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Oklahoma Sooners Football Hot Links: State Fair of Texas cancelled, an estimation of Spencer Rattler’s NIL earning potential, and more!

While the State Fair of Texas will not be in session this October, Joe Castiglione insists that it has no bearing on whether or not the OU-Texas game will be played at the Cotton Bowl.

By Seth Oliveras
Weird Fair Food

Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

On Tuesday, ‘Big Tex’ announced that this year’s Texas State Fair will be canceled due to coronavirus concerns, marking the first time the major Lone Star event has been shut down since the tail end of WWII in 1945.

Of course, the news hits home for folks living both north and south of the Red River, with the annual rivalry game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns traditionally played at the Cotton Bowl inside the fairgrounds.

Shortly after the fair’s cancellation announcement was made, OU AD Joe Castiglione released a statement that clarified the current situation. In summation, while the fair has been scratched, the Red River Showdown is still a go as of now.

The closer we get to September, the clearer the picture will become in regards to the outlook for the 2020 college football season. So far the situation is about as up-in-the-air as it has been throughout this pandemic period. Having said that, a fall season would likely entail limited capacity or no fans at all, and the State Fair situation will sort of be a moot discussion for fans if it’s the latter.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Spencer Rattler’s NIL earning potential is one of the highest in college football, Ruffin McNeill lands at NC State, the Ivy League moves their 2020 football to next spring and more!

OU Links

  • QB Spencer Rattler is already near the top of most preseason Heisman odds lists and he has yet to officially be named the starter at Oklahoma. In an alternate universe consisting of fair compensation for Name, Image & Likeness (NIL), the Sooner signal caller’s estimated annual earning potential is currently well over $800K. According to this projection, that’s more than UT’s Sam Ehlinger and Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard combined.
  • In order to save on costs as well as limit the risk of potentially spreading COVID-19, all Big 12 schools have agreed to travel without their respective band and spirit squads during away games this fall. For those reasons, it’s a move that definitely makes a lot of sense.
  • Sooner Sports’ Megan McDonald caught up with OU redshirt junior safety Justin Broiles to gauge his thoughts about the current climate surrounding student-athletes and college athletics, as well as his personal goals for helping the next generation.
  • Former Oklahoma assistant Ruffin McNeill has accepted a position with the North Carolina State Wolfpack as special assistant to the head coach. Congratulations, Coach!
  • In case you missed it, Allen dropped his Big 12 Power Rankings less than two weeks from the start of Big 12 Media Days. You can probably guess who he has at No. 1, but where he lists last year’s conference runner-up may surprise you.
  • We’ve got a full house for you on this week’s episode of the Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast. Kamiar, Jack and Stephen are all back following a huge July Fourth recruiting weekend. The guys offered their takes on all of that plus a whole lot more! As usual, keep in mind that there may be some NSFW language used on the pod.
  • If you haven’t already, make sure you check out these sweet OU-themed face coverings! The good folks over at Fanatics have several options for any Oklahoma fan wanting to represent their Sooners.

Around the Sports World

  • Today, the eight football teams from the Ivy League are announcing their decision to move the start of the upcoming season to the spring semester. This might be a very big deal, especially if more conferences across all collegiate divisions elect to do the same.

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