Cotton Bowl, Dallas
Cotton Bowl: 7:30 pm Saturdays score 92, 3:30 pm Saturdays 79
Home of Oklahoma and Texas · SEC · capacity 92,100 · Turf
- 84all Saturdays, Mixed
- 142ndof 167 stadiums
84 is Mixed, and most stadiums score higher.
How the rank works
All 167 stadiums with eight seasons of regular-season Saturdays are ranked by their weather score across every kickoff time, highest first; 1st is the most pleasant. A season can swing a score by 2 to 3 points, so allowing for year-to-year noise (about two chances in three) it ranks between 128th and 150th.
Show a month
All Saturdays
- noon: 81, Mixed
- 3:30 pm: 79, Mixed
- 7:30 pm: 92, Comfortable
Weather score at each kickoff time.
September
In September at Cotton Bowl, a 7:30 pm Saturday scores 86 and a 3:30 pm Saturday 59.
- noon: 62, Rough
- 3:30 pm: 59, Rough
- 7:30 pm: 86, Mixed
Weather score at each kickoff time.
October
In October at Cotton Bowl, a 7:30 pm Saturday scores 97 and a 3:30 pm Saturday 82.
- noon: 84, Mixed
- 3:30 pm: 82, Mixed
- 7:30 pm: 97, Comfortable
Weather score at each kickoff time.
November
In November, kickoff time makes little difference in these Saturdays at Cotton Bowl: scores run 94 to 96, all Comfortable.
- noon: 96, Comfortable
- 3:30 pm: 95, Comfortable
- 7:30 pm: 94, Comfortable
Weather score at each kickoff time.
At kickoff, 114 regular-season Saturdays at each kickoff time, 2018 to 2025.
All Saturdays
Best kickoff time: 7:30 pm (92). Roughest kickoff time: noon and 3:30 pm (81 and 79).
September
Best kickoff time: 7:30 pm (86). Roughest kickoff time: 3:30 pm (59).
October
Best kickoff time: 7:30 pm (97). Roughest kickoff time: noon and 3:30 pm (84 and 82).
November
Little difference by kickoff time. Noon 96, 3:30 pm 95, 7:30 pm 94.
The roughest kickoff time is the lowest of the day's times. It can still be Mixed or Comfortable.
What goes with it
Share of Saturdays here that feel this way over the first 3 hours and 20 minutes after kickoff.
All Saturdays
Feel 85°F or hotter
September
Feel 85°F or hotter
October
Feel 85°F or hotter
November
At every kickoff time, fewer than 5 in 100 of November Saturdays here feel 85°F or hotter, and fewer than 5 in 100 feel under 32°F.
Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.
More about Cotton Bowl
Texas and Oklahoma split the stadium at the 50, and the State Fair of Texas surrounds it at Fair Park.
- The roughest game played hereTexas at Oklahoma, Oct. 12, 2024: feels like 93°F, weather score 54 (Rough). Heat took off the most points.
- Kickoff timesHow games here landed among each Saturday’s kickoff times.
- NetworksHow kickoff times and TV networks line up.
The table behind this page
| Season | Noon | 3:30 pm | 7:30 pm |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Saturdays | 81 | 79 | 92 |
| September | 62 | 59 | 86 |
| October | 84 | 82 | 97 |
| November | 96 | 95 | 94 |
| Saturdays counted | 114 | 114 | 114 |
How this is measured
The score covers the first 3 hours and 20 minutes after kickoff, averaged over every regular-season Saturday from late August to early December, 2018 to 2025, using the nearest airport’s readings, not the stands. Shade, delays and smoke are not in it. Scores within about 2 points are effectively tied. It describes what these Saturdays were like. It is not a forecast and it says nothing about home advantage.
Weather observations: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet at Iowa State University. Weather score version 2.2.