The consensus seems to be the biggest reason Oklahoma-Nebraska isn’t the rivalry it used to be is the basic fact the Sooners and Huskers don’t play each other every season any more.
It stands to reason, but it’s still only the second biggest reason and quite possibly a distant second. Because the biggest reason this rivalry has lost its luster is Nebraska hasn’t held up its end of the bargain.
But Dr. Tom left and Frank Solich turned out be a solid coach but not much more, then Steve Pederson couldn’t find anybody to coach the team and wound up with Bill Callahan, so what are you going to do?
The funny thing is, it’s almost better this way.
Not for the rivalry as it stands now, but for the rivalry as it once was. Believe it. If this was 2000 or 2001, when the Husker-Sooner winner was sure to be ranked No.1 in the next set of polls, do you think anybody’d be very pumped to wax nostalgic about the good old days?
A pair of top 5 teams sure would make tonight more exciting, but would it have made the week any better? Would anybody care that a bunch of the Game of the Century’s cast of characters was in Norman Friday night, reliving a game played almost 40 years ago?
And if the nation was watching what will begin at 7 p.m. tonight at Owen Field instead of what will begin at 7 p.m. tonight in Lubbock, Texas, do you think Bob Stoops would have been nearly so charming this week?
Because one of the coach’s best sides is the one he offers when playing host to the history of the program, even the parts of it he could only have heard about while growing up in Youngstown, Ohio.
“It’s amazing the championships, the conference titles, all of it. The great players, the great coaches, the records. I don’t know how to say it. I love it,” Stoops said. “I understand that you don’t get this at a lot of places.”
Really, almost none.
Think Stoops would even be asked about the history of the program if it was Nebraska between the Sooners and the top spot in the land instead of a Texas team they’ve already played?
So that’s the upside of the rivalry being on the downside.
Nostalgia.
True blue (or Big Red) nostalgia.
Stoops thinks he probably watched the Game of the Century live, but can’t quite recall where. Not that it’s kept him from referring to the Sooners as “we” even if it’s Bud Wilkinson’s, Chuck Fairbanks’ or Barry Switzer’s Sooners he’s talking about.
Earlier in the week, asked about a highlight film that included moments from the Game of the Century being shown the players, he was asked if Jack Mildren’s touchdown pass was part of the package.
“Yes, it was,” Stoops said. “The one that puts us ahead in the fourth quarter.”
You just have to love it, because it’s not like he’s trying to claim a history not his own nearly so much as he’s trying to sidle up to a history he wants to be connected to.
So there’s that.
Today, in the hours leading up to OU’s having its way with Nebraska and in the wee hours after the rout is complete, fans of both schools, hanging around each other (not a lot of hate in the rivalry, then or now) will reminisce, recall past battles between the two Big Reds that actually had people talking well beyond the boarders of the two states and clink mugs or 12-ounce cans of beer with good-luck wishes attached.
If they were Nos. 1
and 2 in the nation, who’d have time to wax about the past.
Clay Horning
366-3526
cfhorning@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
The upside of the rivalry being down
Commentary
- OU Sports
-
-
OU gearing up for Texas’ Brown
If Oklahoma guard Steven Pledger had his way, tonight’s meeting with Texas will come down to two players: himself and Longhorn guard J’Covan Brown....
-
Sooners will have a dramatically new look up and down the order, on the mound
The clubhouse at L. Dale Mitchell Park hasn’t changed over the last year. Just about everything else has since the 2011 baseball season ended. The locker stalls have 20 new nameplates. The coaches’ locker room has two new ones as well. ...
-
Despite hard fight, UConn wins big
By its own standards, the Connecticut team that took the floor Monday night at Lloyd Noble Center was not in the same class as its previous incarnations. But a down year for the seven-time national champions is still better than just ...
-
Believe it or not, OU women are progressing
Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma appeared plenty willing to embarrass Oklahoma for a third time in seven games....
-
OU reeling from stunning loss to Texas Tech
As Oklahoma’s players headed toward the exit at United Spirit Arena on Saturday night, most had dazed looks on their faces. The 65-47 loss to Texas Tech was something they didn’t see coming....
-
Husky challenge
No time might seem like a good time to face Connecticut. The Huskies are always terrific and this season will enter Lloyd Noble Center likely ranked No. 2 following Notre Dame’s Sunday loss to West Virginia....
-
Sooners put finishing touches on perfect opener
Oklahoma capped off a perfect opening weekend of softball on Sunday with an 11-1 victory over Kent State. The Sooners were led by another strong outing from pitcher Keilani Rickets and an offensive explosion by Allee Allen....
-
Illinois halts OU’s upset
ITHACA, N.Y. — Oklahoma was not upset at the National Duals on Sunday. It did, however, leave disappointed....
-
Sooners fall flat against Raiders
LUBBOCK, Texas — All that progress Oklahoma believes it has been making didn’t make the trip to Texas Tech on Saturday. The Sooners moonwalked their way to a 65-47 loss at United Spirit Arena that easily qualified as the season’s worst ...
-
Sooners narrowly avoid handing Tigers their first win in Big 12 play
Morgan Hook hit the free throws and Kaylon Williams blocked the shot, grabbed the rebound, got fouled and made one of two from the stripe to put the game away....
- More OU Sports Headlines
-
OU gearing up for Texas’ Brown
