Oklahoma football: Sooners move up season opener to August 29

NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 29: An end zone pylon during the Baylor Bears vs. Oklahoma Sooners game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Baylor 66-33. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 29: An end zone pylon during the Baylor Bears vs. Oklahoma Sooners game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Baylor 66-33. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

The 2020 Oklahoma football season will kickoff a week earlier than originally planned.

The Sooners delayed by several weeks bringing their players back to campus for voluntary workouts, but they are moving up the start date to the season to Aug. 29, when they will host Missouri State. Although the two actions could appear to be in conflict, the reasoning behind them is consistent: protecting the health and safety of players and staff stemming from the coronavirus.

Oklahoma was originally scheduled to open the season over Labor Day weekend on Sept. 5. By moving up the date by a week, it will enable the Sooners to have a week off after each of their first three games. There was already a week off between Game 2 with Tennessee and Game 3 at Army.

There is still some question whether the college football season will start on time because of a continued surge, especially in the southern and southwestern states, in COVID-19 cases.

“If the season is indeed permitted to start as scheduled, the benefit of extra time between games will help our team manage any variety of possible circumstances that might occur,” said OU athletic director Joe Castiglione in a statement issued by the school’s athletic department.

“It provides us a more gradual approach to safely manage the conditions of these unprecedented times,” he said.

The Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences have already decided to eliminate all nonconference games and play only conference games this season. The Big 12 is hopeful that the season will start on time and that its teams can play a full schedule, but it is not ready yet to finalize that decision and may not for a couple more weeks.

The Big 12 presidents are also considering a plus-one schedule as a contingency, which would consist of a nine-game conference schedule and one nonconference game for a total of 10 games.