second year of head coach Sam Pittman's tenure, the Razorbacks totaled 471 yards of offense and 333 rushing yards on the evening. Former quarterback KJ Jefferson threw for 138 yards and one touchdown while adding 10 carries for 73 rushing yards. Former running backs Trelon Smith, Raheim "Rocket" Sanders, AJ Green and Dominique Johnson all scored rushing touchdowns.
Arkansas had three linebackers with double-digit tackles against the Longhorns — Hayden Henry (15), Grant Morgan (13) and Bumper Pool (10). Defensive tackle John Ridgeway and edge rusher Zach Williams both had a sack in the game, while Henry and Morgan combined for 5.0 tackles for loss.
That meeting was just the sixth between Arkansas and Texas since 2000, and the Cotton Bowl matchup on Jan. 1, 2000, was the first meeting since 1991. The Razorbacks won that Cotton Bowl matchup, 27-6, and they are 4-2 against the Longhorns over the past six games. Texas owns a 56-23 all-time record against Arkansas.
You have to go back to Jan. 1, 2002, for Arkansas' last game against Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated the Razorbacks, 10-3, in the Cotton Bowl by holding the Hogs to just 50 total yards of offense. Oklahoma tied a school record at the time with nine sacks, as Jimmy Wilkerson, Brandon Moore and Roy Williams all had two sacks each.
Arkansas quarterbacks Zak Clark and Matt Jones combined to complete just two passes, both by Clark, who was 2-of-12 with an interception while Jones was 0-of-1 and fumbled to end the second-to-last drive of the game.
The Sooners gained a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Nate Hybl in the first quarter and a 32-yard field goal by kicker Tim Duncan to open the second half, while the Razorbacks hit a fourth quarter field goal to avoid the shutout.
Oklahoma holds a 10-4-1 all-time record against Arkansas and that includes a 103-0 victory in Norman, Oklahoma, on Nov. 16, 1918.
Arkansas will open its 2024 season on Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
