BYU football: Cougars' 2009 football opener is OK

BYU-Oklahoma will be the first college game played at the Cowboys' new stadium. The Labor Day weekend showdown will be broadcast in prime time by either ABC or ESPN as part of the second annual ESPN Kickoff Week Presented by Gillette.

Kickoff time and ticket information will be announced later.

The BYU-Oklahoma game will mark the beginning of a new five-year agreement between the Dallas Cowboys and ESPN to bring a high-profile college football game to the Cowboys' new stadium each year during Labor Day weekend.

"We are excited to host such strong traditional college football programs as those at the University of Oklahoma and Brigham Young University in our first-ever college football game at our new stadium," said Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones.

"I don't think there is a better place than Texas to celebrate the kickoff of the 2009 college football season, and I don't think you will find a better stadium for watching that football action than our new home in Arlington."

This will mark the second meeting between BYU and Oklahoma. The Cougars beat the Sooners, 31-6, in the 1994 Copper Bowl in Tucson, Ariz.

Since 2006, BYU (32-7) and Oklahoma (34-7) are two of only seven teams in the country to win at least 32 games during that span, along with Boise State (35-4), Florida (34-6), USC (34-5), Ohio State (33-5) and Texas (32-7).

The week after playing Oklahoma, BYU will play its first game in the state of Louisiana when it visits Tulane at the Superdome in New Orleans (where Utah recently defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl). That contest will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.

The Cougars and Green Wave split their previous two meetings. Tulane whipped BYU in the 1998 Liberty Bowl, 41-27, and the Cougars avenged that loss in the 2001 season-opener in Provo, 70-35.

One week later, BYU will play its home-opener against Florida State, which went 9-4 in 2008. It will mark the Seminoles' first-ever visit to Provo, but the two teams have met twice before, both in the Pigskin Classic. FSU won the 1991 game, 44-28, in Anaheim, Calif., and the 2000 contest, 29-3, in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Cougars conclude their non-conference schedule against Utah State. BYU owns a 42-33-3 advantage in the all-time series against the Aggies.

"This is a strong nonconference schedule with teams from the Big 12, ACC, Conference USA and the WAC," Mendenhall said. "We look forward to playing these games as we continue to work on improving our program and building on our past achievements."

E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com