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OU football to play New Mexico at night in Week 3 of 2026 season

headshotby: George Stoia05/27/26GeorgeStoia

MIRAMAR BEACH, Florida — OU is set to have a night game early in the 2026 season.

It was announced on Wednesday at SEC Spring Meetings that Oklahoma will host New Mexico on Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. This is just the second game time that’s been announced so far for the Sooners. OU-Michigan in Ann Arbor on Sept. 12 will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT on FOX. The season opener — a a home game against UTEP — has yet to be announced.

The expectation is that the OU-Texas game will be at either 11 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. CT. The Red River Rivalry has been played at 2:30 p.m. each of the past two seasons. It wouldn’t be a surprise if it was at 2:30 p.m. again in 2026.

The rest of the times for the schedule, including the SEC kickoff time windows, are expected to be released in the next week or so.

Here is the full OU football schedule for 2026.

  • Sept. 5 vs UTEP: TBD
  • Sept. 12 at Michigan: 11 a.m. CT on FOX
  • Sept. 19 vs New Mexico: 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2
  • Sept. 26 at Georgia: TBD
  • Oct. 3 vs BYE: TBD
  • Oct. 10 vs Texas (Dallas): TBD
  • Oct. 17 vs Kentucky: TBD
  • Oct. 24 at Mississippi State: TBD
  • Oct. 31 vs South Carolina: TBD
  • Nov. 7 at Florida: TBD
  • Nov. 14 vs Ole Miss: TBD
  • Nov. 21 vs Texas A&M: TBD
  • Nov. 28 at Missouri: TBD

About SEC scheduling

The SEC announced in August it would play a nine-game conference schedule starting with the 2026 season. In addition to the conference opponents, SEC teams are required to schedule at least one additional high-quality non-conference opponent from the ACC, Big Ten or Big 12 conferences or Notre Dame each season.

Under the new format:

• The SEC will continue with a single-standings, non-divisional structure;

• Each school will play three annual opponents focused on maintaining many traditional rivalries;

• Each team’s remaining six games will rotate among the remaining conference schools; and

• Each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away in four years.

The top two teams in the league standings based on winning percentage will play in the 35th SEC Football Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 5.

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