NORMAN, Okla. – Was released. We all now know when and where the Sooners will play each week of the 2021 season.
The Big 12 Conference announced the entire league roster on Thursday afternoon, completing the 12-game schedule for Crimson and Cream. And there are many interesting things to note about this.
1. Brutal end – If the Sooners want to win a seventh consecutive Big 12 Championship and, finally, another spot in the College Football Playoff, they will have to earn it. That’s because they will play two games away from home in November, amid a home dispute against the only team that some may choose to take them down. They are in Baylor on the 13th, returning to host Iowa State the following week, before Bedlam in Oklahoma State to end the regular season on November 27. This is certainly not an easy trio of games, by any means. If they want to get to that point unscathed, they will have to fight to end this way.
2. Just a week of goodbye – Well, it can end up being a good or a bad thing. On the one hand, the OU will be able to roll through the year with some kind of pace. Start humming and there are few things better than playing. On the other hand, if injuries increase or even fatigue becomes a problem – not to mention COVID, if that’s still something then – nine games in a row without a week off can be a cause for concern. From his debut on September 4 against Tulane to an October 30 competition at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium against Texas Tech, OU will take the field every week. Talk about it over and over. But the time of the goodbye week, just before that November stretch starting in Baylor, is a good one.
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3. Trap game city – The Sooners seem to have them with a certain level of regularity. This time, several may catch your eye. When the Sooners enter Manhattan on October 2, I hope their minds do not wander south of the Red River. They shouldn’t, given the fact that Kansas State has won the last two meetings between the two, but somehow it still seems like a possibility. The week after the Red River Showdown is a turnaround against TCU, which can be tricky. Then, on November 13, as mentioned earlier, they go to Waco to face the Bears just a week before possibly playing in the big 12 game of the year against the Cyclones. We’ll see all of that. Does Bedlam, the last week of the regular season, even if it’s Bedlam, also qualify? If the Big 12 Championship is only a few days away, and they are still undefeated and thinking about bigger and better things, this may well be the case.
4. OU-Nebraska … finally – OK, it’s not the fourth most important thing on this list, but when addressing only the conference parts of the list first, it’s the fourth thing we’re talking about. History. Tradition. Pageantry. Fiery fan bases gathered. And during the 1971 “Game of the Century” 50 year season – this is a fantastic setting for an off-conference game. If only it could be played over Thanksgiving weekend, right? But I think everyone will be content with these two getting back together and dueling on the battlefield anytime, anyway. All eyes will be looking forward to September 18, when the Cornhuskers arrive in the city.
5. Very navigable non-con – We will call it as is. The Sooners obviously shouldn’t have-should not– Appear before joining a conference, by any means. There shouldn’t be a chance that they would miss one before hosting West Virginia on September 25th. They opened things up on September 4 in Tulane, hosting the FCS Western Carolina enemy the following week, and then Nebraska arrives a week later. Sooners must have a lot of work done when the leaves start to fall.