Will OU’s ‘B’ legacy continue?

It was 293 days ago that Sooner Nation was thunderstruck when football coach Lincoln Riley abruptly bolted in the middle of the night for Los Angeles and USC.

Many have not gotten over that traitorous act. After all, no one leaves OU for another college gig — the NFL, that can be tolerated, but not another college.

Riley, as it turned out, was on both ends of OU‚s gridiron bookends for stunning coaching changes. The first came five years, two months and four weeks ago when the Sooners‚ all-time winningest coach Bob Stoops suddenly retired on June 7, 2017, elevating Riley to OU‚s top coaching post.

Then, after five seasons with 55 wins in 65 games and three College Football Playoff appearances, Riley abandoned the Sooners just hours after OU lost its Bedlam matchup to rival Oklahoma State.

Maybe it was just as well. Riley was a glaring contradiction to OU‚s coaching legacy that is identified by those having the same first initial: Bennie, Bud, Barry and Bob. So how was Lincoln going to fit that first-name mold? That‚s something about which the OU faithful won‚t have to worry after all.

Saturday, the next B-name era begins in Norman. The Sooners open Brent Venables‚ first season on Owen Field, just across the street from Bud Wilkinson House and adjacent to the Bud Wilkinson Football Practice Facility, in the shadow of the Barry Switzer Center in pursuit of Bob Stoops‚ standard of 191 wins. (By the way, virtually everyone chooses to forget that unknown Biff Jones coached the Sooners in 1935-36 so that the B mystique can work, so don‚t tell anybody.)

So what are the odds of Venables succeeding with the crimson and cream? None of the four legendary OU football coaches whose first name begins with B has won less than 122 games, has not coached less than 16 seasons, has won 39 of the Sooners‚ 50 conference titles (with a 94% winning rate) and has won all seven of OU‚s national championships. In addition, B-coached OU teams own a 37-28-2 record versus arch-rival Texas, and have beaten OSU 61 times against seven losses.

And if fan enthusiasm is a gauge for measuring success, Venables should be optimistic after a hyped-up crowd of 75,360 jammed the Palace on the Prairie for the 2022 spring game. The nearcapacity turnout was the largest spring game attendance in the country, and a record for an OU spring game. (I was there with my wife, daughter and two grandchildren basking in the majesty of a new Sooner era.)

OU opens its 2022 schedule hosting UTEP at 2:30 p.m. Before you laugh at the Miners coming to Norman, remember that the Sooners had their hands full a year ago on Owen Field before escaping a Tulane upset bid.

For OSU, the Cowboys hosted Central Michigan Thursday night. It‚s been six years, but who can forget how the Chippewas shocked OSU in Stillwater on a last-play, hail-and-lateral touchdown?

Tulsa is on the road Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. game at Wyoming. The Golden Hurricane has played the Cowboys six times, but Tulsa has never won in Laramie. Wyoming won the first three games in the 1950s and 1994, while Tulsa has won the last three times in the 1990s and in 2019.

And Arkansas hosts Cincinnati, which went 13-1 last year, the Bearcats‚ only loss coming at the hands of No. 1 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl to spoil a perfect season. That matchup is at 2:30 p.m.

With the Sooners christening a new season this weekend, it‚s fortuitous that National College Colors Day is observed today. Turns out the wear-yourfavorite- team-colors day is the first Friday before Labor Day each year. So in Oklahoma, it‚s the first of day of the next three months to don crimson and cream or orange and black or blue and gold or even cardinal and white — anything but cardinal and gold (OK, I‚m one of those who still hasn‚t gotten over the USC defection).

Regardless of allegiance, team spirit has long been a foundation of cheering athletes to victory. Wearing school colors as well as singing the school song goes along with the energy of the day. Not only does it bring back memories, but it carries on traditions, traditions that run deep.

Those who never miss a chance to wear their team‚s colors do so at the game, while watching it on TV or just to show team spirit at school or at the office. The revelry that is football season is steeped in enthusiasm, memories of games from years past and tailgating.

And, as it turns out, Saturday is National Tailgating Day, which, again, works out well for the first OU, OSU, Tulsa and/or Arkansas games.

On the first Saturday in September, National Tailgating Day reminds us of what the autumn colors and scents already do. Those colors — or in Oklahoma‚s case, parched grass and still-sweltering temperatures — signal grilling time and a season of cheering on our favorite teams.

Tailgating is the custom of gathering outside the stadium before the game with fans of the same team for food, beverages and socializing. Gatherings often take place at the tailgate of a pickup or the trunk of a car. However, neither is required. Tailgating also includes a few traditions, with some party staples that often include grilling and beer.

While the original tailgate is unknown, many teams take pride in claiming this title, as they should. But even before teams met on the gridiron, spectators with picnic baskets showed up to watch combatants at such places as the Battle of Bull Run in 1861 during the Civil War, for crying out loud! Maybe that was an early example of tailgating.

Today, tailgating centers around football games. While football has its roots in rugby, most fans generally accept that Rutgers and Princeton played the first football game in U.S. history on Nov. 6, 1869. On that day, fans surely arrived early to enjoy each other‚s company, eat some food, and cheer for their scarlet and crimson teams.

Those who tailgate often come back every year, weekend after weekend. Couples meet. Families grow. Bonds are forged – all through the community of tailgating.

So put on your team colors. Bring your game face. Whip up your best batch of your favorite Game Day fare and get outside to watch your favorite team play this weekend.