There will be as close as fans can get to a real college football game this time of year on Saturday, April 18, at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables brought back the Sooners' spring game for 2026 after it was briefly replaced last year with the infamous Crimson Combine, which was basically a glorified practice in front of fans. Venables now, though, hopes the spring game mirrors a real game to benefit his team, which is exactly what fans wanted.
No more Crimson Combine with the return of the spring game was a win for all Sooners
"We don't have many opportunities to be able to get out and play and get everybody off the field, and bring a crowd in and let our guys have an experience for what game day will be similar to, so this will be an opportunity to really evaluate where we're at from that standpoint, and really just operationally," Venables said Monday in the midst of OU's spring camp. "The season's gonna come quick from our opener with UTEP to going on the road in three of the first five weeks is gonna be a great, great challenge.
"So anytime we can get in the stadium and play and try to simulate a game is going to be really beneficial for us."
The Sooners followed a college football trend a year ago of canceling spring games. Although Venables didn't admit it on Monday, a transfer window during the spring and massive roster cuts influenced that decision for many, including Oklahoma. The Transfer Portal now opens just once in the winter, and coincidentally, the spring game returned to Norman.
Fans instead got the Crimson Combine last spring. The team participated in drills for about an hour inside a near-empty Memorial Stadium before meeting fans and signing autographs. The event was overall a flop, so fans rejoiced back in February when OU announced the return of a spring game, which thankfully also meant the death of the Crimson Combine.
Between reactions from fans and Venables' recent comments, the spring game is obviously a win for everybody involved, so should be a tradition that never disappears again.