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Nebraska contacted Old Dominion and the State of New Mexico for a college football game on September 18 that would have replaced a showdown against Oklahoma – one of the flagship games of the 2021 season – on the Cornhuskers’ schedule, have sources told CBS Sports.
However, the Cornhuskers reaffirmed their commitment to play the Sooners this season in a statement released hours after reports of their attempts to leave the game surfaced.
“The University of Nebraska is looking forward to playing Oklahoma in Norman on September 18,” Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos said in a statement Friday afternoon. “Due to the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to the Husker athletics and the local community, our administration explored the possibility of adding an eighth game this fall. This option would have helped us to mitigate the measures. reducing costs and providing a lot-needed to jumpstart our economy. Ultimately, the decision was made to move our game forward in Oklahoma in 2021. “
Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione released a statement earlier Friday afternoon stating that the Sooners have never strayed from the game. “The Oklahoma-Nebraska football series represents one of college football’s most unique traditional rivalries,” he said. he said in a press release. “… We fully intend and plan to play the game as planned.”
The renewal of the Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry has been anticipated since Nebraska left the Big 12 for the Big Ten in 2010. The game scheduled for September 18 in Oklahoma was publicized as the 50th anniversary of the legendary Game of the Century between the two. . teams in 1971. The programs are also scheduled to play in 2022 in Nebraska.
McMurphy first reported that Nebraska was “trying to stop playing” the Oklahoma game, adding that Old Dominion and other MAC programs had been contacted by Nebraska.
“Nebraska reached out to [Old Dominion], but it’s unclear whether they’re going to be able to extricate themselves from the Oklahoma game, “a source involved in college football programming originally told CBS Sports.” They contacted ODU. “
“I think [Nebraska has] called everywhere, ”a senior MAC source told CBS Sports.
Despite Nebraska’s statement, it’s unclear why the Cornhuskers attempted such a scheduling change so close to the start of the season. It would have been highly irregular to cancel a gaming contract six months before kick-off.
This particular contract was entered into by Castiglione and former Nebraska AD Tom Osborne in 2012.
“[This is] incredibly late. These schedules have cement built around them, ”said one person involved in the college football scheduling process.
Old Dominion has a game scheduled for September 18 against Liberty.
The effort reported by Nebraska drew criticism on Friday. Nebraska coach Scott Frost said a year ago that his schedule prefers to play even if the Big Ten cancel their 2020 season.
“There is certainly a lot of internal turmoil in Nebraska right now,” the original source said.
Spokesmen for Old Dominion and Nebraska did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
It was the long-standing relationship between the schools of Nebraska and Oklahoma that first brought a revival of the rivalry. Oklahoma (50) and Nebraska (46) have won more conference titles combined than any pair of schools. Osborne and Barry Switzer faced each other 17 times from 1973 to 1988. Oklahoma won 12 of those games.
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