Longtime sports writer Phil Steele puts out his conference power rankings every offseason, and this year he’s feeling optimistic about the Sooners.
When ranking each Big 12 school, Oklahoma comes in at No. 2 behind the Texas Longhorns.
Several outlets are predicting a bounce-back season for Oklahom. Others are waiting to see the adjustments Brent Venables makes in Year 2.
The offense ranked 13th in the nation, but the defense ranked 122nd last season. The staff hit the recruiting trail and portal hard, bringing in a top-five class in 2023. The Sooners also added several impact transfers on the defensive side of the ball that should add talent and experience to a roster that was devoid of both in 2022.
The key defensively is going to be the defensive line and what kind of pressure it can create and how well it can contain the run game.
Both were major issues a year ago. However, with help from the transfer portal and signing five-star defensive end PJ Adebawore, there should be quite a bit of improvement.
Offensively the question is who replaces leading receiver Marvin Mims and leading rusher Eric Gray.
The running back room should be deeper and overall more talented than a year ago. There’s more experience, and with the help of the quarterback run game, the Sooners could build upon their top 10 rushing attack.
All of this is looking good for Oklahoma, on paper. The schedule is shaping up nicely, though there’s bound to be a team or two that exceed expectations.
This should be a bounce-back year, and what better way to leave the Big 12 than an Oklahoma versus Texas conference championship game? A lot of things have to go well for that to happen for both schools, something the Big 12 probably doesn’t want to see happen.
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