Mizzou restores conference rival status with Oklahoma, Texas in new-look SEC

DALLAS, Texas (KMIZ)

Before joining the SEC, Mizzou football faced Oklahoma and Texas more than 100 combined times during its Big Eight and Big 12 Conference eras. Now, after more than a decade of playing in separate leagues, those three programs have reunited.

The Sooners and Longhorns have officially joined the Southeastern Conference, making their SEC Media Days debuts ahead of the 2024 college athletic year. Oklahoma spoke to reporters on Tuesday while Texas takes the stage on Wednesday. Their additions to the SEC add even more competitiveness to a league already filled with soon-to-be professional talent.

"Two iconic programs, two blue bloods of college football, two teams that have a history of championships, and so, obviously, they have a standard to which they, their fan base and their programs expect, and we all have a standard and expectation of what we expect within the SEC," Mizzou head football coach Eli Drinkwitz told ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones before traveling to 2024 SEC Media Days. "It'll be great competition. I think competition is a great thing." 

While Texas and Mizzou are not scheduled to meet during the upcoming regular season, the Tigers will battle Oklahoma for the first time since 2011. From memorable games to the rich history between those two programs, the anticipation surrounding the return of their rivalry, which dates back more than a century, keeps building for Nov. 9 at Faurot Field.

"I read 'Respectable Roughnecks' which is the story of the 1960 Missouri football program and really didn't understand a lot of the history of Mizzou Football until reading that book and understanding the rivalry with Oklahoma in the Big Eight," Drinkwitz said to local media at SEC Media Days. "I'm excited for our fan base to get to go against them again. Obviously, Oklahoma has had a tremendous amount of success against our university, and so, obviously, we're a lot different than we were in the past, and so, it should be a fun, unique challenge."

"I mean, I'm excited. I'm excited," Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook said at SEC Media Days. "When I think of Oklahoma, I think about the College Gameday game at Mizzou when fans rushed the field. We beat the No. 1 overall team. That's what I go back to in my mind because, obviously, that was a big memory for me as a fan."

While many fans have MU's ninth game of the 2024 campaign circled on the calendar, Drinkwitz and his team are not looking past all the opponents they must face to get there. Mizzou is embracing a game-to-game mentality, seeking to finish with a 1-0 record each week.

"I'm looking forward to this year's game. It's going to be fun, but like I said earlier, we have to go and prove it week-to-week. If we get to the Oklahoma game and we have a couple losses on the schedule, that game won't feel quite as nice, so we got to go prove it Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and we'll get to Oklahoma when it happens," Cook said.