2024 SEC Opponents for the Oklahoma Sooners: Taking a closer look at their inaugural Southeastern Conference schedule
The 2024 SEC schedule was released yesterday and with it the first iteration including the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns.
The Oklahoma Sooners are one of the most storied programs in all of college football. They join the SEC with 50 conference titles, more than any other in the history of college football. They have the sixth-most wins of all-time and more Heismans than any other program as well.
The 115th season of Oklahoma Sooner football will be its inaugural in the SEC. They will face eight of their newest conference brethren in 2024.
The Oklahoma Sooners' 2024 SEC schedule
The Sooners have just three home SEC games:
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
All three opponents combined have played a road game in Norman, Oklahoma a combined two times.
The marquee matchup is a date with the Nick Saban-led Crimson Tide. Throughout both their illustrious histories, matchups between the Sooners and the Tide have national championship implications. The two teams have met more in Miami, Florida for the Orange Bowl than in Tuscaloosa or Norman.
The contest between Tennessee may not have the heavyweight punch of a bout with Bama, but it will still be historically significant. The two crazed fanbases haven't faced off since a home-and-home series in the mid-2010s. Oklahoma has held the edge, on a three-game win streak in four total games historically.
Their final home SEC game will be a contest with the South Carolina Gamecocks. The two programs, combined for 230 total seasons, have interestingly never faced off.
It is a story of "blue blood" versus underdog. While the Sooners have 50 conference titles to their name, USC has just one lone championship in 1969. The game also has present-day storylines, as Spencer Rattler will make his return to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in a Gamecocks jersey.
The Oklahoma Sooners lose its fourth home game to a neutral site game in the Cotton Bowl where they will face their concurrently joining Big 12 foe, the Texas Longhorns.
Here is the four-game road slate for the Sooners in 2024:
- Auburn
- LSU
- Missouri
- Ole Miss
The game with the most intrigue is certainly LSU. The last time they squared off, Joe Burrow ran up 63 points on the Sooners' defense. A hint of a night game in Death Valley could make it one of the cant-miss matchups of 2024.
The only other program with any history is the Sooners' old Big 12 rival, the Missouri Tigers.
The Sooners commemorated the inaugural schedule release with their own version:
SEC announces conference opponents for the 2024 season 😤
bit.ly/OU_SEC24 | #OUDNA twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/dm1EjoYxEZ
The arrival of the Sooners to the SEC in 2024 is a monumental change for college football. It will create moments and establish rivalries in the Southeastern Conference for the foreseeable future.
While there are very few "easy" games on Oklahoma's slate in 2024 or the future, fans are getting what they wanted when the Oklahoma Sooners move into the SEC.