SEC Narrows Kickoff Time Window for Oklahoma's Trip to Knoxville

The kickoff time for the Sooners and Volunteers has been narrowed down to three possibilities for their Nov. 1 clash.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables shakes hands with Tennessee coach Josh Heupel after last year's meeting between the Sooners and the Volunteers. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Oklahoma and Tennessee will have a wait a bit longer to find out the kickoff time for the sixth meeting between the two programs.

The Southeastern Conference announced that the kickoff time between the Sooners and the Volunteers will either be at 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 1, and the contest will be broadcast on either ESPN or ABC. 

📺 #SECFB on TV: Nov. 1

Updates: https://t.co/MIFwu7yOy4 pic.twitter.com/xB0YiKkaSj

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) October 20, 2025

Both teams currently sit inside the AP top 20.

Oklahoma moved up one spot to No. 13 following Saturday’s 26-7 victory over South Carolina, while Tennessee dropped to No. 17 after falling in Tuscaloosa to Alabama. 

Josh Heupel’s Volunteers also dropped their contest to Georgia earlier this year in overtime. 

Before OU heads back to Neyland Stadium to mark the 10 year anniversary of the Sooners’ dramatic fourth quarter comeback that marked the true beginning of the Baker Mayfield era, the Sooners must avenge a defeat from 2024. 

Oklahoma will welcome Lane Kiffin’s No. 8-ranked Ole Miss Rebels to Norman at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The contest begins a streak of five games in six weeks where the Sooners will battle teams currently ranked inside the AP Poll’s top 20.

Tennessee hopes to bounce back from its loss to the Crimson Tide this week in a road trip to Kentucky. 

The Nov. 1 matchup in Knoxville will mark the sixth time the Sooners have battled the Volunteers, with OU holding a 3-2 edge in the all-time series. 

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Tennessee won the first meeting in the 1939 Orange Bowl, and OU responded with a victory of its own in the 1968 Orange Bowl. 

Oklahoma won both meetings of the home-and-home in 2014 and 2015. 

Trevor Knight led the Sooners to a 34-10 win over Tennessee in Norman in 2014 before Mayfield’s legend was born late in Knoxville in Oklahoma’s 31-24 overtime win. 

Heupel was able to spoil OU’s SEC party last year, however. 

Oklahoma’s last national title-winning quarterback engineered a 25-15 victory in his return to Norman as OU quarterback Jackson Arnold struggled to keep ahold of the football against Tennessee’s defense. 

Following the victory over South Carolina, Brent Venables has his Sooners sitting at 6-1 overall on the season and 2-1 in SEC play. 

Oklahoma will have its second bye week of the season following the trip to Knoxville, then it will hit the road again for the final time in the 2025 regular season to take on Alabama.