:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53972333/usa_today_9774733.0.jpg)
As of now, Oklahoma State’s home opener against Tulsa is scheduled for Saturday, September 2nd, like it has been since announced last year. However, according to Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman, that is likely to change due to the Big 12’s television contract.
The Oklahoma State-Tulsa season opener is expected to be moved to Thursday, Aug. 31, for television purposes. The Cowboys and Golden Hurricane are scheduled to open the season Sept. 2, but multiple sources said the game will be moved.
That would be fun, wouldn’t it? Opening the season on a Thursday night in Stillwater?
That’s not the only potential move though.
And if OSU-Tulsa is moved to Thursday night, OSU’s next game, scheduled for Sept. 9 at South Alabama, is expected to be moved to Friday night, Sept. 8, for television purposes.
The Big 12’s television contract calls for at least four games a season to be moved for Thursday night broadcasts.
Wait...what? South Alabama on a Friday night? in Mobile?? This is giving me nightmares of Troy circa 2007.
I don’t mind the Tulsa switch, it would likely put OSU on national television and make OSU vs. Tulsa one of the first college football games of 2017, drawing interest from everyone desperate to escape the dog days of summer.
Tulsa finished last season with a record of 10-3 and absolutely demolished Central Michigan 55-10 in their bowl game.
This schedule change would make an already difficult non-conference schedule (ranked 9th toughest by ESPN) even more tricky to navigate for OSU. Following these first matchups, the Cowboys finish up the non-conference schedule the next weekend at Pittsburgh on September 16.