Oklahoma and Texas still have one more season left in the Big 12 before jumping to the SEC in 2024, but the Sooners and Longhorns now know both who and where they will play upon moving to their new home. The SEC unveiled each team's opponents for the 2024 season Wednesday, with game dates to be announced later.
All fourteen current SEC members will face either Oklahoma or Texas in 2024 as the conference moves to a record 16 members. The SEC will do away with divisions amid expansion, while retaining an eight-game conference schedule for 2024.
The conference sought to preserve traditional rivalries while also promoting competitive balance. That means the tradition of Oklahoma and Texas clashing each October at the Cotton Bowl isn't going anywhere. Previous lost conference rivalries such as Texas A&M vs. Texas and Oklahoma vs. Missouri are also set to return after being on hiatus for more than a decade.
While the bitter rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas that spans more than 100 years is well documented, the move to the SEC means some less familiar opponents are on deck for both schools. Below is a glimpse at some storylines and the history associated with each SEC matchup for Oklahoma and Texas in 2024, excluding their own feud.
Oklahoma Sooners vs. 2024 SEC opponents
Alabama
All-time series: Oklahoma leads 3-2-1
Last meeting: Dec. 29, 2018 in College Football Playoff semifinal (Alabama 45, Oklahoma 34)
The Sooners and Crimson Tide only met twice before the turn of the century, but have played four times dating back to 2002. That includes an Oklahoma sweep of a home-and-home played across the 2002 and 2003 seasons, and later a stunning victory against Nick Saban and company as 17.5-point underdogs in the Sugar Bowl to end the 2013 season. Alabama rebounded in the 2018 CFP Semifinal at the Orange Bowl, dealing the Sooners' their third semifinal exit in four seasons.
South Carolina
All-time series: No previous meetings
SEC expansion was bound to give birth to at least one first-time matchup, right? There tracks to be least one familiar face returning to the Palace on the Prairie with ex-Oklahoma assistant Shane Beamer now serving as South Carolina's coach, and former Sooners starting quarterback Spencer Rattler will still have a year of eligibility left in 2024 should he pursue a sixth season at the collegiate level. Also, Sooners coach Brent Venables is no stranger to the Gamecocks after facing them annually during his lengthy run as defensive coordinator at Clemson.
Tennessee
All-time series: Oklahoma leads 3-1
Last meeting: Sept. 12, 2015 at Tennessee (Oklahoma 31, Tennessee 24 -- 2OT)
This game tracks to be another homecoming of sorts, with Tennessee coach Josh Heupel coaching against the school he quarterbacked to a national championship in 2000. The last meeting eight years ago between these two on Rocky Top was a thriller, as Oklahoma erased a 17-0 deficit to defeat the Volunteers in double overtime to sweep a home-and-home series that began the year prior in Norman. The other two meetings came in the Orange Bowl, first a Tennessee victory in 1939 and then a Sooners victory in 1968. Oklahoma was scheduled to host the Vols in 2020, but the game was scrapped amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
At Auburn
All-time series: Oklahoma leads 2-0
Last meeting: Jan. 2, 2017 in Sugar Bowl (Oklahoma 35, Auburn 19)
This will be the first time Oklahoma and Auburn have met for an on-campus game. The previous two meetings were in Sugar Bowl matchups played 45 years apart. The 2017 matchup in New Orleans proved to be the final game at the helm for longtime former Sooners coach Bob Stoops before his retirement that June. Depending on where coach Hugh Freeze has the Tigers by 2024, this could be a challenging trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
At LSU
All-time series: LSU leads 2-1
Last meeting: Dec. 31, 2019 in College Football Playoff semifinal (LSU 63, Oklahoma 28)
This will also be the first time Oklahoma and LSU have played an on-campus game after three previous postseason meetings. Two of those meetings were a short drive away from Baton Rouge in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. The Sooners' lone victory against the Tigers was a 50-0 Sugar Bowl smackdown in 1950. Losses came in the BCS National Championship Game at the Sugar Bowl in January 2004 and later the 2019 CFP semifinal at the Peach Bowl, in which the Tigers completely dismantled Oklahoma in a 35-point victory. LSU would go on to win it all that season as well.
At Missouri
All-time series: Oklahoma leads 67-24-5
Last meeting: Sept. 24, 2011 at Oklahoma (Oklahoma 38, Missouri 28)
Oklahoma and Missouri are reunited after previously spending more than 90 years together in the same conference, first in the Big Eight and later the Big 12. The Sooners have long dominated the series that dates back to 1902, with the Tigers only winning four meetings between 1980 and their departure for the SEC in 2012. But one of those victories came during Oklahoma's most recent visit to Faurot Field in 2010, when the Tigers knocked off top-ranked Sooners in a 36-27 triumph. Will the next chapter of the series bring a similar narrative? Things have certainly changed quite a bit in Columbia -- resources included -- since the last meeting 12 years ago.
At Ole Miss
All time series: Ole Miss leads 1-0
Last meeting: Dec. 31, 1999 in Independence Bowl (Ole Miss 27, Oklahoma 25)
Oxford will make for a fun first-year SEC road trip for Oklahoma fans, but the matchup with Ole Miss lacks any extensive history. As it stands today, this game will see Sooners OC Jeff Lebby coach against the program he last worked before heading to Norman, as Lebby was the OC at Ole Miss from 2020-21. Only time will tell if this game will mark the start of a new fun and competitive SEC series.
Texas Longhorns vs. 2024 SEC opponents
Florida
All-time series: Texas leads 2-0-1
Last meeting: Dec. 7, 1940 at Florida (Texas 26, Florida 0)
The first meeting in the modern era between Texas and Florida will come 100 years after the first matchup in 1924, which ended in a 7-7 tie in Austin. The schools met again for a home-and-home series from 1939-40, first in Austin and then in Gainesville. The Longhorns won both games in shutout fashion. As far as more recent history is concerned, Will Muschamp's journey comes to mind. Muschamp stood as the heir apparent to ex-Texas coach Mack Brown, but that plan was scrapped when Muschamp left his post on Brown's staff in 2011 for an ill-fated tenure as Florida's coach after Urban Meyer stepped down in Gainesville.
Georgia
All-time series: Texas leads 4-1
Last meeting: Jan. 1, 2019 in Sugar Bowl (Texas 28, Georgia 21)
Though Georgia and Texas have met five times previously, this will be just the second time they have played an on-campus game against each other. The Bulldogs visited Austin in 1958, dropping a 13-8 decision to the Longhorns. Depending on how the dominoes fall, Texas quarterback and top 2023 recruit Arch Manning could be starting against one of the other primary suitors in his recruitment. And yes, Georgia could feasibly step into the Forty Acres as the three-time defending champs. Now, somebody make sure mascots Bevo and Uga behave this time around.
Kentucky
All-time series: Texas leads 1-0
Last meeting: Sept. 22, 1951 at Texas (Texas 7, Kentucky 6)
The stakes were rather high in the only previous matchup between these schools. In Ed Price's first game as Texas coach, the No. 11 Longhorns edged the No. 6 Wildcats by one point in front of 47,000 fans at what is now Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Expect Kentucky coach Mark Stoops to hit up his brother for some advice on dealing with the Longhorns now that the Wildcats are about to share a conference with them.
Mississippi State
All-time series: Tied 2-2
Last meeting: Jan. 1, 1999 in Cotton Bowl (Texas 38, Mississippi State 11)
Texas blasted Mississippi State in Austin to the tune of 54-7 during the 1921 season, and then the schools didn't meet again until the Bulldogs swept the Longhorns in a home-and-home series played across the 1991 and 1992 seasons. Texas got back in the win column at the conclusion of the 1998 season, when the schools met in the Cotton Bowl. Fueled by Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ricky Williams, it was all Longhorns as they secured a 9-3 finish to their debut season under Mack Brown.
At Arkansas
All-time series: Texas leads 56-23
Last meeting: Sept. 11, 2021 at Arkansas (Arkansas 40, Texas 21)
It took SEC expansion to breathe new life into what was a longtime Southwest Conference feud, with roots extending back to 1984. Texas won the first 14 meetings before the Razorbacks finally got on the board with a victory in 1934. That marked a stretch of five wins in six meetings for Arkansas, something they've yet to replicate in the series. However, the Razorbacks won five of the past seven meetings, with four of those victories coming in nonconference matchups. There have been high-stakes meetings over the years in the series, headlined by the 1969 "Game of the Century" when No. 1 Texas defeated No. 2 Arkansas 15-14 -- one of five AP Top 10 matchups between the Longhorns and the Razorbacks in the 1960s.
At Texas A&M
All-time series: Texas leads 76-37-5
Last meeting: Nov. 24, 2011 at Texas A&M (Texas 27, Texas A&M 25)
After more than a decade of bickering and finger-pointing between the Longhorns and Aggies, the Lone Star Showdown is officially set to return in 2024. The series picks back up right where it left off at Kyle Field 12 years ago, when Justin Tucker's 40-yard field goal sent Texas past Texas A&M as time expired. The Longhorns have long had the upper hand in this series, but the Aggies have had more than a decade to acclimate to the SEC as Texas prepares for life within its new home. All we can say is get ready for a scene to remember in College Station in 2024.
At Vanderbilt
All-time series: Vanderbilt leads 8-3-1
Last meeting: Oct. 13, 1928 in Dallas (Vanderbilt 13, Texas 12)
Of all SEC opponents for Texas in 2024, Vanderbilt probably isn't the one you expected the Longhorns to have a losing record against. But times were quite different during the previous 12 meetings between these schools, most of which were played more than a century ago. This will be the fifth time Texas has traveled to Nashville to face the Commodores, and the Longhorns have yet to win in the Music City. Their most recent visit was in 1925, which ended in a 14-6 defeat.
