OU-Nebraska gone for good?
Published: 6/10/2010 9:15 AM
Last Modified: 6/10/2010 9:15 AM
The saddest thing about the Big 12's disintegration would be the end of Oklahoma-Nebraska as we know it.
The rivalry hasn't been the same since the Big Eight's demise. Still, there were always glimmers to remind you of its glory. Game of the Century II in 2000. Mike Stuntz to Eric Crouch in '01. Adrian Peterson's triumphant return in Lincoln '05. The Sooners' 99-yard drive to seal the '06 Big 12 championship.
And how about the Joe Castiglione-orchestrated Game of the Century reunion at the Switze Center the night before the '08 game.
Recently, the storyline became Bob Stoops and Bo Pelini. So much potential in that. The Big Red Network's Darren Carlson put it nicely in June of 2008, the summer before Pelini's first season at the Huskers' helm:
"These men (Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne) were both excellent on the field, and extremely different off of it. Switzer's swagger played perfectly against of Osborne's quiet stoicism, and it made for great theater. Regardless of outcome, the games were meaningful on a human level. The two men came to define and embody the programs they coached for. They both have buildings named in their honor. And, after more than a decade of rivalry, there is a certain kinship evident between them when they make joint public appearances. Their histories are forever intertwined.
"No matter how unlikely it may seem, the mere chance for that sort of program-defining rivalry to rekindle is absolutely exciting to me. Does Bo Pelini's arrival at NU possibly signal such a renewal?"
It sure seemed that way, given the fiercely competitive manner in which the Huskers played while beating OU last year in Lincoln.
Now with Nebraska's departure for the Big Ten imminent, you seriously wonder when the old rivals will meet again. You can forget about the scheduled Big 12 games in 2012 and '13. You sort of need a Big 12 Conference to carry about a Big 12 Conference schedule.
As for non-conferece, With Florida State, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Ohio State are already on the Sooners' slate. The earliest you could realistically hope to work in Nebraska is 2018.
I guess they could meet in a bowl, or at the 2010 Big 12 championship, assuming there is a 2010 Big 12 championship.
Another question: Would there even be interest to resume the rivalry in the first place? You'd love to think so, given the years of classic football and mutual admiration.
But the mold hasn't just been broken with events of the past several weeks, it's been obliterated. Who knows what the future holds? Who knows when we'll see OU play Nebraska again?
These are strange times. Sad ones, too, in a way.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
