Oklahoma football: Ranking Sooners’ future non-conference opponents
![MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: The Oklahoma Sooners line up against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: The Oklahoma Sooners line up against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/8b42c833ea4903040ed699d9f65144988440867a528ba02b49a7998796b70ef7.jpg)
Clemson | 2035 (away) | 2036 (away)
All-time series record: Clemson leads 3-2
Last meeting: 2015 – Clemson 37, Oklahoma 17 *2015 Orange Bowl & College Football Playoff semifinal
There’s not a hotter program in the country right now than Clemson, which currently shares a spot with Alabama one of the two dominant teams in college football right now. The Tigers have been to four-straight College Football Playoffs, three of the past four national title games and have won a pair of titles in a rapid rise to the top of the mountain. Sooners fans should know first hand just how good Clemson is right now. The Tigers own two blowout victories over Oklahoma in recent bowl games including a 40-6 drubbing that sent Josh Heupel packing out of Norman and a 37-17 win that eliminated the Sooners from the CFP in Lincoln Riley’s first year as offensive coordinator in Norman. While there is no telling what will happen when these two teams finally do take the field in 16 and 17 years, there’s plenty of reason to be buzzing about this matchup in the Year of Our Lord 2019.
“The other” Death Valley is a fun place to see a game and Clemson’s entrance is unlike any other in college football. Though the Tigers play in the ACC, their location of South Carolina gives off the kind of Old South feel you would find in several of the traditional SEC schools and should be a fun trip for the people who are populating this earth in a decade and a half. Maybe Sooner fans will be able to take their flying cars to the game?
Nebraska | 2021 & 2029 (home) | 2022 & 2030 (away)
All-time series record: Oklahoma leads 45-38-3
Last meeting: 2010 – Oklahoma 23, Nebraska 20 * 2010 Big 12 Championship Game
One of college football’s best rivalries has been on hiatus for a painfully-long time since the Cornhuskers made the move to the Big 10 in 2011 and by 2021 it will be way past overdue to renew it. Nebraska has been down since switching conferences, but looks to be headed in the right direction under former quarterback and current head coach Scott Frost.
Whether the Cornshuskers are up for it or not, these games will carry special significance for older Sooner fans especially, drawing out memories of Thanksgiving Day meetings between the two proud programs that always seemed to hold both conference and national championship significance. The 2021 meeting will come with extra pomp and circumstance as both programs celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century. Expect living legends to return for a huge ceremony. Who knows, maybe they can pull some strings and put the game on Thanksgiving weekend for old time’s sake?
Lincoln, Nebraska is far from a traditional tourist destination, but for six Saturdays in the fall it’s one of college football’s best spectacles. Few can truly understand the importance of football in Nebraska without seeing it first hand and bringing in an old rival will only make these road games even more special.