Happy Thursday, friends and fans!

The Oklahoma Sooners 2021 regular season football schedule has been made official. After a shortened 2020 slate, it looks like things will be back to normal with a 12-game campaign, including three non-conference contests.

OU will open the 2021 season on the road at Tulane before hosting Western Carolina and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Big 12 play begins right after that with a home game against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

To kick off the month of October, the Sooners will travel north to take on the Kansas State Wildcats before their annual Red River Showdown with the Texas Longhorns in Dallas. No, I do not like that timing at all, but them’s the breaks.

The following week, Oklahoma will return home to welcome the TCU Horned Frogs. Next up will be another trip to the Sunflower State, this time to face the Kansas Jayhawks before rounding out the month in Norman against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

After a nine-game stretch, OU will finally reach its lone scheduled off-week. Then comes a road game against the Baylor Bears, a home game against the Iowa State Cyclones and finally a bout in Stillwater with the Oklahoma State Cowboys to wrap up the regular season.

Going into the 2021 season, Oklahoma will be one of the trendiest picks to not only win the Big 12 Conference, but also to make the College Football Playoff. Considering the personnel OU will have on the field and on the sideline, as well as the manageability of this schedule, there’s hardly a reason why the Sooners should have too much difficulty navigating another run at a championship.

Now for today’s Hot Links! OU Hoops undergoes a slight schedule change, the Sooners boast the Big 12’s top roster, TB12 completes a risky pass using the SB trophy and more!

OU Links

• Tip-off time for No. 12 Oklahoma’s upcoming game against No. 13 Texas has been slightly pushed back. Originally, OU was set to host its Red River rival at 6:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Feb. 16, but now this showdown will begin at 8 p.m. CT. The contest will still be televised on ESPN.

• SI Sooners’ John Hoover writes that Oklahoma looks like a true national contender on the gridiron just one month into the offseason. With the addition of some key transfer pick-ups, as well as the return of Heisman hopeful Spencer Rattler, Lincoln Riley should truly challenge for his first playoff win and possibly more.
• Also from Hoover, he recently took a look at where each of the draft-hopeful Sooners are being projected to go in the 2021 NFL Draft. Creed Humphrey looks like he may be the first OU player to hear his named called, and Ronnie Perkins continues to intrigue scouts and analysts with his film and ability.
• Oklahoma may not have signed its largest recruiting class this past cycle, but the calculative approach to how Riley reinforced his team can be seen through the transfer portal. As the turmoil-ridden Tennessee Volunteers experienced an exodus of talent, the Palace on the Prairie became a highly attractive haven as a result. Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News has more.
• Nicholas Ian Allen of Athlon Sports recently ranked the top rosters in the Big 12, and OU is the new No. 1 team in the league in terms of player talent across the board.

Around the Sports World

• In Super Bowl LV celebration news, Tom Brady actually tossed the Lombardi Trophy over a river to Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE Cameron Brate. Add this to things I’ll never have the chance to do in my lifetime.

• The Toronto Raptors will reportedly finish out the NBA regular season in Tampa due to Canada’s ongoing COVID-19 border restrictions.
• Former Clemson Tigers LB Mike Jones Jr. has announced his intention to join the LSU Tigers in 2021. Like all transfers this season, he will be immediately eligible to play this fall.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers have avoided a salary arbitration hearing after signing pitcher Walker Buehler to a two-year, $8 million deal.
• Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar will reportedly miss a month of action in the UEFA Champions League after sustaining a left adductor injury on Wednesday.

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