A 'Classic' and a 'Rivalry': UT football games against Alabama, Oklahoma get new looks

AUSTIN (KXAN) — When the Texas Longhorns head to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 9, the game will have a made-for-television name.

The matchup will be the inaugural Allstate Crossbar Classic, which is intended to promote a "bowl-style atmosphere" for a marquee early-season game. The Longhorns and Crimson Tide meet in Week 2 of the college football season at 6 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Learfield, a marketing company that represents NCAA football along with 200 colleges and universities including Texas, is behind the branding of not only this game but also the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry game played during the State Fair of Texas at the Cotton Bowl.

Allstate is also the title sponsor of the game, branded once again as the Red River Rivalry after several iterations previously, most recently the Red River Showdown. The "Rivalry" brand was last used for the 2013 game. The 119th meeting between the bitter rivals is set for Oct. 7 on ABC. A game time will be announced at a later date.

All three of the Longhorns' nonconference games have times set. Texas opens the season at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium at 2:30 p.m., Sept. 2, against the Rice Owls, followed by the Allstate Crossbar Classic. Texas comes back home Sept. 16 to face Wyoming at 7 p.m.