How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Temple

The landmark 2024 college football season is finally here as the No. 16-ranked Sooners host the Temple Owls on Friday night.

Oct 21, 2023; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Peyton Bowen (22) and Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) react after a sack during the second half against the UCF Knights at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Finally, the much-anticipated 2024 college football season has arrived in Oklahoma.

So much changed over the offseason.

The 12-team College Football Playoff is ready to fire up this winter, and the shifting sands of the sport will finally be evident with new-look conferences taking shape across the country.

For Oklahoma and Texas, that means taking the fight to the Southeastern Conference.

Brent Venables speaking at SEC Media Days last month. Credit: Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

In a normal year, the No. 16-ranked Sooners would probably be entering the season with dark horse written all over them.

No. 4 Texas would have been the favorite in the Big 12, but there are high hopes around Norman that the defense will be better again in its third year under Brent Venables and there is plenty excitement surrounding the official start of the Jackson Arnold era.

But the Sooners aren’t in the Big 12.

Instead, Oklahoma was picked to finish eighth in the conference at SEC Media Days last month, and OU has the Longhorns, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 11 Missouri, No. 13 LSU and No. 15 Tennessee all on the schedule.

None of that will come into play for the Week 1 matchup, however.

Oklahoma won’t have to avoid the fate of No. 10 Florida State, who fell in its Week 0 contest to Georgia Tech at the hands of a walk-off field goal in Ireland.

The Sooners will have the spotlight all to themselves after moving the season-opener forward to Friday, but the Temple Owls are a roster in flux that stands little chance of seriously pushing Venables’ outfit.

Still, it will offer OU fans their first look at the progression Arnold made over the spring, Venables’ defense and a host of new faces as there should be plenty of snaps to go around in the second half for freshmen and young pieces come Friday night.

Key position battles will rage throughout Oklahoma’s first three games as the Sooners dial in before opening SEC play with Tennessee on Sept. 21.

Offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh is known to tinker with his unit, and this year should be no different. The Sooners are replacing all five starters up front, though Jacob Sexton does return starting experience at Oklahoma. 

Sexton will start at left guard alongside left tackle Michael Tarquin, who transferred in from USC over the offseason. The left side of the line may be set, as well as right guard with North Texas transfer Febechi Nwaiwu, but center and right tackle will be two areas of interest. 

SMU convert Branson Hickman was listed first on the Week 1 depth chart, but he went back and forth throughout fall camp with Joshua Bates, who will likely get a chance throughout the non-conference slate to prove he deserves the center spot. 

Jake Taylor and Michigan State transfer Spencer Brown were listed as co-starters on the first depth chart, something those two will have to sort out over the next few weeks.

Defensively, there is plenty of depth but the rotations will be a huge question mark. 

Five different cornerbacks shared the two starting spots on the depth chart and there are a host of Sooners at defensive end vying for two spots. 

That depth will be a challenge for Temple well into Friday night’s contest as the Sooners are competing against themselves to prove to the coaching staff that they all deserve more playing time against Houston in Week 2.

How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Temple:

• Location: Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
• Date: Friday, Aug. 30
• Time: 6 p.m.
• Channel: ESPN
• Broadcast Crew: TBA
• Radio Broadcast: 107.7 FM The Franchise
• Weather Forecast: A high of 85 degrees with a 56 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms