2008 Big 12 Conference South Division 3-way tie controversy

The final standings of the 2008 Big 12 Conference's South Division football regular season resulted in the first 3-way division tie in the Big 12. The decision of which team would be selected to represent the division in the 2008 Big 12 Championship Game was controversial. Ultimately, the Oklahoma Sooners were chosen by their higher ranking in the polls, over the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The game against the 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team marked the 103rd meeting of the Red River Rivalry, which has been called one of the greatest sports rivalries. It is the longest running rivalry for the Longhorns. Since 1929 the game has been held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas typically in mid-October with the State Fair of Texas occurring adjacent to the stadium. Prior to 2008, Texas led the series 57–40–5.

In the week prior to facing the Oklahoma Sooners, Longhorn fans conduct their traditional Torchlight Parade and Rally. The rally first took place in 1916 prior to a game versus Texas A&M, but since 1986 it has been an annual event held exclusively during the week prior to the Texas–Oklahoma game. Another annual tradition is the running of game balls by the schools' Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs. Each school's ROTC program uses a relay running system to run one game ball all the way from their respective campus to Dallas. Once there, they participate against each other in a football scrimmage, with the winner taking home a rivalry trophy and bragging rights.

Texas won this meeting, 45–35. It was the highest scoring event in the history of the rivalry, and it was seen by the most fans ever to attend the Red River Rivalry—a record 92,182.

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