The Oklahoma Sooners came in at No. 9 in the first USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. It’s a spot that feels about right for a team coming off a two-loss season and dealing with an offseason of turnover and change.
The Sooners were the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 as voted on by the coaches but Baylor (10) and Oklahoma State (11) are right behind them. The gap between the Sooners and the rest of the Big 12 narrowed in 2021, and the race for the conference title will be tightly contested again in 2022.
Looking at each team ranked in the top 25, Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports had this to say about the Oklahoma Sooners.
Applying conventional wisdom, there would be an expectation that the Sooners would take a step back after losing coach Lincoln Riley and having several key players, including quarterback Caleb Williams, transfer. Don’t tell that to Brent Venables. The former Clemson defensive coordinator bringing a fresh approach and intensity after being hired that has been embraced by the holdovers. A Central Florida transfer, Dillon Gabriel steps in at quarterback with former Mississippi coordinator Jeff Lebby leading the offense. WR Marvin Mims should have a breakout season, but the running game must improve. DL Jalen Redmond, LB DaShaun White and DB Woodi Washington are key pieces on a defense capable of pushing for a run at the College Football Playoff. – Smith, USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma’s coaching change was anything but conventional. The Sooners won 10 games under Lincoln Riley before he set off for the west coast (Bob Stoops gets credited with the Alamo Bowl win). OU, like Notre Dame and Oregon, are elite Power Five programs that lost their head coaches to another Power Five program. That’s not something you see every day.
While many might think the Sooners will take a step back, the reality is the Oklahoma Sooners were in pretty good shape when Venables arrived.
This team was still pretty good on offense when he arrived, they just needed a quarterback. Venables and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby found that in [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]. But they made sure to address other potential needs in the transfer portal as well with the additions of Jeffery Johnson, LV Bunkley-Shelton, and McKade Mettauer.
Smith mentions the running game needs to improve, but the offense as a whole has to be more consistent. Removing defensive and special teams’ scores, they averaged just 19.67 points a game against Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State to close out the season. In all other games, aside from their 76 points performance against Western Carolina, the Sooners averaged 38.75 points per game.
The three defenses they faced were good, but to be held in check like that at the most critical juncture of the season was the difference in playing for the Big 12 championship and not.
Jeff Lebby hopes to provide another in a long line of great Oklahoma Sooners offenses but will be tested by Nebraska, Baylor, and Oklahoma State again in 2022. The Sooners’ offensive coordinator will be tasked with creating a game plan that can find success against the top defenses in the Big 12.
The turnover does leave some question as to what Oklahoma will look like in 2022, there’s little doubt that Brent Venables and his coaching staff will have this team ready to play come September 3. The Oklahoma Sooners
[listicle id=68374]
[mm-video type=video id=01g9z7kse2kxd6eb7ttt playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g9z7kse2kxd6eb7ttt/01g9z7kse2kxd6eb7ttt-e0ea5ef452348db626fcaadbf752acd1.jpg]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.