In the middle of the Texas State Fair and in front of 93,552 fans — half in crimson and half in burnt orange split right down the 50-yard-line — two new head coaches roamed the sidelines.

For the first time in years, there was an energy in the Cotton Bowl that could be felt from the first kickoff to the final tackle — when the dust settled and the Sooners had won 29-24. Texas' (3-3, 2-1 Big 12) Tom Herman and Oklahoma's (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) Lincoln Riley put the rivalry back in Red River rivalry.

With all eyes on them, the two coaches and their teams did not disappoint. They coached a game that kept every fan in the stadium until it was finally over almost four hours after it started. It was a physical battle, with both teams leaving it all on the field.

"That's why they call it the Red River rivalry," Riley said. "What a great game. The atmosphere was electric."

History did not repeat itself for the Sooners this year. Oklahoma and Texas had both brought new coaches to the matchup at the same time just three times before, and Texas was 2-0-1 in games like this. Riley put one in the win column, as the Sooners avoided losing back-to-back regular season games for the first time since 1999.

After Oklahoma's loss to Iowa State the week before, the Sooners and the Longhorns were as equal going into the game as they had been in recent memory.

The fight was evident on the Sooners' defense from the very beginning, proving itself after its poor showing in Big 12 play so far. For Texas, the ability to battle back was important. The Longhorns cut a 20-0 lead in half by halftime and found themselves with a one-point lead in the fourth quarter.

With "Texas Fight" and "Boomer Sooner" ringing throughout the stadium, it was hard to hear anything else. At some points, the clearest indicator of which way the momentum was going was by which color fan base was cheering and which had fallen silent.

"For me, it was exciting," Herman said. "I don't know that you have time to soak it all in or reminisce or anything like that ... but it is a really unique college football experience and one that I'm looking forward to each and every year."

One of the best rivalries in college football lived up to its potential on Saturday. With the first meeting in Dallas of the Herman and Riley eras in the books, the expectation for what the 113th Red River rivalry, and many more after, will be has only gone up. These two coaches brought new life to their programs and to a storied rivalry whose best days may still be in front of it.