Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

Down the road, when we look back on the wildly chaotic year of 2020, there’s a very real possibility that the Big 12 may be recognized as the conference that saved college football for the time being. It’s no guarantee that games will kick off next month, but at least the league is determined to move forward with a clear intention on playing a fall season. Whether you root for the Oklahoma Sooners or someone else, that’s all any fan could have asked for after Tuesday night’s meeting.

On Wednesday, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby made it official when he announced the continuation of fall sports for the league. Also part of the release were the details for uniformed coronavirus testing protocols throughout the conference, as well as an agreed upon scheduling model for all 10 teams.

From Bowlsby’s statement quoted in the tweet above, it appears when the student athletes expressed their desire to play on social media over the past weekend, that played a pivotal role in making this happen. In conjunction, the medical experts also saw a path forward for Big 12 sports through the haze of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning, it was always going to be important for both sides to be listened to, and the common ground they found is one we can all start to feel a bit more optimistic about.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Oklahoma unveils its revised 2020 football schedule, Todd McShay projects another first round receiver from OU, Dame D.O.L.L.A. drops 61 on the Mavs and more!

OU Links

• Here’s a look at Oklahoma’s updated 2020 football schedule, just released on Wednesday morning. If this happens, I must say I’m very okay with it. You can read Jack’s breakdown of the Sooners’ 10-game slate right here.

• Oklahoma’s lone non-conference opponent — the Missouri State Bears — have one of the strangest looking schedules you’ll ever see. Since the MVFC canceled fall football within the conference, MSU was still able to retain its meeting with the Sooners, but only just. What am I saying? It’s not strange, it’s 2020. That’s pretty much par for the course this year.

• In addition to OU’s revised schedule, take a look at how the rest of the Big 12 will play out this fall. There are only two teams (Baylor and West Virginia) that will play games in as many as five consecutive weekends, and the conference championship has two scheduled dates set in place, just in case the first one isn’t as viable when the time comes.

• Redshirt sophomore DE Jalen Redmond was reportedly arrested early Wednesday morning for an alleged DUI. The talented Midwest City native led the Sooners’ defense with 6.5 sacks last season after overcoming a bout of blood clotting issues in 2018.

• With the current spotlight on college football, the Pac-12’s fall sports cancellation announcement also affects the OU men’s basketball program in a direct way, as Oklahoma was originally slated to play the Washington Huskies in Las Vegas on Dec. 19. That non-conference matchup is now off the table. Sooners Wire’s Derek Parker has more.
• ESPN’s Todd McShay released an early look at his mock first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and coming in at No. 31 is redshirt junior WR Charleston Rambo, who is projected to go to the New Orleans Saints. A third-straight year with a first-round receiver taken would have to be some kind of record.

Around the Sports World

• Years ago, the Nebraska Cornhuskers left the Big 12 for greener pastures in the Big Ten, but things haven’t exactly worked out so well for Big Red up north. Even worse, the Huskers might not even get to play football this year because their conference already canceled the prospect for the fall season. So what does B1G Commissioner Kevin Warren think about NU exploring a possible return to its old stomping grounds for a semester? Keep dreaming, and be careful what you wish for.
• Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard tied his career-high on Tuesday night with 61 points against the Dallas Mavericks, and in doing so joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to score 60+ in at least three games in the same season. The Blazers also grabbed the win, 134-131, and moved up to eighth place in the West.

• In other NBA news, the association released a memo to players, informing them that only family and people who they can prove they have long-standing relationships with are permitted inside the Orlando bubble. That means no side pieces, fellas.
• The Masters at Augusta National has officially announced its decision to not allow guests or spectators to attend the major. After being postponed in April due to COVID-19 concerns, the annual golf tournament will commence Nov. 12-15.

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