The Oklahoma football rivalry with Nebraska began in the early 1900s.
The first game between the two longtime conference rivals was in 1912, eight years before they became members of the same conference, at that time known as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association. From 1920 until 2011, Oklahoma and Nebraska were members of the same conference, which took on several iterations over the years as new members were added and subtracted, eventually becoming what is now the Big 12 Conference.
There have been some epic games in this rivalry series, most of the truly classic ones coming in the 1970s and ’80 with Barry Switzer and Nebraska’s Tom Osborne as the respective head coaches.
Texas will always be Oklahoma’s biggest rival, but the Sooners’ century-old history with Nebraska ranks a close second.
Between OU and Nebraska, they have combined for 12 national titles in football (seven by Oklahoma, five by Nebraska), 1,826 victories all-time (OU’s 919 ranks sixth nationally; Nebraska’s 907 is seventh), 96 conference titles (50 by OU ranks No. 1 in college football, Nebraska owns 46) and 10 Heisman Trophy winners (seven by OU, three by the Huskers).
In the 86 games between the Sooners and Cornhuskers since the first game was played in 1912, there have been blowouts on both sides, close games decided by seven points or less and, for sure, there have been surprise endings. The term “Sooner Magic” actually evolved from the Oklahoma-Nebraska football series.
Although there have been many great games in the 100-plus years of this rivalry, the best of the best have come during the mid-1960s through the ’80s — at least that is the period that stands out in the minds of most Sooner fans.
We singled out the five best games in the OU-Nebraska rivalry during that era: