2023 is already off to a hot start for the Oklahoma Sooners. They landed one of the best recruiting classes in the cycle and one of the best transfer portal classes this offseason as well.
Brent Venables and his staff have attacked Oklahoma’s weaknesses from the 2023 season and added players to help fill the void left by players departing for the NFL.
Now all there is left to do, is get to September and start playing games.
On paper, the Oklahoma Sooners should be improved from what they were last season. Even though they aren’t bringing back a ton of returning production, the pieces are there for 2023 to result in more success.
And that’s in large part to what they’ve brought in to help the defense. Legit difference makers like Dasan McCullough, Rondell Bothroyd, and Reggie Pearson specifically. Each has the experience and the ability to provide game-changing plays for Oklahoma’s defense, and each could be a week one starter when the Sooners play Arkansas State.
In Bill Connelly’s first SP+ Rankings for ESPN (ESPN+), the Oklahoma Sooners fared far better than what some might imagine, given the way 2022 went. Connelly looks at three factors to help inform his projections.
- Returning Production: The Oklahoma Sooners ranked 77th in the nation and ninth in the Big 12 in returning production.
- Recent recruiting, which includes transfer acquisitions for the first time, and gives more weight to the most recent classes. Oklahoma had the No. 8 class in the 2022 cycle and the No. 4 class in the 2023 cycle. Pretty good.
- Recent success: This one is a bit of a wild card for Oklahoma. They had success prior to Lincoln Riley’s departure, and the first year of Brent Venables didn’t go well. Was 2022 the aberration year? We certainly hope so.
Taking all that into account, let’s check in on the Big 12 and see how they stack up in the first SP+ Rankings for the 2023 season.