Some games just mean more, and that was true on Saturday as Oklahoma and Nebraska renewed their rivalry with a compelling defensive affair.
There are games that just mean more. It doesn’t matter the recent history of the two teams involved, whether they’re ranked or not, or how long it’s been since they played. Some games deserve to be played every single year.
First mentioned by Red Dirt Sport on Twitter, this is a game that deserves to be an annual tradition for both sides.
Despite not playing every year when the Big 8 merged with the Southwest Conference and formed the Big 12, the game still held a ton of significance for the two sides on an every other year basis. Nebraska departed the Big 12 for the Big 10 and the two sides hadn’t played in more than a decade until Saturday’s matchup.
The “Game of the Century” anniversary wasn’t the one-sided affair that many believed it would be, but it turned into a compelling game. The Oklahoma Sooners and Nebraska Cornhuskers’ defenses made life difficult on the opposing quarterback and the game, which was just 7-3 in favor of the Sooners at half-time, went right down to the wire.
While it didn’t have the offensive fireworks one’s come to expect from the Oklahoma Sooners, it was a compelling matchup that proved once again how important this game is to the state of college football.
As has been the argument with keeping Bedlam as part of the annual schedule when Oklahoma moves to the SEC, the Sooners should also look to add Nebraska as an annual non-conference game in the future. The two sides will play next year, but after that, they’ll have to wait until 2029 to renew the rivalry.
As Dave Wilson of ESPN says, “As the sport continues to pull apart at the seams, these are the kind of games and rivalries worth preserving.”
The anticipation for Saturday’s matchup had been brewing since the Spring and reached a fever pitch this week when it officially became “Nebraska week.” From the teams to the schools, to the fans, everyone was excited about this game and it turned into a competitive affair that didn’t disappoint.
If you’re a neutral college football fan, especially one that appreciates good defense, then you enjoyed this game.
Much like Florida and Florida State, which played every year from 1958 to 2019 (2020 canceled due to the conference only schedules related to COVID-19 and renewed for 2021), the Oklahoma Sooners should choose the Cornhuskers (and the Oklahoma State Cowboys) as annual non-conference foes in the future.
Nebraska, more than Oklahoma State, is a game that moves the needle in college football. Fans of the sport can remember the heyday of the Big 8 when Oklahoma and Nebraska battled back and forth for conference and national supremacy.
As college football evolves through realignment and traditional rivalries begin to fall by the wayside, there are certain games that should continue on. After more than a decade of inactivity in the rivalry, it got a shot in the arm this weekend that should encourage the two schools to further the matchup in the future.
As the Oklahoma Sooners plan for their future in the SEC, they should figure out a way to make Nebraska an annual game. Even though the Cornhuskers haven’t been overly competitive for the last few years, it’s still an intriguing matchup that moves the needle in college football far more than playing a random Pac-12 school would.
With several SEC teams slated for the non-conference schedule in the next decade, the Sooners could have an opening for a non-conference opponent as those SEC games shift to conference play. Nebraska would be the perfect school to fill the void left in the transition.
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