The Oklahoma Sooners 2023 schedule is official with the release of the Big 12 schedule on Tuesday afternoon.

The entrance of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF, and the departure of Oklahoma and Texas provided intrigue to this years’ schedule release. Conference realignment disrupted the natural flow of home dates for the Big 12.

After some initial delay, first-year commissioner Brett Yormark has his first schedule in an expanded Big 12.

We’ve known the nonconference schedule for sometime, though there was an adjustment on the fly after Georgia and Oklahoma mutually agreed to cancel their nonconference home and home with the Sooners moving to the SEC in 2025 at the latest. Joe Castiglione replaced the Bulldogs with SMU on the fly to provide the Sooners a solid Group of Five foe.

With an expanded Big 12 for at least this season, here’s a look at the Oklahoma Sooners 2023 football schedule.

Sept. 2: Arkansas State (Norman)

Ronald Martinez /Allsport

All-Time Series: Sooners lead 2-0

Last Meeting: Sooners win 45-7 in 2000

After the way the 2022 season finished for Oklahoma, the Sooners will be looking for a chance to start setting the record straight. If all goes well in this one, we should get an opportunity to see several true freshmen get reps against the Red Wolves.

Sept. 9: SMU Mustangs (Norman)

Oct 21, 2021; Dallas, Texas, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs quarterback Tanner Mordecai (8) throws a pass in the third quarter against the Tulane Green Wave at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

All-Time Series: Sooners lead 5-1-1

Last Meeting: Sooners win 24-10 in 1995

The SMU Mustangs have been a formidable American Athletic Conference squad in recent years. The Mustangs were 12th in the nation in scoring at 37.2 points per game. They’ll be an early test for a Sooners defense looking to improve from a poor 2022 season.

Sept. 16: Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (Tulsa)

Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports

All-Time Series: Sooners lead 20-7-1

Last Meeting: 52-38 Sooners win in 2015

Former offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson taking the Tulsa job created a whole new dynamic for this game. Tulsa has been a tough team of late for Power Five squads. Though just 5-7 in 2022, they played Ole Miss to a one score game.

Sept. 23: Cincinnati Bearcats (Cincinnati)

Nov 19, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Ben Bryant (6) passes the ball against the Temple Owls during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

All-Time Series: Sooners lead 2-0

Last Meeting: 31-29 Sooners win in 2010

Oklahoma will go on the road to face the Cincinnati Bearcats to open the Big 12 slate. The Bearcats are coming off a 9-4 season a year after making the College Football Playoff back in 2021. It will be a solid test for the Sooners against a Cincy team that averaged 29.2 points per game in 2022. On the flipside, the Bearcats will find out really quickly what the Big 12 looks like against an improving Oklahoma team.

Sept. 30: Iowa State Cyclones (Norman)

AMES, IA – OCTOBER 29: Place kicker Zach Schmit #34 of the Oklahoma Sooners faked a field goal kick and drove the ball into the end zone for a touchdown defensive back Beau Freyler #17 of the Iowa State Cyclones blocks as defensive back Anthony Johnson Jr. #1 of the Iowa State Cyclones watches on in the first half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on October 29, 2022 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)

All-Time Series: Sooners lead 79-7-2

Last Meeting: Sooners win 27-13 in 2022

The Oklahoma Sooners did what they needed to do in the last matchup against a Cyclones offense that struggled with consistency. Can Oklahoma maintain its dominance over Iowa State in what could be the final battle for the foreseeable future?

Oct. 7: Texas Longhorns (Dallas)

Oct 8, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) throws as Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman Ethan Downs (40) chases during the first half at the Cotton Bowl. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

All-Time Series: Longhorns lead 63-50-5

Last Meeting: Texas won 49-0 in 2022

The 2022 meeting was a debacle. There’s no other way around it. Without Dillon Gabriel, the Sooners had no answer at quarterback and resorted to a “wildcat” heavy offense. After halftime, the Horns made the necessary adjustment and Oklahoma couldn’t move the ball.

To say the Sooners need a better effort in 2023 is an understatement.

Oct. 14: Bye Week

Head coach Brent Venables goes through drills as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU ) hold fall football camp outside Gaylord Family/Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Aug. 8, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. [Steve Sisney/For The Oklahoman

The Big 12 did the Oklahoma Sooners a favor by putting their bye week right in the middle of the season. By this point, we’ll know where the Sooners stand in the Big 12 hierarchy. Will they be contenders or pretenders at the halfway point?

Oct. 21: UCF Knights (Norman)

Nov 20, 2021; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights injured quarterback Dillon Gabriel (11) warms up with team before the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Bounce House. Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

This will be the first meeting in the history of the two programs, but it doesn’t lack for storylines as Dillon Gabriel and Jeff Lebby will face off against their former squad in Norman.

Oct. 28: Kansas Jayhawks (Lawrence)

Oct 15, 2022; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Jovantae Barnes (2) scores a touchdown during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

All-Time Series: Sooners lead 80-27-6

Last Meeting: 52-42

The Oklahoma Sooners withstood an offensive barrage from Jason Bean and the Jayhawks to come away the victors. The last time they went to Lawrence, it took a few miraculous plays to come up with the win.

Nov. 4: BEDLAM - Oklahoma State (Stillwater)

Nov 19, 2022; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Eric Gray (0) and quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) sing the OU alma mater after defeating the Oklahoma State University Cowboys at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Bryan Terry-USA TODAY Sports

All-Time Series: Sooners lead 91-19-7

Last Meeting: Sooners won 28-13 in 2022

It feels weird not to play the Oklahoma State Cowboys during rivalry week. The Oklahoma State contingent has made it clear they’re not concerned about playing this game in the future. So this could be the last one for a while. You can bet the atmosphere in Stillwater is going to be electric.

Nov. 11: West Virginia Mountaineers (Norman)

Nov 12, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Garrett Greene (6) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

All-Time Series: Sooners lead 11-3-0

Last Meeting: 23-20 (OT) win for West Virginia in 2022

Of the losses the Oklahoma Sooners suffered in 2022, none was more disappointing than the loss to West Virginia. After struggling defensively for much of the year, the Sooners put forth a tremendous defensive effort against J.T. Daniels, forcing a quarterback change. Garrett Greene took advantage of the Sooners’ struggles in the quarterback run game to take over the game in the second half to force overtime and win the game. It was the only game in which Oklahoma held an opponent under 30 points and loss in 2022.

Nov. 18: BYU Cougars (Provo)

ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 05: Quarterback Sam Bradford #14 of the Oklahoma Sooners at Cowboys Stadium on September 5, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

All-Time Series: Cougars lead 2-0

Last Meeting: 14-13 BYU win in 2009

The BYU Cougars represent one of just eight teams that the Oklahoma Sooners have played and not beaten in the history of their program. No better time to right that wrong that what could be the only time the Sooners face BYU in conference play.

Nov. 24: TCU Horned Frogs (Norman)

Oct. 1, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas; TCU Horned Frogs running back Kendre Miller (33) is tackled by Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Key Lawrence (12) during the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

All-Time Series: Sooners lead

Last Meeting: TCU won 52-24 in 2022

The Sooners defense struggled against Max Duggan, Kendre Miller, and Quentin Johnston in their loss to the Horned Frogs last year. All three guys are off to the NFL and Dillon Gabriel will hopefully be available for all four quarters this time around.

The Sooners will host the Horned Frogs on Black Friday. It feels like a great time to plan for the “Unity” uniforms.

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Story originally appeared on Sooners Wire