For the second straight year, the Oklahoma Sooners will face the Ole Miss Rebels in an SEC conference matchup. If this meeting is strange to you, get used to it. The two schools were recently named as annual rivals in the SEC’s new nine-game conference schedule that begins next year.

There is hardly any common history between the two schools. Prior to Oklahoma’s arrival in the SEC last season, the two teams had only one prior meeting. Back in 1999, the Rebels defeated the Sooners in the Independence Bowl. The loss ended Bob Stoops’ first season at Oklahoma.

You may be familiar with the two quarterbacks in that game as well. The game featured future Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel under center for the Sooners, against future two-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback Eli Manning for the Rebels.

Ole Miss is one of three of Oklahoma’s locked opponents they will face every year going forward in the SEC. The other two teams actually have history as legit rivals of the Sooners, which include the Texas Longhorns, as well as the Missouri Tigers.

Missouri and Oklahoma have met a total of 97 times over the years, with the Sooners leading the all-time series, 67–25–5. Both schools were original members of the old Big Eight Conference.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns and Sooners have one of the best rivalries you will find anywhere. The two meet annually in the Red River Shootout from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, with Texas leading the all-time series, 65–51–5.

Since adding Missouri and Texas A&M, the SEC has done a poor job at manufacturing rivalries, and it would appear that Oklahoma and Ole Miss are the latest victims. The league tried to force a rivalry between Missouri and South Carolina when the Tigers joined the league in 2012, because both schools shared the same city name of Columbia.

Although Missouri and Arkansas share a border, the only group convinced that there is legit tension between the two fanbases is Shelter Insurance, who sponsors the now annual series between the two teams.

Oklahoma’s transition to the SEC was never going to be perfect, but there could have been better solutions than Ole Miss. The Sooners had some great games with Texas A&M in the two schools’ Big 12 days, while Arkansas and LSU would’ve created a nice regional connection.

In this shotgun marriage, it isn’t just Sooner Nation that is unhappy with the move. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin voiced his frustration about the pairing recently saying, “Oklahoma is really disappointing. We don’t have anything in common with them or our fans. So that doesn’t make any sense at all. And so that’s unfortunate with so many great teams that we’ve played for a long time here, especially from our SEC West years. So that’s unfortunate but it is what it is.”

It isn’t all bad for Oklahoma fans though. A trip to The Grove every other year in Oxford will be a treat, and it is something that is on every die-hard College Football fans’ bucket list. Although the Rebels are experiencing the height of their program’s success, the reality is Kiffin will likely not be there forever. Even though the Sooners lost in Oxford last year, this could be a favorable matchup for Oklahoma long-term. Ole Miss has won just six conference titles in school history, with their most recent was when John F. Kennedy was president in 1963.

There is always a chance that this tradition could grow into something, but for now Oklahoma and Ole Miss are the SEC’s version of Oscar and Felix, the ultimate odd couple.