Death. Taxes. Nebraska football coaches being terrified to play the Oklahoma Sooners.
Former Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos recently released a new book that revealed some telling stories from his time leading the Cornhuskers, and one in particular about former Nebraska head coach Scott Frost, who also played for the Cornhuskers, trying every way possible to get out of playing the Sooners went viral after Nebraska On3 writer Steve Sipple recently confirmed the tale to be true.
Sipple during his radio show on 93.7 The Ticket this week admitted that Frost even tried to use local media to convince Moos and the rest of Nebraska's administration that it was a bad idea for the Cornhuskers to play OU in a scheduled nonconference matchup in 2021 while Frost was already on the hot seat.
Sooners dominance exposed as Scott Frost tried to avoid rivalry game
"I don't want to throw Frost under the bus, but I can say Frost called me twice and said, 'Hey, what do you think if I cancel the Oklahoma game?'" Sipple said. "He called me once, and I thought he was kidding, and he wasn't. 'He said, would you back me on this?' And I said, 'No. I'm not going to back you on this. I don't think it's a good idea.' Then he called me back a few weeks later and said, 'Hey, have you thought about it?' And I was like, 'No, I didn't really have to think about it. It's tricky. You're not going to be able to do this.'"
"Frost called me twice and said, ' hey what do you think if I cancelled the Oklahoma game,'"
— 93.7 The Ticket (@937TheTicket) February 10, 2026
On Early Break @steven_sipple shared a story about when Nebraska football attempted to opt out of the 2021 Oklahoma game. Frost called Sipple asking if he would maybe back the decision.… pic.twitter.com/G9J2JYE4Mg
Against his will, Frost still had to ultimately lead the Cornhuskers into Norman in 2021 to briefly renew a storied rivalry. The Sooners won 23-16, but Frost was at least saved from the embarrassment of a 49-14 beatdown the next year in Lincoln because he was fired right before that rematch. Current head coach Matt Rhule, who's entering his fourth season in charge, ultimately replaced Frost.
It apparently wasn't just Frost who's afraid to restore a rivalry and take on the Sooners, though. Last summer, Rhule whined to Husker Online about having to play any sort of extra nonconference competition since the Big Ten had nine conference games on the schedule while the SEC still had eight before changing that shortly after.
“I think, again, you’re talking about a league that we play nine conference games where some others play eight," Rhule told Husker Online then. "So I think that puts you at an automatic disadvantage. You look at two years ago we were 5-7, and you think about the years with Scott Frost where he was 5-7, now you add in one more Group of Five team, you take out one more Big Ten, and actually now you’re 6-6. This year you’re 6-6, now you’re 7-5. You’re just adding another win in."
OU and Nebraska are scheduled to meet again in 2029 in Norman, then in Lincoln the next year. Other than causing OU fans to laugh at the thought of being worried about going 7-5 instead of 6-6, Rhule's comments at the time seemed to put those future dates in danger as he was likely doing the same thing as Frost and begging his AD to get the Sooners off his schedule.
As of now, though, the Sooners and Cornhuskers are still slated to meet again, but in three years, it's unlikely Rhule still has his job at Nebraska, but at this point, even the next guy will want no part of the Sooners, who have won three in a row over the Cornhuskers.