It’s been far, far too long since the Mountaineers beat the Oklahoma Sooners.
WRITTEN BY MORGANTOWN MAGAZINE STAFF
The Mountaineers host the Oklahoma Sooners this Saturday. It’s been almost 15 years since WVU has won in this series—the January 2008 Fiesta Bowl, in Arizona. The game falls on Mountaineer Week, and it’s also True Blue Day and Military Appreciation Day at Milan Puskar Stadium. Kickoff is at noon, and the game airs on FS1.
Here’s a little Sooner history:
- When the University of Oklahoma was established in 1890, Oklahoma wasn’t even a state yet.
- OU’s first president, David Ross Boyd, planted some 10,000 trees with his own money and established a campus nursery of another 40,000. The OU seal honors his legacy.
- To remind you of your pioneer history, “Sooners” were people who arrived in the Oklahoma Territory early for an illegal advantage in staking claims in the Land Run of 1889 and other land runs. OU adopted the name in 1908 for its sports teams.
- The Sooner Schooner mascot—a Conestoga wagon pulled by the ponies Boomer and Sooner—was introduced in 1964.
- OU’s home of Norman sits smack in the middle of the Midwest’s deadly Tornado Alley, and it’s home to the National Weather Center.
An Oklahoma-themed tailgate food that goes with everything is southwestern cornbread—mix some up early Saturday for a satisfying game-time treat.
Oklahoma Southwestern Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 6 ounce bags Martha White Mexican Style Cornbread and Muffin Mix
- 1 16 ounce can creamed corn
- 1 egg beaten
- ⅔ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°. Line muffin tin with baking cups.
- In a large bowl, combine cornbread mix, creamed corn, egg, and milk. Mix well and pour into muffin tin. Bake until golden brown, about 18 to 22 minutes.
- For crispier muffins, don’t use baking cups and grease bottom of muffin tin with bacon grease, then preheat pan in oven for seven minutes before adding batter.