The Oklahoma Sooners’ season-opening football game against the Temple Owls in 2024 has been moved to Friday night, according to an official announcement by Oklahoma.
The Temple at Oklahoma matchup, originally scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 31, will now be played on Friday, Aug. 30, and the two schools will square off at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 7:00pm ET / 6:00pm CT and it will be broadcast live by ESPN.
“We were asked to consider moving up the season opener by a day so ESPN could televise our first game as a member of the SEC in a primetime window,” said Oklahoma Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione. “It’s a unique and exciting opportunity for us, as it will be our first Friday night game in the history of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and will give our team tremendous visibility nationally. Another major plus is, given the kick time, our players and fans should benefit from a cooler temperature. It’s reasonable to expect that playing in the evening will significantly mitigate some of the heat issues we typically deal with during early season day games. Our first-ever ‘Friday Night Lights’ will undoubtedly be one for the books, and we’re excited to open the season and our first year in the SEC in such a spectacular fashion.”
Oklahoma and Temple first met on the gridiron in 1940 in Norman and played a second time two seasons later in Philadelphia, Pa. The Sooners won the first contest, 9-6, before the Owls evened the series with a 14-7 victory.
The 2024 season will be the first for Oklahoma as a member of the SEC following its departure from the Big 12 Conference. In addition to Temple, the Sooners will also host the Houston Cougars, Tulane Green Wave, and Maine Black Bears in non-conference play.
SEC opponents for Oklahoma in 2024 include Tennessee, South Carolina, and Alabama at home and Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU on the road. The Sooners will also be the home team against Texas in the Allstate Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.
The remainder of Temple’s non-conference slate in 2024 includes the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and Utah State Aggies at home and the UConn Huskies on the road.
In American Athletic Conference play, Temple will host Army, Tulsa, Florida Atlantic, and North Texas and will visit Navy, East Carolina, Tulane, and UTSA.
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