The game has changed in college football. Conference realignment has shaken up the sport, placing plenty of teams in new leagues in 2024. Name, image, and likeness has become a huge part of the sport, as players can now (legally) get paid by businesses and collectives. The [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] has altered the way you can build your team.
The [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] has expanded from four to 12 teams, beginning this season. It’s a change that aligns with the big realignment moves, making 2024 a season of change in college football.
We’re just a few days away from the Oklahoma Sooners kicking off their season at home against the Temple Owls, as Labor Day weekend marks Week One of the season. That means it’s time to get those final [autotag]CFP[/autotag] predictions and bowl projections in before the games begin.
That’s exactly what USA TODAY Sports did on Tuesday, predicting every bowl game and the playoff. While most national projections have [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ team on the outside looking in when it comes to competing for a championship, college football expert Erick Smith has a different opinion.
One thing to expect is a heavy dose of [autotag]SEC[/autotag] and [autotag]Big Ten[/autotag] teams. This year’s preseason forecast has four from the former and three from the latter. There’s two from the [autotag]ACC[/autotag], an independent and Group of Five winner and a [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] representative. Oklahoma sets up to be an excellent case study in how people need to readjust evaluating teams beyond win-loss record. The Sooners face five teams ranked in the top 15 of the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll with three of them on the road and one at a neutral site. A 9-3 record should likely be enough to overcome a 10-2 team without the same quality of wins. – Smith, USA TODAY Sports
Smith has the Sooners making the playoff and heading to South Bend, Indiana to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first round. It’s been 13 years since OU last visited Notre Dame, walking away with a 35-21 win in the 2013 season.
Smith has the Sooners moving onto the second round of the playoff, where they’d play Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
The Rose Bowl represents one of the low moments in the [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] era. Oklahoma took a 31-14 lead with six seconds left in the first half. Riley opted to squib kick the ball back to Georgia, who got the ball in great field position. Bulldogs kicker Rodrigo Blankenship kicked a 55-yard field goal to cut Oklahoma’s lead to two scores.
Georgia took control of the game, scoring the next 21 points to take a 38-31 lead. The Sooners battled the Bulldogs but ultimately fell in double overtime.
Facing Ohio State in the Rose Bowl would provide Oklahoma an opportunity to play one of the best teams in the nation. Going back to the Rose Bowl, the Sooners would be able to exorcise some demons.
A trip to the playoff and advancing to the quarterfinals this year would validate everything that Venables and his coaching staff have been doing since he took the reins. Navigating their brutal schedule this year to make it into the top 12 would send a statement to the rest of college football that the Sooners are going to be a force.
It’s a tall task, but those are the expectations in Norman, Oklahoma.
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