The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off their worst season since 1998. But there is reason for optimism for Sooner fans. We’ve talked about a few of those things, such as their schedule and anticipated improvement from Year 1 to Year 2 under Brent Venables.
247Sports’ Chris Hummer put together a top 10 list of teams that will rise and teams that will tumble.
On the list of teams expected to rise are the Oklahoma Sooners.
Yeah, I know. I’m really going out on a limb picking a team that’s had one season with eight or fewer wins since 2000. But, hey, I’ll take the layups where I can get them. Oklahoma will be better this year, and a few reasons stick out for why I project a jump.
First, Brent Venables can coach defense. The Sooners were below average in 2022 (82nd nationally in yards allowed per play), which is the first time since 2012 that Venables led a defense that ranked outside the top 25. That 2012 campaign happened to be his first with the Tigers; Clemson went from 69th to 23rd the following season. Can you expect a similar jump in Year 2 with Oklahoma? It’s possible. The Sooners bring back the majority of their 2022 starters, added five four-star defensive transfers and several four-star recruits who are expected to contribute right away. The transition from Alex Grinch to Venables was always going to take a while. But Venables’ offseason additions should’ve sped up that timeline considerably.
Venables will get the defense playing at a much higher level in 2023. The schedule will help with some of that. The Sooners will not face Texas Tech, Kansas State or Houston, three teams that should have the best offenses in the Big 12 in 2023. They’ll also miss Baylor, which they’ve had some difficulty slowing on the ground the last few years.
Hummer then goes on to discuss the close losses the Sooners’ suffered in 2022. History is unlikely to repeat itself.
Second, you could argue the Sooners were a bit unlucky last year. Forget losses to TCU and Texas. They whooped Oklahoma. But the Sooners’ other five losses all came by a possession or less. In fact, the Sooners went 0-5 in one-possession games. That sort of close-game luck tends to fluctuate over time.
Oklahoma will not be unlucky two years in a row, right? Well, if they’re better on defense, then they’ll make more stops in the later stages of games than they did a year ago.
Third, and most importantly, the Big 12 is wide open. The Sooners play a trio of new Big 12 teams (Cincinnati, UCF, BYU) all of which must adjust to the week-to-week strain of the Power Five. They also draw TCU at home while avoiding both Baylor and Kansas State. Oklahoma might not be College Football Playoff good. But the Sooners have plenty of firepower to easily clear the seven-win barrier. – Hummer, 247Sports
Like we mentioned before, the Sooners schedule sets up quite nicely. They have a few tough road trips to Cincinnati, Stillwater and Provo, but avoiding Kansas State, Texas Tech and Baylor is a great start to achieving a 10-win season in Venables second year at the helm.
Not only should they clear that seven-win barrier, but the Sooners should also win at least nine games this season. As I’ve said many times, if they don’t hit that nine-win number, there are big problems at Oklahoma.
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