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Breaking away from the past was nice, but reconnecting with history will be fun, too
Mizzou Football fans have a lot to be excited about heading into the upcoming 2024 season. And why not, with all of the high-level talent returning along with an established coaching staff? The Tigers, for good reason, are getting a lot of pre-season love and are squarely in the conversation to make the inaugural expanded Playoff – how amazing is that to say?
With myriad reasons to be looking forward to the season, for me personally, one of the things I’m most eager to see in 2024 is our old rival Oklahoma back at Faurot Field.
And I’ve come around 180 degrees on this topic, to be honest.
Initially, when SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced in July of 2021 that both OU and Texas would join the league, I must admit that I wasn’t exactly over the moon about it.
When we left the Big 12 Conference to join the SEC in 2012, Mizzou’s fans (me included) felt a sense of pride in leaving behind such a dysfunctional home for what was undoubtedly the nation’s premier athletic conference. A new neighborhood where everyone rowed in the same direction was a very refreshing concept. Yes, there was a bittersweet element to leaving behind longstanding rivalries that were a hundred years in the making.
But in the end, you evolve, or you wither and possibly die. And Mizzou’s leadership grabbed an SEC opportunity that most pundits never thought they’d have. That meant saying goodbye to lots of memories from over the years with the alleged university to the west and others of course, among them including Oklahoma.
I’ve never really cared for Oklahoma, and quite honestly, it’s probably out of spite, thanks to all the times they denied Mizzou a shot at greatness. I’ll always have a special loathing in my heart for Eduardo Najera and Hollis Price keeping Quin’s 2002-03 team out of our first-ever Final Four (c’mon Clarence, just make one more three pointer, please!). Then it escalated in 2007 when the best Mizzou football team in recent times was denied from playing for the national title thanks to two heartbreaking losses to the Sooners.
I’m sure the scars likely started when Oklahoma stole Joe Castiglione from our athletic department to become their AD in 1998. Those of us on the inside of Mizzou Athletics hated to see Joe go, and we knew they were getting a damn good administrator. The fact that he’s still running the show in Norman some 26 years later proves that’s not even up for debate.
So, what flipped me on choosing to welcome OU to the new-look SEC? I’m not sure I have a tangible reason, honestly. Maybe it’s the strong footing that our football program is on right now? You know, bring on all comers, right? Or maybe I’ve finally admitted to myself that I do indeed miss some of the history that we all grew up with?
Whatever the reason, I’m ready to move past any animosity with our old conference foe and be part of some new memories. I’ll even choose to look past how God-awful their version of crimson red is. And don’t get me started on the fact that their band only knows one song.
A quick aside: I’d love to see a survey from Mizzou fans asking what school has the most annoying fight song – Oklahoma or Tennessee? That’s a tough question to ponder.
Back on topic. How different will the Tigers-Sooners series be moving forward? Quite a bit, I would submit.
For starters, while league officials haven’t disclosed future schedules beyond 2025 (and why would they, given the increasing odds that the SEC will continue expansion at some point), the teams won’t likely be playing every single year. It will be an on-again, off-again resumption of the old rivalry, but even though it will be a little disjointed compared to days of yore, it will still be fun for Tiger fans of a certain age to see the rivalry renewed.
Most importantly, the biggest difference from the past will center around the fact that the talent levels with the football programs are on even grounds. Admittedly, that wasn’t the case in the past, as the Sooners owned the series with Mizzou historically, with OU holding a massive 67-24-5 advantage on the gridiron.
Don’t look now, but Mizzou is the program being projected to reach the College Football Playoff this year, not Oklahoma!
I’ll go so far as to argue that this is the most important game of the year for Tiger fans. How uplifting would it be for Mizzou to welcome Sooner fans to Columbia in November while sending them home with a humbling loss? What better way to welcome them to the SEC? If this is not going to be the same old case of OU bullying Mizzou around, it’s vital for the Tigers to establish themselves as equals from the start.
The Peace Pipe trophy that used to go to the winning team is no longer, having been lost at some point. What will the teams play for going forward? If you have any great suggestions, leave them in the comment section.
No matter what the outcome is on November 9th at Faurot Field, I say welcome Oklahoma, even if it’s a little begrudging in feeling. Let’s just go ahead and win the game to make sure they go home sad.
Here’s a look at a handful of the most memorable or significant games in the Mizzou-Oklahoma series:
1960 – #2 Mizzou 41, Oklahoma 19
1983 – Mizzou 10, #11 Oklahoma 0
1998 – #20 Mizzou 20, Oklahoma 6
2002 – #3 Oklahoma 31, Mizzou 24
2007 – #6 Oklahoma 41, #11 Mizzou 31
2007 – #9 Oklahoma 38, #1 Mizzou 17
2010 – #18 Mizzou 36, #3 Oklahoma 27
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