One of the most anticipated games on the 2024 schedule for the Oklahoma Sooners comes on September 21. It’s the first conference game in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] for OU and one of the most storied programs in college football comes to town. The Tennessee Volunteers will be in Norman, and one of their most famous alums will aparanetly be there as well.
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning quarterbacked the Volunteers before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. He told his former NFL teammate Pat McAfee on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he’ll be in attendance at [autotag]Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium[/autotag].
“I’m going to the Tennessee-Oklahoma game in Norman this year,” the two-time Super Bowl champ said. “I think it’s Oklahoma’s first [autotag]Southeastern Conference[/autotag] game, they’re playing my Tennessee Vols in Norman, not too far from Denver (where Manning lives.)”
Manning went on to say he’s excited for the Sooners and the Texas Longhorns to join the SEC and thinks they’ll both fit into the conference. He also said he was excited for the new rivalries that will be created in the league.
Oklahoma-Tennessee will be a big game for plenty of reasons, as the SEC finally comes to [autotag]Owen Field[/autotag] in conference action. Tennessee head coach [autotag]Josh Heupel[/autotag] quarterbacked the Sooners to the national championship in 2000 (while [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] coached a suffocating defense), and was OU’s offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2014. After being fired, he’s made quite the career for himself, landing on Rocky Top, where he’s reinvigorated a sleeping giant in Knoxville.
Expect fireworks that evening in Norman, as two electric offenses will be led by first-year starters [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and Nico Iamaleava, both five-star recruits in the 2023 class.
Maybe one (or both) of those QBs will have a magical performance in front of one of the best quarterbacks to ever put on a chinstrap.
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