Oklahoma football: Breaking down second-quarter of 2021 schedule
By Chip Rouse
The first half of the 2021 Oklahoma football season is divided between three opening nonconference opponents and the first three games in a nine-game, round-robin Big 12 schedule.
A week or so ago, we looked at the first three games on the Sooners’ schedule — quarter one of the 2021 OU season, as we referred to it. Today, we move to the second quarter of the season with a short overview of games four through six on the Oklahoma schedule.
It’s probably safe to say the first three games against conference opponents and the final three Big 12 games on the Sooners’ schedule are the two most difficult stretches.
OU begins the second quarter of the season by hosting West Virginia, followed by a road trip to Manhattan, Kansas, to play a Kansas State team that has been a giant thorn in the Sooners’ side in recent seasons. The week after the K-State game, Oklahoma heads to Dallas, Texas, for its annual Red River Showdown with archrival Texas.
The Sooners’ final three games of the regular season are at Baylor, at home to face a very good Iowa State team and then off to Stillwater for Bedlam with Oklahoma State. In between are games with TCU, at Kansas and Texas Tech.
Sept. 25 — Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
The Sooners stumbled in their Big 12 opener last season, losing at home to Kansas State. Don’t expect Oklahoma to repeat history this season, although West Virginia is expected to have one of the better defensive teams in the Big 12.
Oklahoma has never lost to West Virginia since the Mountaineers became members of the Big 12 Conference in 2012. The Sooners are 8-0 against West Virginia in the Big 12 and 10-2 overall.
Last year’s meeting between these two teams in Morgantown was cancelled because of a COVID-19 outbreak impacting the West Virginia team.
Oct. 2 — Oklahoma at Kansas State
Oklahoma’s 76 all-time wins against Kansas State are the Sooners’ third most against any Big 12 team (76-21-4), but K-State has won the last two games between the two teams. The Wildcats rallied from 24 points down in the second half to record a 38-35 upset of the Sooners last season in Norman.
The year before, the Wildcats broke open a close game at the half, scoring 24 unanswered second-half points on the way to a 48-41 win over the Sooners and quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Spencer Rattler was the OU quarterback when K-State stunned the Sooners last season. That loss is probably still very fresh in his memory, and he and his Oklahoma teammates will be looking for redemption against a well-coached Wildcat team with a veteran quarterback and a good and highly disciplined defense,
Oct. 9 — Oklahoma vs. Texas in Dallas
Texas has a new head coach this season. Steve Sarkisian will get his first taste of leading the Longhorns against the Sooners in the annual Red River rivalry game. It will also be the first time in four years that Sam Ehlinger has not been the Texas quarterback in this annual rivalry, one of the biggest in college football.
Texas is the only Big 12 team that Oklahoma has an all-time losing record against. Texas owns an all-time series record of 62-49-5 against the Sooners, but OU has won the last three games in this series.
Last season, this game was played before an empty Cotton Bowl Stadium because of health and safety concerns associated with COVID-19. This time, the Cotton Bowl will be at full capacity (92,000-plus) and decked out with half the stadium dressed in Texas’ burnt orange colors and the other half in OU crimson.