Ah, yes, now almost two years after Oklahoma followed Texas into the SEC monstrosity and ended its 119-year feud with Oklahoma State, at least on a Big 12-member basis, the calls to renew the in-state rivalry have broken loose on the internet as of Friday morning.
Sooner alum Dusty Dvoracek raised the question on KREF Oklahoma radio on Thursday, and ended up answering it before the end of the soundbite.
“You telling me that Sooner fans wouldn’t love for Oklahoma State to come down from Stillwater and kick their heads in Norman,” Dvoracek said. “I think they would be fired up for that opportunity… That makes me wonder, too, would that be your only Power 4 out-of-conference game?”
Why would Oklahoma expend one of its coveted three non-conference games – directly thanks to the SEC’s expanded, nine-game conference schedule – after everything its done to distance itself from the Big 12 and its counterparts over the past five years.
Let me rephrase: Why should Oklahoma State, a Power 4 program attempting an NIL-era rebuild under former North Texas head coach Eric Morris, commit to filling one of its four non-Big 12 spots with a game that doesn’t necessarily help anyone three weeks in.
And, look, I’m a big fan of college football rivalries and wish the best for those existing matchups and hope they can be preserved for ages down the line. But some games, such as the limited Border War revival between Kansas and Missouri, might just end up hurting the former by the end of it. To be fair, that was a mutually agreed series between two vastly different programs, including one that has only just recently become competitive again.
The bar is pretty low for Morris, though, after Oklahoma State posted its worst finish (1-11) since a winless campaign in 1991. The Texas native welcomed a potential Bedlam rematch earlier in December, but words are free; He knows the fans want this game back, but how far it’ll go in helping football in Stillwater long-term is wildly uncertain.
I have faith in Morris steering the Cowboys back into a winning direction beginning with the 2026 season, but if you’re talking about maximizing the winnable games at your choosing, I’m not sure that scheduling Oklahoma isn’t anything more than eye candy for fans and a headache for a head football coach.
The Sooners’ next five Power 4 non-conference dates are: at Michigan (2026), at SMU (2027), at Houston (2028); and a home-and-home with Nebraska in 2029 and 2030. The earliest Oklahoma could potentially add Oklahoma State to their schedule is that 2029 season, which would now, theoretically, include two Power 4 opponents back-to-back.
The bottom line is this: Oklahoma knew what jumping out of the Big 12 circle would do to the rivalry, and money talked louder than its longstanding in-state series with Oklahoma State. And, to be fair, we’re only talking football here – the schools have met multiple times in basketball, baseball, softball, and more since the change.
Oklahoma State looks nothing like the 2023 version of itself that toppled Brent Venables-led Oklahoma in 2023. The Cowboys are out to retool expectations behind a mega portal class in 2026, but there’s no certainty around anything anymore.
