KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tonight marks the first time Oklahoma and Nebraska have met in December.
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They've played a couple dozen times on Thanksgiving weekend. They played a rematch game on Jan. 1, 1979.
But never have the Sooners and Cornhuskers met in the Big 12 title game, until 7 p.m. today at frigid Arrowhead Stadium.
In their storied histories, OU and NU have combined to win 12 national titles and tonight will mark the 27th time they've met with their regular-season conference title at stake.
Look, I'm with all of you. It's great these two prominent programs are in another title showdown. However, tonight's game has nowhere near the feel of those thrilling days of yesteryear.
No matter what happens, the Sooners and Huskers will play again on New Year's Day. But there are drawbacks to what lies ahead.
Tonight's winner gets Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, a game that will be a no-win situation for whoever wins the Big 12 crown.
Tonight's loser gets a 10:30 a.m. kickoff in the Cotton Bowl with no Texas State Fair.
There will be some talented players on the field tonight — OU's Rufus Alexander, Malcolm Kelly and Reggie Smith; NU's Adam Carricker, Bo Ruud and Zac Taylor.
But there is nowhere near the star power of past Big Red meetings.
With Sooners stud running back Adrian Peterson not playing, we'd settle for one star.
The two biggest names on hand will be former coaches Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne. Osborne has invited Switzer to a pregame reception. If the ABC folk have half a brain, they'll get these two legends together for an interview.
Switzer and Osborne took over their respective programs in 1973.
Switzer left after 16 seasons and in that span, the Big Eight title was at stake 14 times when he faced Nebraska.
"It was the build-up, the tension, what the game had at stake. It was just so significant," Switzer said, recalling what made the rivalry special. "It had such an impact on your season. The winner of that game would probably end up playing for it all. That's why the Orange Bowl has decided more national championships (18) than any other bowl."
To this day, Switzer and Osborne never fail to mention the mutual respect both programs had for each other, even under intense circumstances.
"Sometimes there were coaches who said things that might not have been very flattering toward us, but I don't ever recall Barry ever doing that," Osborne said. "And I don't recall ever doing it to him."
It took Huskers coach Bill Callahan just one game to damage that mutual respect, referring to OU fans as "hillbillies" after a 30-3 loss on Owen Field in 2004, a remark for which he has since apologized several times.
Switzer couldn't recall a time he ever got crosswise with Osborne, who will serve two more weeks as a member of congress.
There was never a confrontation. Not during a game, pregame, postgame, not even in politics.
"No, never. Never, never," Switzer said. "Politics has no part, you know what I mean? To me, it's relationships and the people you know and trust is what it's all about."
While Osborne politely caressed this week's revisited rivalry and said how good it was to see both programs fighting for the top spot again, Switzer predictably was more blunt.
"It's still Nebraska, but it's not what it used to be," Switzer said. "It's just a game that had to be played. It's not Nebraska being unbeaten and Oklahoma being unbeaten, but I believe that's going to happen in the future."
