Oct 242 min read

Oklahoma, Ole Miss: The Birth of a Rivalry

Ole Miss/Oklahoma — © Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

"Boomer Sooner" or "Hotty Toddy "are two mantras that echo throughout the halls of college football history. For the first time in regular season history, the Oklahoma Sooners (4-3, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) will battle the No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels (5-2, 1-2) at 1 p.m. EST on Oct. 19.

Why are these two traditional powerhouse schools playing each other again? Because it was way back in the 1999 Independence Bowl that the two storied powerhouses battled it out, but that was postseason. The 2024 sequel (well, call it a reboot) counts toward South Eastern Conference bragging rights and regular season records. In 1999 Ole Miss tied for third in the SEC West and Oklahoma had a new coach named Bob Stoops. At the time, Oklahoma hadn’t been to a bowl game since 1994 but was again establishing dominance in the Big 12 Conference.

It’s fitting that that game was the last college football game of the 20th century because, at that point, both programs had established themselves as titans.

History: The Legacy of Oklahoma, Mississippi

Ole Miss has played football for 119 seasons (1902-2024) with a record of 684-530-34. Oklahoma has more wins than any other program in the “modern age of college football” with 700 and has the second-best winning percentage in the modern era at.725.

It has been 25 years since the Independence Bowl clash between Oklahoma and Mississippi and things have changed. The Sooners are now in the SEC, and the program struggles to establish footing following a 34-3 defeat to rival No. 5 Texas (6-1, 2-1) . Ole Miss is also underperforming following early losses to No. 8 LSU (6-1, 3-0) and a shocking defeat to Kentucky (3-4, 1-4).

Oklahoma Sooners — © SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Birth of a Rivalry

The beauty of college football is its traditions, history, rivalries and stories. The sights and sounds of a Saturday afternoon in the fall are like nothing else. Some rivalries renew and some are born. The Sooners and Rebels are legendary programs built on history, victory and pride. The Rebs yearn to regain SEC dominance. The Sooners want to establish it for the first time.

Could Saturday be the birth of College Football's newest and greatest rivalry? If history has any say in it, then yes.