OU-Temple Football opener moved to Friday, Aug. 30
NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) - The Oklahoma University announced on Tuesday, OU's season opener vs. Temple Iis moved up one day to ????????????????????????, ????????????. ???????? – as the first Friday night home game in stadium history, according to Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione.
The kickoff for the contest will be at 6 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by ESPN.
"We were asked to consider moving up the season opener by a day so ESPN could televise our first game as a member of the SEC in a primetime window," said Castiglione. "It's a unique and exciting opportunity for us, as it will be our first Friday night game in the history of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and will give our team tremendous visibility nationally. Another major plus is, given the kick time, our players and fans should benefit from a cooler temperature. It's reasonable to expect that playing in the evening will significantly mitigate some of the heat issues we typically deal with during early season day games. Our first-ever 'Friday Night Lights' will undoubtedly be one for the books, and we're excited to open the season and our first year in the SEC in such a spectacular fashion."
"We recognize this schedule change will impact travel plans for some fans. We ask hotels in our area to work closely with those individuals to accommodate the move from a Saturday game to a Friday night contest," said Castiglione.
The Sooners, who will officially join the SEC on July 1, boast a 60-19-2 (.753) record in Friday games (includes a 2-4 record in bowl games) but have only played five Friday evening regular season contests, all on the road and all victories.
Oklahoma, which is starting its third season under head coach Brent Venables, has won 18 straight home openers, according to the Sooners.