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Late Wednesday morning the University of Oklahoma football program announced they had finalized the non-conference portion of their 2014 schedule.
Games against Tennessee and Tulsa have been known for some time, but with the addition of Louisiana Tech the Sooners were able to lock things in for next season.
Continuing in a tradition established by Joe Castiglione and Bob Stoops, Oklahoma has their one "marquee" match-up and an SEC opponent in the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols will be making their first ever trip to Norman and at that time will be in their second year under new head coach Butch Jones who accepted the job earlier this year.
"We have always strived to feature marquee non-conference opponents on the Oklahoma schedule," said OU vice president and director of athletics, Joe Castiglione. "Our longtime philosophy of scheduling high-caliber FBS opponents becomes even more important in 2014 with strength of schedule factoring into the College Football Playoff equation. Without question, the opportunity to schedule a two-game, home-and-home series with a program with the tradition of Tennessee is a win-win for both programs and their passionate fan bases." - SoonerSports.com
As has become custom, with the home-and-home agreement Oklahoma typically makes in these marquee game the Sooners will make a return trip to Knoxville in the 2015 season.
In Wednesday's release from OU, Castiglione went on to discuss the Tulsa and Louisiana Tech games as well.
"We are excited to continue our in-state series with Tulsa as a way to acknowledge our appreciation for the tremendous support from our fans in that area of Oklahoma," Castiglione continued. "Northeast Oklahoma has long been a prime source of talent for the Sooners, not to mention that Tulsa is a respected program that registered 11 wins, including a bowl victory last season.
"Louisiana Tech is coming off back-to-back winning seasons and is a program that has traditionally sent numerous players to the NFL ranks. The addition of the Bulldogs to our 2014 home schedule gives our fans a very strong slate of games at Owen Field next year." - SoonerSports.com
Louisiana Tech will travel to Norman to play on August 30th in OU's 2014 season opener. The Tennessee game will take place on September 13th in Norman, while Tulsa will be played on the road the following Saturday on September 20th.