Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian has spent 21 of the past 24 years on a college football sideline.

He coached in the Iron Bowl between Auburn and Alabama. He led Washington in the Apple Cup against Washington State and the Border War against Oregon. He manned the headset several times for USC's traditional rivalry game against Notre Dame. Before any of that, he played in the Holy War between BYU and Utah.

Asked where the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma ranks within that group, Sarkisian put it right at the top.

"I would argue this is the premier one to be part of," Sarkisian said on a call with reporters Wednesday. "I've been part of some great games, some great rivalries. This one is just so unique."

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Sarkisian pointed to the neutral setting at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas as something that differentiates it from other rivalries. That it's played in October, and not toward the end of the season like many rivalry games, also makes it special, he said.

"The way the stadium is set up, the way the locker room is set up, there's so much that goes into it," Sarkisian said. "Then you think about the history and tradition, the coaches, the players, the teams that have been involved in this game, the proximity for both schools to Dallas. ... It just creates such an amazing environment that we really try to cherish and take in."

When the Longhorns (5-0, 1-0 SEC) take on the Sooners (4-1, 1-1) on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC), Sarkisian will be trying to get back to .500 in the Red River Rivalry.

Since Sarkisian took charge of the Texas program, a blowout win for the Longhorns in 2022 has been bookended by a pair of one-score losses to the Sooners in 2021 and 2023.

Beyond retaining the Longhorns' No. 1 ranking and stealing bragging rights back from their neighbors to the north, there could be a small extra incentive for Sarkisian this week.

He's never partaken of the array of fried food at the State Fair, he said. Neither has Oklahoma's Brent Venables.

Both said that, if they win, that might change.

"Maybe if we win, I'll try to find a corny dog or something," Sarkisian said.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas vs Oklahoma: Red River Rivalry ranks above Iron Bowl