OU, Iowa State first met 84 years ago today; Nov. 3, 1928, Cyclones won 13-0 at home

AMES, Iowa — We’re two hours from kickoff inside Jack Trice Stadium, where No. 12 Oklahoma and Iowa State will meet for the 77th time in series history.

The OU-Iowa State series has lots of history, although not much of it is very pretty. The Sooners lead the all-time series 69-5-2, with Iowa State’s last win coming Oct. 20, 1990 — over 22 years ago — in Norman.

The Cyclones haven’t won a home game against the Sooners since a 10-6 victory on Nov. 5, 1960.

Today’s date, though — November 3 — is an important one in the lopsided series’ history; today marks the 84th anniversary of the first-ever Oklahoma-ISU football game, played on Nov. 3, 1928 in Ames and won 13-0 by Iowa State.

(Note: Oklahoma and Iowa State have only played one other time on a November 3 — a 34-17 Oklahoma win in Norman in 1972.)

Iowa State halfback Paul Trauger ran for a touchdown and threw for another in that first OU-ISU game, which was played in a pivotal season for both schools.

It was 1928 when Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma split from the original Missouri Valley Conference, forming the Big Six Conference. Iowa State’s official website says, “The move was made in part to set up a conference in which every team played each other during the season, which was impossible in the 10-team Missouri Valley Conference.”

Isn’t it funny that now, 84 years later, Oklahoma and Iowa State are both part of a 10-team conference in which every team plays each other during the season?