AUBURN | Year two of the Hugh Freeze era gets underway with five consecutive home game before spending the entire month of October on the road.

The schedule includes big home matchups against Oklahoma and Texas A&M, and road contests at Georgia and Alabama.

Today, we continue an early look at Auburn’s 2024 schedule with an opportunity for Hugh Freeze’s first signature win.

WHO: Oklahoma (10-3 last season, 7-2 Big 12)

WHEN: Sept. 28, Afternoon

WHERE: Jordan-Hare Stadium (88,043)

SERIES: Oklahoma leads 2-0

WHAT’S NEW: Oklahoma competing in the SEC, for one, along with almost the entire offense. Jackson Arnold will step in at quarterback after serving as the backup last season, and he’ll be working under new offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, who was promoted from offensive analyst. He’s previously worked as an OC at Arizona and Indiana. The Sooners also had to rebuild their entire offensive line including four transfers that project as starters. UO returns most of its defense from last year but did add two key transfers in cornerback Dez Malone from SDSU and noseguard Damonic Williams from TCU.

WHO TO WATCH, OFFENSE: Arnold could be the difference, good or bad, for Oklahoma this season. The former 5-star played in five games as a true freshman last season and then started the bowl game. In a 38-24 loss to Arizona, Arnold completed 26 of 45 passes for 361 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

WHO TO WATCH, DEFENSE: Senior Danny Stutsman is one of the top linebackers in the country. In 12 games last year, he had 104 tackles, 16.0 tackles-for-loss, 3.0 sacks, one interception and two forced fumbles.

OUTLOOK: Oklahoma should be a preseason top 25 team and Auburn could join them in the rankings if it can start 4-0 and set up a showdown at the end of September. This will be the Sooners’ first-ever road SEC game and they’ll be greeted by a sold-out stadium hungry for an upset. It’s a great opportunity for Freeze to earn a big win in his second season and build a lot of momentum going into three consecutive road games in October.

Oklahoma should have one of the nation’s best defenses and the special teams will be solid. But there are huge questions concerning their offensive line and they don’t have as many elite skill players on offense you’d expect from this program. The Sooners will probably be favored but any discrepancy in talent can be overcome by a home-field advantage. Expect a great game and atmosphere at Jordan-Hare.

MORE SNEAK PEEKS:

Aug. 31 ALABAMA A&M

Sept. 7 CALIFORNIA

Sept. 14 NEW MEXICO

Sept. 21 ARKANSAS