Unlike most everybody else, Oklahoma has been looking to start its 2020 football season earlier. That look, as it turns out, has borne fruit.
Oklahoma has been scheduled to open the 2020 college football season at home in Norman against FCS Missouri State Sept. 5. According to a report from earlier this month, however, OU has been looking to move that matchup up a week, to Aug. 29. The FCS school has been amenable to such a move as well.
Saturday, the Sooners confirmed that the NCAA has indeed granted that waiver. The development would potentially give OU byes between their first and second, and second and third games of the season.The NCAA approved a waiver request from both schools to change the game date to allow them more schedule flexibility in addressing potential issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. OU’s second game of the season is scheduled for Sept. 12 in Norman while its third contest is slated for Sept. 26 at Army in West Point, N.Y.
“If the season is indeed permitted to start as scheduled, the benefit of extra time between games will help our teams manage any variety of possible circumstances that may occur,” said Castiglione. “Our original schedule had an open date between the second and third games, so now we will have a span of five weeks to play three games. It provides us a more gradual approach to safely manage the conditions of these unprecedented times. We’re thankful to Missouri State for their cooperation during this process and to the NCAA for allowing both teams to start the season a week earlier.Missouri State, it should be noted, is coached by... Bobby Petrino. Do with that what you will.