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Oklahoma announces season-opener vs. Temple moved to Friday, Aug. 30

On3 imageby:Dan Morrison•04/09/24•

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Oklahoma football
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables locks arms with his team, including Dillon Gabriel (8) and place kicker Gavin Marshall (46) before the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Oklahoma won 34-30.

The Oklahoma Sooners have updated their 2024 college football schedule, moving their opening game to Friday night.

Originally scheduled to play the Temple Owls on Saturday, August 31, now that game is going to be played on August 30. Kickoff is going to be scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT and it’s set to be broadcast on ESPN.

Oklahoma announced the decision on social media.

This will then become a historic game for the Sooners, as it’s the first Friday night home game in the history of the program. However, it won’t be the first Friday night game in program history. Since World War II, it’s happened 16 times and the Sooners hold a record of 10-6 in those games.

The decision to move this game was made after ESPN and the SEC approached Oklahoma about potentially moving the game. Athletic director Joe Castiglione explained the situation in a recent press release.

“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,” Castiglione said in the release. “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.”

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Within the press release from Oklahoma, the on-field temperature in the afternoon during Week 1 at Oklahoma was also cited, pointing out that the heat index was at least 98 degrees in three of the last four years on August 31.

This is the first season for Oklahoma in the SEC. That means the Sooners athletic department is working with a new league office and new television partners in making a decision like this.

Castiglione also added, “We recognize this schedule change will impact travel plans for some fans. We ask hotels in our area to work closely with those individuals to accommodate the move from a Saturday game to a Friday night contest.”

Temple is coming to Oklahoma looking to start fresh after back-to-back 3-9 seasons. This will be the third time these two programs have met. However, it is the first time they’ll play since the 1942 season. The all-time series is tied at one win each.