Why Oklahoma State vs. Arkansas series renewal is good for college football | Mussatto
Joe MussattoThe Oklahoman
STILLWATER — Not even Mike Gundy, the embodiment of Oklahoma State football, has vivid memories of OSU-Arkansas clashes of old.
Forgive him.
Gundy was 13 in 1980, the last time the Cowboys and Razorbacks played.
What about Sam Pittman? The Arkansas coach grew up in Grove, in northeastern Oklahoma, just 75 miles from Fayetteville. Pittman, 62, is five years older than Gundy. Does he remember the annual OSU-Arkansas games?
“I believe I went to one of those games when I was in high school,” Pittman said.
Pittman graduated from Grove High School 44 years ago, which is exactly how long the OSU-Arkansas series has been on hiatus.
“That kind of hit me a little bit,” Pittman said.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, the series will be renewed. Gundy’s Cowboys (1-0) will host Pittman’s Hogs (1-0) at Boone Pickens Stadium. Three years from now, in 2027, OSU will make the return trip to Fayetteville. The two schools are scheduled to play another home-and-home series in 2032 and 2033.
At a time when college football is losing the charm of regional rivalries, it’s regaining one in Oklahoma State vs. Arkansas — two schools 190 miles and a three-hour drive apart. Tulsa is the closest FBS program to Arkansas, but Oklahoma State is the closest Power Four foe. And that includes all of Arkansas’ SEC brethren.
The Cowboys and Razorbacks played in every season from 1962 to 1980. Only two of those games (1975 and 1978) were in Stillwater. The rest were played at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, the Hogs’ second home.
OSU and Arkansas played 27 times from 1912 to 1960.
Saturday will mark the 47th meeting between the two schools. Arkansas leads the all-time series 30-15-1.
Gundy said the matchup is not only good from a resume standpoint, but also a geographic one.
“You have a lot of crossover with people,” Gundy said. “There’s a lot of Arkansas people that live up here. There’s a lot of Oklahoma people that have migrated over there with Walmart and all that stuff, so I think it’s good.”
OSU has two players from Arkansas on its roster: cornerback RJ Lester, from Fort Smith, and cornerback DeSean Buckner, from Pine Bluff.
The Razorbacks’ roster includes Bixby brothers Luke and Dylan Hasz, wide receiver Bryce Stephens from John Marshall High School and running back Emmanuel Crawford from Pittman’s hometown of Grove.
There are all sorts of Razorback/Cowboy connections.
Former Razorback great Jimmy Johnson was OSU’s coach from 1979-83. Pat Jones, Johnson’s successor at OSU, grew up in Little Rock and played for the Razorbacks. Houston Nutt played at and coached at both schools.
On Sept. 20, 1980 — when OSU and Arkansas last met — Johnson’s Cowboys lost to Lou Holtz’ Razorbacks 33-20. OSU was in the Big Eight, Arkansas was in the Southwestern Conference and Jimmy Carter was in the Oval Office.
Mike Gundy and Sam Pittman were teenagers.
Pittman, who was born in El Reno before moving to Grove, said his family has requested upwards of 30 tickets to the game.
“I think games like this are really good for college football,” Pittman said, “and for regional football.”
