I was 18 years old when No. 1 Nebraska played No. 2 Oklahoma in the “Game of the Century” in Norman in 1971.

I was crushed when Nebraska won, 35-31. The Sooners, behind quarterback Jack Mildren played more like a track team than a football team.

OU went 11-1 and Southern Cal was the only team that came close besides Nebraska. OU beat the Trojans 33-20.

OU blasted Texas 48-27 and trampled Oklahoma State 58-14. Colorado only lost two games that season and one of those losses was to OU, 45-17. (Colorado ended the year ranked No. 3 behind Nebraska and OU).

In the Sugar Bowl, the consolation prize for the Sooners was a convincing 40-22 win over Auburn.

Nobody got close to the Cornhuskers in 1971. The famed Nebraska defense shut out Missouri, Kansas and Iowa State. OSU scored 13 points in a 41-13 loss to Nebraska and Alabama managed only six points in a 38-6 pounding by the Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl.

Nebraska only surrendered 104 total points that year and OU got 31 of those points.

Oklahoma scored 534 points (44.5 points per game) that season.

OU got revenge a year later with a 17-14 win over Nebraska in Lincoln.

That great rivalry came to a screeching halt when Nebraska bolted from the Big 12 Conference for the Big Ten Conference. OU and NU wanted to keep playing on a nonconference basis but the scheduling was done too far in advance to accommodate that game. Nebraska didn’t think much of Texas as a conference mate and some of the snooty professors at Nebraska wanted to be in the Big Ten because they considered it to be more prestigious academically and in football.

That switch hasn’t turned out too well for Nebraska (or for Missouri who went to the Southeastern Conference and Colorado who went to the Pac-12 Conference). Nebraska, Missouri and Colorado had won league titles in the now-defunct Big Eight and Big 12 and now they really haven’t come very close in their new conferences.

OU will get a rematch with Nebraska at 11 a.m. September 18 in Norman – 50 years after the Game of the Century.

The nice thing about the OU-Nebraska rivalry is that the fans never hated each other. That’s not the case in the Red River Rivalry with Texas.

Some OU fans despise OSU but not so much since we have to live in the same state together.

Several years ago, Oregon came to Norman to play OU and afterwards, some of the Oregon fans were amazed at how friendly the OU fans were. Some tailgaters offered them free food and even wished them luck for the rest of the season (after they lost). Those same fans say that many Pac-12 fans sincerely hate their rivals and don’t have a kind word to say ever.

OU, ranked No. 1 in some preseason polls, will be a heavy favorite against Nebraska this year. Once again, OU will have a powerhouse offense and an improved defense. Nebraska is not doing real well and that prompted the TV overlords to schedule an 11 a.m. kickoff for a game that should have been played at night in primetime.

I wonder how many of the OU fans, especially the current student body, understand how important the rivalry with Nebraska was.

If an OU coach didn’t beat Nebraska, OSU and Texas every season, he was on the hot seat.

The winner of the OU-Nebraska game usually won the Big Eight and later made it to the Big 12 Championship Game. Many times, the OU-Nebraska winner will play for the mythical national championship in the Orange Bowl.

It is a good thing that the Chinese coronavirus is fading and OU will have a full house of fans for the Nebraska game this year. It would have been a shame to rekindle that rivalry last year when the stands were only at 25% capacity.

OU is scheduled to play at Nebraska next year and you can bet their fans – who are still very loyal – will be aching for a win over the Sooners.

This year’s game won’t be a repeat of the excitement of the Game of the Century, but for us old timers, it will be great to see these two schools lock horns once again.