ESPN Narrows Oklahoma's Kickoff Time at South Carolina

For the first time in program history, Oklahoma will battle South Carolina in Columbia on Saturday, Oct. 18.

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers, Oklahoma defensive lineman Gracen Halton | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma's first conference road game of the 2025 season will have an early start.

The Southeastern Conference announced Monday that the Sooners' game against South Carolina in Columbia on Saturday, Oct. 18 will kick off at either 11 a.m. or 11:45 a.m. The official kickoff time will be announced next week to give the SEC and its broadcast partners — ABC and SEC Network, in this case — flexibility.

The early game will be Oklahoma's first meeting with the Gamecocks in Columbia. South Carolina's stadium, Williams-Brice Stadium, holds 77,559 seats.

Last year's game between OU and South Carolina in Norman was the schools' first meeting ever. South Carolina won that game 35-9 after leading 21-0 in the first quarter. That was the second of six SEC losses for the Sooners in 2024, as they went on to finish the season 6-7 overall and 2-6 in SEC play.

Oklahoma (5-0) is currently No. 6 in the AP Top 25. The Sooners defeated Kent State 44-0 on Saturday after having a bye in Week 5. 

OU is 1-0 in SEC play after the Sooners defeated Auburn 24-17 on Sept. 20. Before that, the Sooners earned wins over Illinois State, Michigan and Temple. 

South Carolina (3-2) has already played three SEC contests. The Gamecocks lost back-to-back games to Vanderbilt and Missouri to begin conference play before beating Kentucky at home for their first SEC win.

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Shane Beamer, a former Oklahoma assistant under Lincoln Riley, is the head coach at South Carolina. In five seasons with the Gamecocks, Beamer has compiled a 32-24 record. In 2024, South Carolina went 9-4 and narrowly missed out on the College Football Playoff.

Even with the SEC adapting a nine-game schedule starting next year, the Sooners will play against the Gamecocks again in 2026, this time hosting them. OU and South Carolina won't face each other in 2027, but the teams will reunite in Columbia in 2028.

Before battling the Gamecocks on the road, Oklahoma will face Texas in the Red River Rivalry game on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.

The Longhorns won last year’s game 34-3 for their second victory in the last three installments of the rivalry series.

After Oklahoma's games against Texas and South Carolina — both of which are unranked in the AP Top 25 — the Sooners will close the regular season against five straight ranked opponents: No. 4 Ole Miss, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 8 Alabama, No. 14 Missouri and No. 11 LSU.

Kickoff between the Sooners and Longhorns is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.