SEC reveals 2024 football schedule

Intro hello and welcome to the Athletics college football coverage I Am David oven senior writer for the athletic here with our resident Tech experts Sam Khan Sam the SEC dropped their 2024 schedule and even though we knew it was coming we've been ready for it it's been years in in the works it's real and it's spectacular Sam Texas we'll be at Kyle Field at a TBD date after you'll be there I hope I am there I was at the the final game 13 years ago one of the most memorable nights of work that I've ever had Sammy wrote about it for us what does this mean to the Lone Star State gosh I it's it's long overdue and I wrote this in a column at the athletic last night it's damn shame that we had to wait more than 12 Years it'll be 13 years by time this game kicks off uh for the 119th edition of this rivalry but it's better late than never because when when the breakup first happened and a m left to go to the SEC while Texas state in the big 12. we weren't sure if it would ever happen I think at first we kind of took it for granted that maybe it would and eventually hard feelings would pass over but they never really did uh you've had turnover at A.D and it didn't change anything yeah and and I said it administrator school officials gave a lot of lip service the Rivalry but not really much else at least from a football standpoint they've gotten together in other sports but I'm so excited for it because it's the two biggest programs to Flagship programs in a football cray State and they're 100 miles apart there's no reason why they shouldn't play it's so much fun there's so much emotion involved there's so much intensity in a rivalry and there's so much pettiness too because we had this whole thing before this announcement leading up with Ross Bjork the a m athletic director saying well the first game is going to be in Kyle Field I know that and Crystal Conte at Texas saying well that's just internet fodder I don't we haven't heard that from anybody official well Bros was right and so they're always gonna get they're gonna he was right they're gonna end up getting the game at Caulfield and that's great but it didn't really matter in the long run but ultimately and you wrote this in a column really well David is realignment has broken up a lot of rivalries and it broke this one up this is a nice impact where the domino effect brought one back together and I'm really grateful because we as a state need it I'm used to going knitting Thanksgiving dinner and then watching Texas Texas A M play that's what I want to do on uh in Thanksgiving 2024. and they will at least the ads will play nice nobody ever likes my Texas Motor Speedway idea Sam it's too big it's so big listen I know it would be terrible but it would also be awesome much like realignment itself but I did when I was in Destin for the sec's meetings I saw uh Ross and Chris at the uh like at the hotel I did run my idea by them and Chris said if we did that I would get fired and Ross would get fired yeah there's no there's no all this money to redevelop the end zone at DKR there's no way you Outsource that game after spitting hundreds of millions of dollars to redo those stadiums no way one time that's all I ask one time I will say last night Texas AM vs Arkansas I was kind of thinking about it and I and I I didn't reference it in the column but I did think about it it was a little bit Bittersweet still for me because even though Texas is is still with Oklahoma and back with Texas A M and it doesn't really matter and Arkansas um you know they're big rivals those games across the state of Texas still mean a lot and it it felt a little Bittersweet to me that the price of getting the a m game back is we lose Texas Texas Tech Texas Baylor Texas TCU that that's not great um I get it it is what it is I'm not surprised by it I mean nothing in college sports and realignment moves should surprise you but you know again this is becoming a sport with less and less Regional identity and and that's unfortunate but yeah I I with you on that the thing is is I think you would agree with me is that I miss the Southwest Conference buddy I really do and it's an incredible idea culturally and a terrible idea financially conference be in a above board nil era I mean Sherwood what where have you gone sir rosters built by oil baby rip dick low yes uh but Sam we have some business to get to and that is that there are some Big Time games uh outside of just Texas and Texas A M Alabama's Big Time Games got a lot of them obviously with this it's important to remind people of the SEC schedule this is a one-time thing they're very similar to the 2020 schedule they're just slapping this together there's going to be some return games that don't get returned this was and we're going to protect the rivalries we'll get to 2025 probably nine games I would not say that that is a foregone conclusion talk to enough people in Destin that I I wouldn't guarantee that but the Iron Bowl is still there Alabama plays Georgia again in the regular season they host Missouri and South Carolina and then they go to LSU Oklahoma Tennessee and Vanderbilt that's a heck of a schedule God bless them uh but these are going to be some incredible games in Alabama you know presumably we'll have a little bit more um security at their quarterback spot after this year I don't love their three options at the moment but I feel like they'll know what their situation is after the season uh so we will see on that front uh I would not bet against Jalen milro but I think this is the upside uh of having Oklahoma and Texas now in the league of that you're going to see some big time stuff here and I think that Alabama Georgia game obviously is the big headline because those are the two best programs in college football right now yeah and they recruit the most Talent you look at the recruiting rankings they have pretty much been one two or or somewhere in the top three pretty consistently and we could presumably see that game three times in 2024. that's wild that is wild but but it you know what it reminds me of a little bit is uh in a way do you remember when the Colts and the Patriots were had a little thing going Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were there or back in the day when the 49ers and the Cowboys in the mid 90s they had their thing there's just this big regular season game I mean heck Alabama and LSU have had it for a while definitely uh when when Les Miles was at LSU and Saban was getting it going at Alabama that there was that game game of the century 11. that kind of has that weight to it because there's so much talent on the roster so many guys that we're gonna see play on Sundays and the two of the greatest coaches in the game who are at the top of their game going at it of course who who obviously have a lot of familiarity with each other because Kirby was on that staff with Nick Saban so uh that that's that's part of I think the appeal of making the 16 16 team conference is seeing this more often rather than just having to see the same divisional opponents every year and then oh by the way Alabama goes to LSU and they go to Norman to go play Oklahoma and they still have the Tennessee game so those are going to be really interesting I'm intrigued to see the Alabama Oklahoma game and Norman I imagine the atmosphere if that's going to be pretty crazy uh I think the last time they played was in the playoff in 2018 when Kyler Murray was the OU quarterback but uh but that that's that's what you look for and that's what these this kind of conference can put up these kind of matchups with regularity yeah and of course I'll tell you who's not used to this kind of regularity of these kind of matchups Oklahoma and Texas I I wrote in that column last night that the uh the sec's made for TV special was the embodiment of this entire meeting could have been an email and uh but for whatever it's worth the SEC gave us what we wanted and they knew OU Texas you know what are they doing and they got to get them right out of the gate and I do like the SEC made it very uh made it uh very purposeful that everyone in the entire SEC is going to play Oklahoma or Texas in year one that's a that's a great wrinkle because that's what we want and that's what people want to see they want to see the new blood uh either in Austin or in uh Norman and boy you just look at you look at Other Games what they've got and you look at what they're used to and we've seen some bumpy rides Oklahoma better get its house in order Texas better get its house known or neither those programs at the top of their game but we will see Oklahoma obviously have the Texas game but they host Alabama host Tennessee South Carolina who last time we saw them were ruining Clemson and Tennessee's playoff hopes uh and then they have go to LSU to Auburn to Ole Miss and then they will make another return trip to Missouri where uh the last time I saw them play in Missouri if I don't if I recall correctly uh was the uh uh Up Overtime upset I believe where they ran back the opening kick I think that was 2010 I was at that game that's a good game um anyway Texas meanwhile they get to host Georgia but they also have Mississippi State Florida and Kentucky of course the Oklahoma game the a m game and then go to Arkansas to Vanderbilt Texas a word of note Arkansas wants to beat you very badly they seem to be completely uh lost they're obsessed when they went there a couple years ago and got absolutely run out of the building it's gonna be the exact same thing there was nothing special about that particular game it's that your Texas and Arkansas listen I grew up there Texas is the one program that Arkansas fans still truly hate we'll get to see them a lot more now LSU there's not a lot of hate there there wasn't there was Ole Miss hate for a little bit of time um when Houston was there but Oklahoma and Texas you wanted the SEC you got it uh they're gonna be going in full bore in year one yeah I think Texas you know I heard the CDC and Jay Hartz will talk about this wanting more Marquee matchups especially on their home schedule they got them and they got them you got Florida and Georgia coming uh that that's going to be good then hopefully over time it's not going to happen in 24 but hopefully we're getting a m every year in the matchups so then you're getting them coming to DKR every year and hopefully if you end up with the nine game then you have Arkansas coming every other year that that's that's a really bones of a really good home schedule for them uh so so and like you said they're gonna have to ramp it up they're on a really good trajectory right now I think that 2023 is going to be so big for both Texas and Oklahoma Oklahoma to kind of bounce back Texas seem to try to finally capitalize on all the positive momentum they've had here under Steve sarkesian and then I look at Oklahoma's schedule having Alabama is going to be a huge one uh the Tennessee game tons of intrigue there because assuming Josh heipel is a coach there I have no reason to think he wouldn't be there that's the homecoming for hypel which of course he won the National Championship there in 2000 but obviously a little bit of a frosty relationship uh between hypo and Oklahoma you know went back there's an offensive coordinator then got fired uh at the end of the 2014 season so that that there's uh it's been a very complicated relationship but if that Tennessee program continues on the trajectory that it's on right now then that's going to be a huge game uh when the big one for Nico presumably that's right there you get Oklahoma going to LSU uh a play they've the last two times they played up in high stakes have been played in the Peach Bowl playoff semifinal in 19 which of course we remember LSU that was the greatest LSU offense one of the greatest office of all time we saw just I felt bad for Oklahoma in that game Oklahoma yeah and uh LSU beat him in 2000 the 2003 season in the uh national championships championship game so uh that's a that's a good one too so this is you're gonna have to earn it now this is no longer you know Oklahoma 114 Big 12 titles that they won six straight at one point that they were really ruling the roost in the conference that's not really going to be the case in this new league and then Texas who has floundered largely since 2000 0009 you're gonna have to pick it up when you play against a schedule like this and oh by the way in addition to this SEC schedule Texas household goes to Michigan in 2024. so yeah you've got Michigan Oklahoma Texas A M Georgia Florida Arkansas on the schedule uh Longhorn that's it's a tough one good luck strap it up yeah uh you already had to buckle your chin strap in the SEC you might need to do it a little bit tighter with Oklahoma and Texas and town uh for Sam Khan I'm David ebman thanks for tuning in to the athletic culture about coverage we've been writing about this talking about this so go ahead and check us out on the athletic in the app or the athletic.com thanks for tuning in