College Football

Texas and Oklahoma 2024 SEC schedules: Ranking every game

Published Jun. 23, 2023 10:18 a.m. ET

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

The SEC ensured all its 14 members will pick up a shift against Oklahoma or Texas when the Sooners and Longhorns enter the conference. It also made sure not to repeat a 2023 trip in 2024.

They preserved the rivalries that matter both historically and contemporarily — rivalries like OU-Texas, Alabama-Auburn, Florida-Georgia, Mississippi State-Ole Miss and Alabama-Tennessee remain, along with popular matchups Alabama-LSU, Texas-Arkansas, Florida-Tennessee, LSU-Florida, Georgia-Tennessee and even LSU-Ole Miss.

If the SEC keeps this eight-game schedule model, each program will have just one permanent opponent and rotate through the other 15 annually. In a nine-game schedule model, each program would have three permanent opponents.

Eventually, OU and Texas will receive the same prestige — and ticket pricing — that comes with being a blue blood (OU) or a bank (Texas) in the SEC. Surely, Oklahoma will play four home games plus Texas on a neutral site in the future. But, presently, Oklahoma's the only one of the two paying the tax that comes with a raise.

Breaking down 2024 SEC schedule for Oklahoma, Texas

But for 2024, this means that Oklahoma and Texas will each play a recent national champion (Georgia, Alabama) after having played the most recent national title runner-up (TCU).

Let's take a look at the 2024 SEC schedule for Texas and Oklahoma, and rank the matchups.

TEXAS LONGHORNS

1. vs. OU in Dallas

2. at Texas A&M

The Lone Star Showdown came back before Texas did.

The last time the Longhorns played Ampersand U, Mack Brown was head ball coach in Austin, Bob Stoops was head coach in Norman, and the President was Black. Now Texas-Texas A&M will be played for the 119th time in history and for the first time since 2011. The last time the Longhorns and the Aggies got after it, Justin Tucker gave the blues when he nailed a 40-yard field goal as time expired to win 27-25 in College Station.

Alabama gets both Texas and Georgia in Tuscaloosa. UGA and Alabama have played just five times over the last 20 years thanks in large part due to the SEC's unwillingness to play a nine-game conference schedule like the rest of the adults in college football.

3. vs. Georgia

Seems like forever ago that Sam Ehlinger told a stadium full of folks in New Orleans "We're (Texas) back!" following a win against UGA in the Sugar Bowl.

Turns out Ehlinger got Texas tilted a little too far over that bronco at the rodeo because, in short order, his head coach went 7-3; got fired; the new head coach went 5-7 in Year 1 and watched a small private Christian school in Fort Worth, Texas, play for a national title before they did.

Still, Texas is 4-1 against Georgia. In fact, as you're probably catching on, Texas was great against almost everybody during the Dana Bible and Darrell Royal eras, which span from 1915 to 1946 and 1954 to 1976, respectively.

4. at Arkansas

5. vs. Florida

They've played this game three times since 1924. And not only has Texas won every one but the next point Florida scores against Texas will be the first since 1924. Of course, they haven't played this game since 1940.

6. vs. Kentucky

This game was played once in 1951 and never again. Texas won 7-6 in Austin.

7. vs. Mississippi State

8. at Vanderbilt

These two actually got into a fight over who gets to hire Tom Herman, or did you forget?

OKLAHOMA SOONERS

That sound you heard in Norman last week was the hiss coming from the pissed and profane following the revelation that Oklahoma will only play three games at the Palace on the Prairie: Bama (All right!), Tennessee (all right) and South Carolina (what?!). That's it. There is no rest of it.

Some might say it's time to move OU-Texas to a true home-and-home. To this I say, move Arkansas-A&M first. Then we can blaspheme.

1. vs. Alabama

You might be shocked to know Oklahoma has a winning record against Alabama at 3-2-1. In fact, the Sooners are 1-0 against Bama in Norman and 1-0 against Bama in Tuscaloosa. But the last time they met, the Tide rolled the Sooners with native Oklahoma — a Tulsan! — Josh Jacobs quite literally running over them.

2. vs. Tennessee

The Sooners get another chance to bloody the sport's loudest orange. But this time it's likely to be with one of their own running the Volunteers in Josh Heupel, the last quarterback to lead OU to a national title win.

The only way this one gets juicier than an artificially grown citrus fruit is if Bob Stoops was on OU's sideline for the game. But the man Heupel will be calling plays against Brent Venables, and that will have to do. Heupel and Venables spent years on staff together in Norman, and while those two are pals, it would shock me more than an eel holding more charge than Thor if Heupel didn't want to whoop Oklahoma at home in his return.

The Sooners have lost this game just once.

3. vs. Texas in Dallas

This game has been going on since 1900, has been played in Dallas since 1929, and has been a conference game since 1996. And since 1900 there isn't a game either fan base wants to win more.

4. at LSU

Oklahoma owes LSU a whooping for a little game in Atlanta in 2019 that nobody watched, I assure you. There was so much else going on that day that no one could be bothered to watch.

Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and the most bayou-named running back of all-time in Clyde Edwards-Helaire taking swamp stick and beating OU to death with it? Tall tale. Myth. Never happened. Can't remember it.

But if OU pulls out a win at Tiger Stadium in conference play, you'll understand if OU fans find a reason to smirk, relieved.

5. at Auburn

Having played just twice — and each time in the Sugar Bowl (1971, 2016) — the Sooners are 2-0 against the pride of lower Alabama.

With former Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery as Auburn's offensive coordinator in 2023, it's possible the man who made his name in the same capacity at Baylor — whooping OU like it stole something in 2014 — might once again have the personnel to run up on the Conestoga at Jordan-Hare and empty OU's pockets.

6. at Ole Miss

Is Faulkner taking snaps? What about John Grisham? Is Lane?

If the answer is no, then perhaps it's important to know OU and Ole Miss have met just once (1999, Independence Bowl) and the Sooners won. Then again maybe it ain't important at all.

7. vs. South Carolina

When y'all said OU was playing USC next year, I thought you meant something else. This game looks as awkward on the schedule as Rutgers at the actual USC.

8. at Missouri

Who asked for this? Couldn't be Missouri, right? Oklahoma has won two-thirds of the times they've played — 67 of the 96 meetings. And that's throwing the five ties in.

Oklahoma-Texas A&M was right there, and the SEC said, OU, here's Missouri, South Carolina and Ole Miss.

The problem with this is if OU runs this weak schedule — and there's a damn good chance they do — it would be the most SEC thing they've ever done.

The Sooners' road games look remarkably like the Big 12, and their road schedules look like all that's missing is handwritten S-E-C! S-E-C! next to each away entry.

Somehow, Texas pulled road games at Ampersand U, Arkansas and Vanderbilt, while OU drew LSU, Auburn and the Sons of the Confederacy. OU fans likely think something about this smells like chitterlings simmering in a pot full of onions. I'd point them to Tennessee, who drew at OU, at Alabama and Georgia all in 2024 who have to be asking why the hell Ampersand U has never once had to host Georgia in more than a decade on the conference?

It's like the SEC said if we can't make everybody happy, the least we can do is give a handful of teams the red ass worse than Stimpson J. Cat.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to "The Number One College Football Show" on YouTube.