It will be rivalry week throughout college football next week, but in Missouri, it already is before the Tigers travel to face the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday. However, in Oklahoma, it's still just another week with another football game.
Missouri continues to try to make the matchup between the Tigers and Sooners a rivalry -- and now so is the SEC -- but it's just not a game that excites and gets the blood boiling for OU fans, no matter the history throughout multiple conferences.
It doesn't do anything for players or coaches either. Missouri media at SEC Media Days the past two summers consistently asked OU players about Mizzou being a rival, but every time, the Sooners brushed the questions off, while Missouri players truly believe it's a storied rivalry. OU head coach Brent Venables also gave his honest opinion during this week's press conference.
Brent Venables downplays Oklahoma-Missouri rivalry
"Well, I mean, they're going to be on our schedule every year for the foreseeable future," Venables said. "And all those other things to me, they mean nothing to me. They probably mean something to somebody else, but I don't get into all that. You don't hear me spouting back at whatever is out there. I just laugh at it. It's OK. I mean, I don't mind it whether it's good or bad, or at me or at us or someone else, it's just not my style.
"I try to focus on what it takes to win and things that matter the most and things that I can control, so if everybody wants to make that a rival, fine. If they don't, I'm fine, too."
Although coaches tend to downplay the significance of games during press conferences, that's not the same tone Venables used leading up to the Red River Rivalry, or even Bedlam when it was still on the schedule. That significance wasn't forced, though.
Oklahoma and Missouri have met 97 times between multiple conferences, including their first clash as fellow SEC members last season. The two programs met every season between 1919 and 2011 before Missouri was the first of the two to leave the Big 12 for the SEC. The Sooners then joined the SEC last year, and the conference immediately put Mizzou back on their schedule to reignite the annual clash.
The SEC earlier this year also designated every member three annual conference opponents to promote rivalries within the league. The Sooners were given Texas, Missouri and Ole Miss. OU fans voiced they did not want Missouri included in the trio. That regular pairing with Mizzou is the only reason for this to be considered a rivalry, and it takes more than that for rivalries to be ignited.
The Sooners hold a 67-24-5 lead in the lopsided all-time series with no state bragging rights or unique trophy on the line. Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz pointed out during his opening statement this week that it's been 59 years since the Tigers have beaten the Sooners in Norman.
“It's our past history -- it doesn't have to be our future history," Drinkwitz said. "But, I think it reminds our guys that this is not a normal road trip, this is not a normal road environment, that this is a championship brand that has a history of success, and we haven't had the history of success at that place, so we're going to have to really lock in, increase our focus, make sure our preparation is really top notch."
The Sooners are most concerned this week about continuing that storied success. That's why the next game matters no matter the opponent. If the Sooners win their next two games, they'll secure a spot in the College Football Playoff, where Missouri has never been in any format.
There's certainly history between the Sooners and Tigers. Is it a historical matchup? Sure. But a rivalry? Not a chance, no matter how one side feels.