Out of the 68 teams that are considered Power Four programs in college football in 2024, just 38 of them remain undefeated following week two of the season. Teams in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag], Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish play at the highest level of competition in the sport. Despite most teams playing “Group of Five” or FCS opponents through the first two weeks of the year, 30 teams have already suffered a loss.
However, the Oklahoma Sooners are not one of them. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ team was nearly upended against a fellow Power Four foe, when the Houston Cougars battled all the way to the finish in a 16-12 OU victory on Saturday night. They remain undefeated on the young season at 2-0, but a shaky offensive outing has fans and experts alike concerned about what’s to come for OU in their new conference.
But before league play begins, the Sooners have another non-conference opponent coming to town in the Tulane Green Wave. They represent the best collection of talent and the best team the 2024 Sooners have faced so far, and OU will need to improve mightily on the offensive side of the ball if they want to walk away with a win.
For now, though, the Sooners are one of 38 unbeaten teams at the Power Four level, and “The Oklahoman” ranked each of those teams from worst to first at this point in the season. Joe Mussatto, who wrote the article, placed Oklahoma at No. 25, and had a simple sentence that sums up Saturday night.
“At least the defense is good,” Mussatto said.
Oklahoma ranked sixth out of the nine SEC teams on Mussatto’s list that are still undefeated. Over half of the best conference in college football hasn’t incurred a loss yet.
The Sooners will begin conference play in less than two weeks when the Tennessee Volunteers roll into Norman for a primetime extravaganza. The Vols are 2-0 with wins over Chattanooga (FCS) and N.C. State. They will very likely be 3-0 when they face OU, with Kent State coming up this week.
Oklahoma, on the other hand, cannot look past Tulane. The Green Wave almost defeated Kansas State on Saturday. If the Sooners want to stay undefeated for their initiation into the SEC against Tennessee, they’ve got to get a whole lot better in a hurry on offense. If they don’t, the Green Wave have all the pieces they need to send them spiraling three weeks into the 2024 season with no let up in sight.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @AaronGelvin.