Oklahoma’s move to the SEC could open up future scheduling opportunities

A move to the SEC Conference will open up scheduling opportunities for the Oklahoma Sooners football program.

It appears the Oklahoma Sooners are in fact Southeastern Conference bound: It has become a matter of when not if according to the latest reports.

A move to the SEC is going to change a lot of things for the Sooners including their scheduling. If Oklahoma becomes a member of the conference for the 2022 college football season, it might hurt the teams already on the schedule.

As it sits, OU has the following teams on its nonconference schedule for 2022:

  • UTEP (Sept. 3)
  • Kent State (Sept. 10)
  • at Nebraska (Sept. 17)

Currently, the SEC football’s schedule has four nonconference games built into the schedule. Adding two more teams to the conference could shake things up. The number of nonconference games could be eliminated, and the number of conference games could increase.

The SEC Network provided its ideas on how the conference could look:

This is similar to how the Big 12 schedule is set up in a normal season, 2020 obviously being the exception to the rule. For argument’s sake, if Oklahoma joined in 2022, its nonconference schedule could remain intact. Heading into 2023 it would need to be revised.

The schedule of games involving SEC teams that would become part of Oklahoma’s conference schedule open more opportunities:

  • 2023 (Georgia on Sept. 9)
  • 2024 (at Tennessee on Sept. 7)
  • 2027 (LSU on Sept. 18)
  • 2028 (at LSU on Sept. 9)
  • 2031 (at Georgia on Sept, 13)
  • 2032 (Alabama on Sept. 11)
  • 2033 (at Alabama on Sept. 10)

These new slots could be where the Sooners try and schedule Bedlam against Oklahoma State. On the topic of Bedlam, the Sooners will not have an open slot in 2025-2026 without maneuvering or an outright cancellation of a game. Bedlam is one game that should be played to keep one of the longest-running rivalries alive.

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It appears Sooners’ athletic director Joe Castiglione has plenty of work to do even after Oklahoma is accepted into the SEC.