Provo » Thursday night's BCS national championship football game between Oklahoma and Florida just got a whole lot more interesting for the BYU Cougars and their fans.

The long-rumored matchup between BYU and current No. 1 Oklahoma to open the 2009 season -- first reported by The Salt Lake Tribune on Nov. 4 as a possibility -- has been finalized.

The Cougars and Sooners will meet on Sept. 5, 2009, a Saturday, at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium being built in Arlington, Texas. The game during Labor Day weekend will be played in prime time and will be televised by ABC or ESPN as part of the second annual ESPN Kickoff Week.

Negotiations for the game began last October and the final agreement was announced Tuesday by BYU and ESPN.

"We appreciate the unique opportunity of being part of the first college game played in the new home of the Dallas Cowboys," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said in a school news release. "Given the strong football traditions of Oklahoma, BYU and the Dallas Cowboys, it's a fitting matchup and a perfect venue for what should be a great football game."

The agreement finalizes BYU's nonconference schedule for 2009. The Cougars, who went 10-3 in 2008, finishing with losses to Utah and Arizona, will also play Florida State, Tulane and Utah State, athletic director Tom Holmoe announced. The Mountain West Conference schedule has not been released.

"We are excited about our nonconference schedule for next season," Holmoe said. "There were several teams involved in making things work out and we appreciate all those who worked hard to make it happen. The home schedule should be one of the best in school history."

After playing Oklahoma, BYU will play against Tulane in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on Sept. 12, a game that will also be televised nationally by ESPN or ESPN2.

The Cougars' home opener will be against Florida State on Sept. 19. BYU will host Utah State on Oct. 2, a Friday.

MWC teams slated to visit LaVell Edwards Stadium in 2009 are Colorado State, Air Force, TCU and Utah.

BYU was originally scheduled to play Arizona State in Tempe on Sept. 12. BYU associate athletic director Duff Tittle said there is no firm plan to reschedule that game at this time.

The Cougars also have their nonconference opponents lined up for 2010: home games against Utah State, Nevada and Washington and a road game at Florida State, giving BYU seven home games for the 2010 season.

In eight months, however, BYU will be a big underdog against Oklahoma, which could feature Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford in a matchup against BYU two-year starter Max Hall. Bradford is considering a jump to the NFL, however. Hall, a junior, is not.

Oklahoma and BYU are two of only seven teams nationally that have won 10 or more games each of the last three seasons. It will be only the second meeting between the two schools, BYU having won the first (31-6) at the 1994 Copper Bowl in Tucson, Ariz.

Florida State is 2-0 all-time against BYU, but this will be its first visit to Provo. Television plans for that game will be announced later, Holmoe said.

"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."

drew@sltrib.com