Even under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, Oklahoma State will host Tulsa on September 12 and Oklahoma will play Missouri State on September 12 in Norman.
Those football games are part of revised Big 12 football schedule that features nine conference games on one nonconference game.
Tulsa versus Oklahoma State
TU is OSU’s nonconference game after OSU dropped Western Illinois. MSU is OU’s nonconference game after Tennessee canceled its game in Norman and Army dropped a home game against the Sooners.
OSU beat Tulsa 40-21 last year in Tulsa. OSU has won seven straight in that series.
Oklahoma State has five home games and five away games.
OSU’s schedule has three byes inserted on September 19, October 10 and November 14. The Cowboys have to go on the road to face five Big 12 teams: Kansas, Baylor, Kansas State, OU and TCU. They have home games against Tulsa, West Virginia, Iowa State, Texas and Texas Tech.
The Cowboys have a brutal stretch from October 17 to November 7 with a road trip to Baylor, back-to-back home games against Iowa State and Texas and a road trip to Kansas State before a bye.
No tailgating at Oklahoma State
Fans will have to make adjustments to watch an Oklahoma State game in person. Almost all tickets will be electronic. At one point, OSU wanted a full stadium but instead there were will empty seat throughout the stadium.
All fans must wear a mask, due to OSU rules and an ordinance in the City of Stillwater. Tailgating is banned. The cool zone area on the plaza level in the west end zone will be closed to fans. Hand sanitizer stations will be available throughout the stadium.
Current season ticket holders will be receiving updates to stadium policies and more from the OSU Athletics ticket office soon.
Boone Pickens Stadium normally seats 55,509 but that number will be restricted.
Oklahoma’s Big 12 schedule
Oklahoma has four Big 12 home games (against K-State, Kansas, OSU and Baylor) plus the game against Texas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The nonconference game against Missouri Southern is in Norman.
The Sooners go on the road to play four Big 12 games against Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia. OU has open dates on September 19, October 17 and November 14.
The toughest stretch for the Sooners seems to be back-to-back games at Iowa State and then Texas in Dallas.
Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia all wound up with five home conference games (if you don’t include OU’s status as home team in the Cotton Bowl.)
1st game between OU and Missouri Southern
This will be the first game for OU and Missouri State. OU leads the K-State series 76-20-4 and is the only Big 12 team with a winning record since the Big 12 was formed.
OU has a 74-6-1 record against Iowa State and is 37-2-1 in Ames. The Sooners have won 20 of the last 21 games against ISU.
Texas leads the overall series against OU (62-48-5) but OU has won 8 of the last 11 and 14 of the last 21. OU leads the TCU series (15-5) and is 7-1 in Fort Worth.
OU is 21-6 against Texas Tech and has won eight in a row. OU leads the Bedlam series (89-18-7) and is 42-9-2 in Norman.
The Sooners are 10-2 against West Virginia and 8-0 since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12. OU is 27-3 versus Baylor and 13-1 in Norman.
And Oklahoma is 10-1 in the Big 12 Championship game.
Different scenario for OU fans in Norman
OU’s fans will have some big adjustments.
The school will only allow 25% of the normal stadium capacity – about 20,000 – in for home games. Every fan will be required to wear a mask all the time they are in the stadium.
“If you don’t want to accept that, then you probably should make the decision not to come to the game,” said OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione . “There’s just not going to be any argument about that. It is what it is. It’s a cloth that protects you and it protects others.
Other restrictions will be coming.
OU is in the process of contacting season ticket holders to determine their level of interest in attending games during the pandemic.
“This is the next step in our preparation efforts,” said Castiglione, “but it is by no means the only step. We have been and will continue working on protocols that will be in place for our student-athletes, staff and patrons. The capacity reduction will allow us to create distancing in the seating bowl. Other policies in the stadium will be introduced as we alter our operations as a result of the COVID-19 virus.”
Stadium procedures have been developed to meet fan needs from “driveway to driveway,” according to Castiglione. A video and web page also will be available soon to help supporters prepare for their in-person fan experience. Those resources will be emailed directly to ticket holders.
Policies relating to the Oct. 10 OU-Texas game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas will also be announced at a later date.
Running back Kennedy Brooks to sit out?
Reports are that Kennedy Brooks, the starting running back for Oklahoma, has chosen not to play for OU this fall.
That leaves Rhamondre Stevenson, who will miss an undetermined number of games due to an NCAA suspension; T.J. Pledger, redshirt freshman Marcus Major and true freshman Seth McGowan as the only scholarship running backs. Trey Sermon transferred to Ohio State.