The Oklahoma football game with Nebraska in the coming season appears to be on as scheduled.
Following reports that surfaced on Friday that Nebraska was trying to get out of the 2021 game at Oklahoma, officials at Nebraska issued a statement, published by ESPN and others, acknowledging “our administration did explore the possibility of adding an eighth home game this fall.
“Ultimately, the decision was made to mover forward with our game at Oklahoma in 2021.”
Nebraska athletic director Bill Moss went on to explain that the option of adding another home game in the 2021 “would have helped mitigate cost-cutting measures and provided a much-need boost to our local economy,” which was severely impacted by the health and safety restrictions imposed and resulting loss of revenue created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The longtime rivalry was interrupted after 2010 when Nebraska left the Big 12 to become a member of the Big Ten. Shortly after that, the two schools agreed to a home-and-home series in 2021 and ’22. A second two-game scheduling arrangement was agreed to for 2029 (at OU) and 2030 (at Nebraska).
The 2021 game, scheduled for Sept. 18, is being billed as the 50th anniversary of the classic 1971 “Game of the Century,” when top-ranked Nebraska defeated No. 2 Oklahoma 35-31 in an epic college football showdown for the ages.
On Friday, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione responded to various media inquiries, tweeting the OU fully expected the game to take place.
“We’ve been looking forward to celebrating these two storied programs and have been collaborating on various aspects of what promised to be a special weekend.”
“We have the utmost respect for the University of Oklahoma and this storied rivalry,” said Nebraska AD Moss. “I know our fans have been excited about this series for a long time.”