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OU football: Bob Stoops, FOX Big Noon Kickoff crew to host Sooners' Nebraska matchup; Tulane game also set for 11 a.m.

Spencer Rattler and Marvin Mims

Sooner quarterback Spencer Rattler and wide receiver Marvin Mims high-five during the 2020 Red River Showdown in Dallas, Oct. 10.

 Ty Russell

ESPN and FOX announced television information for two of Oklahoma's first three games of 2021 on Thursday. The announcement reveals the Sooners will take on Tulane on ABC on Sept. 4 and will face Nebraska as the host site of FOX's Big Noon Kickoff on Sept. 18.

Both games are set for 11 a.m. start times. When OU travels to New Orleans, it'll mark its second-ever meeting with the Green Wave. Oklahoma won the first matchup, 56-14, Sept. 16, 2017, in Norman. 

With the specific FOX network to be announced, the arrival of Big Noon Kickoff to Norman for OU-Nebraska will feature former Sooner head coach Bob Stoops on the pregame show. Stoops was hired by FOX to replace newly hired Jacksonville Jaguar coach Urban Meyer on March 8. Stoops, who led OU to the 2000 National Championship, coached at Oklahoma from 1999-2016, retiring with a 190-48 record.

Hours after the announcement was made, OU Athletics Director Joe Castiglione released a statement via Twitter stating his frustration with the OU-Nebraska's start time.

"We are bitterly disappointed that the great Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry, on the 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century, will kick off at 11 a.m." Castiglione wrote in the statement. "We tried every possible avenue to proactively make our case. The Big 12 Conference also supported our strenuous efforts to secure a more traditional time that would honor this game and our fans. However, in the end, our TV partner chose to exercise its full contractual rights and denied our requests."

Since moving to the Big Ten in 2011, the Cornhuskers last played the Sooners in the 2010 Big 12 Championship game, where Oklahoma won 23-20. Overall, Oklahoma holds a 45-38-3 series advantage over Nebraska.

The Sooners, after wining the Big 12 Championship and Goodyear Cotton Bowl, finished last season 9-2 overall with a 6-2 record in Big 12 play. 

Editor's note: This story was updated 4:40 p.m. to include Castiglione's statement.

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