This is the time of year where every layer of college football collides into chaos. From ‘Silly Season’ to ‘Merry Flipmas’, everyone has their favorite catchphrases during this stretch of the sport’s calendar.

The early signing period lies just over the horizon, one of the first true opportunities for the 2024 cycle to come to a close. Some may see this as a natural winddown period, but it’s far from that.

Oklahoma to open 1st SEC season vs. Tennessee, per report

A couple of key SEC games for Oklahoma’s inaugural season in the league have been set, per an ESPN report.

Oklahoma’s opponents for its inaugural SEC season were set back in June. Now, dates for two of the Sooners’ eight games in its new conference have reportedly been set.

Oklahoma will open its first season of SEC play at home against Tennessee on Sept.  21, according to a report by ESPN’s Chris Low. It will mark a homecoming for Vols coach Josh Heupel, who played at Oklahoma in 2000 and led the program to a national championship. Heupel, who was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy that year, was also the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, Walter Camp Award winner and an All-American for the Sooners under head coach Bob Stoops. Next season will be his fourth at Tennessee after spending three seasons at UCF. In six seasons as a head coach, Heupel is 54-20.

The Tennessee game will come after Oklahoma opens the season with three consecutive nonconference games. The Sooners will open the season Aug. 31 at home against Temple. That will be followed by visits from Houston — fulfilling the SEC’s requirement that teams play a Power 5 opponent out of conference — and then Tulane.

While the Tennessee game will be Oklahoma’s first in SEC play, it won’t be the Sooners’ only marquee conference game at Owen Field. Alabama and coach Nick Saban are set to visit Norman on Nov. 23 during the penultimate week of the regular season, according to the ESPN report. The Tide’s visit to Owen Field will come a week ahead of Alabama’s annual year-end rivalry game with Auburn in the Iron Bowl. It will be part of a grueling stretch to close the season for Alabama, which is reportedly set to play at LSU on Nov. 9, two weeks before its trip to Oklahoma.

The rest of Oklahoma’s SEC schedule is set to be announced by the league at some point in December. The Sooners’ other SEC games will include a visit from South Carolina and former OU assistant Shane Beamer, as well as trips to Auburn, LSU, Missouri and Ole Miss, plus the Red River Rivalry game against Texas in the Cotton Bowl.