The Oklahoma Sooners are officially members of the [autotag]SEC[/autotag], leaving the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] behind for greener pastures. OU will see a considerable jump in the level of competition in the new conference, with better opponents nearly every week.
ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum was in Norman on Monday for the SEC celebration on campus. He went on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” on Tuesday, sharing his thoughts about the Sooners in the SEC.
Finebaum stated he thinks two games will be telling for Oklahoma in 2024.
“Oklahoma has two games at home that I think are critical,” Finebaum said. “It’s the Tennessee game early, and you all know what’s gonna happen when [autotag]Josh Heupel[/autotag] shows back up here. He was the hero of the last national championship. Then, Alabama at the end.”
First, this shows the spike in the level of competition OU will face in the new league. Last year’s home games were Arkansas State, SMU, Iowa State, UCF, West Virginia and TCU. There are some fine opponents on that list, but none of the caliber of the Volunteers or the Crimson Tide. Oklahoma went 6-0 at home in 2023. [autotag]Owen Field[/autotag] will be in the national spotlight far more than it has been in the past few seasons in Big 12 play.
Second, the narratives surrounding both games are drenched in drama. When Tennessee comes to town in September, it’ll be OU’s first conference game in the SEC. Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel is Oklahoma’s most recent national-championship-winning quarterback, but he was let go after four seasons as offensive coordinator following the 2014 season. Sooner Nation’s relationship could be perceived as complicated with Heupel, but both parties ultimately benefited from the split nearly a decade ago. The Sooners and Vols played a home-and-home series in 2014 and 2015 with OU winning both games, including a classic in Knoxville.
When Alabama strolls into Norman in November, two of college football’s five biggest brands and most iconic blue bloods will meet.
The Crimson Tide and the Sooners are college football.
They’ve shaped the game with memorable coaches and players for decades upon decades. [autotag]Kalen DeBoer[/autotag] and [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] will be looking for a signature win over a big-time program as two relatively unproven coaches nationally. DeBoer has coached in a national championship game, but his detractors doubt he can excel at ‘Bama. Venables won 10 games in Year 2, but the doubters don’t believe he’s unlocked what it takes to win at an elite level yet. A win for either coach would be a massive notch in his belt.
Oklahoma will host Tennessee on Sept. 21 and will face Alabama on Nov. 23. Both games will kick off in the late afternoon window or in prime time. The two big home games will certainly have College Football Playoff implications.
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