Tag: 2024 Oklahoma Sooners

How could the SEC align its permanent rivals with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas?

If it went to a nine-game conference schedule, how could the permanent rivals line up for an expanded SEC.

The SEC is dealing with one of those good problems. As the conference prepares to expand to 16 schools with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas, SEC leadership is debating how to construct its schedule. In 2024 and most likely in 2025, the SEC will play eight conference games as they work out the details for what could come down the road.

Despite settling on eight games in the short term, the format that has received the most buzz has each team facing three permanent rivals each season as part of the nine-game conference schedule. The other six games would come from a rotation featuring the remaining 12 teams in the conference.

While there are some obvious permanent rivals for some teams, others aren’t so clear. It’s not an easy proposition, but it’s the one that would have each SEC team playing each other every two years.

This scheduling model is attractive because it sets up a school to play every other SEC program over a two-year cycle, with both home and away games against every other school over a four-year cycle. Year 1 will have a team’s three annual rivals plus six other SEC opponents. Those six are then rotated out for the rest of the conference in Year 2, allowing for games against all 15 conference foes. – Chip Patterson, CBS Sports

So, over a two-year span, Oklahoma will face every team in the conference. Over a four-year span, they will have hosted every team in the conference.

One of the complaints with the current format is the reality that an SEC may not play host to another for more than a decade. For example, Texas A&M hasn’t hosted Georgia despite being in the same conference for 10 seasons and only played the Bulldogs once in that time frame. The format getting the most consideration would fix that.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte spoke at a Longhorns town hall about the future of the SEC schedule. Del Conte mentioned that it’s a work in progress, but by 2026, the SEC could be at a nine-game conference schedule.

No format will leave everyone happy, but here’s a take on how the permanent rivals could align in the expanded SEC.

2024 4-star edge from Minnesota officially signs with the Oklahoma Sooners

Wyatt Gilmore brings his high-motor to Norman after signing his National Letter of Intent.

It was another up-and-down season for [autotag]Miguel Chavis[/autotag]’ group. There were numerous bright spots, but also moments they hope to forget.

Still, the defensive end group has abundant promise with nice young prospects. Another officially signed his national letter of intent to join that group next season. [autotag]Wyatt Gilmore[/autotag] from Minnesota is a 6-foot-4, 240-pound four-star edge.

Oklahoma Sooners fans are going to love him. He plays with a high motor and is constantly around the ball making plays. He most likely will spend the 2024 campaign developing his body and getting bigger for the 2025 season. But he could become a rotation piece in 2024 because of how hard he plays.

More from the [autotag]2024 Early Signing Period[/autotag]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Is Texas more prepared for the SEC jump than Oklahoma?

One analyst believes the Longhorns are doing a better job at preparing for the jump to the SEC than the Sooners.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns will spend one final season in the Big 12 before they make the jump to the best conference in the nation, the SEC.

SEC media days were filled with questions about the readiness of the Red River Rivals for their move to the SEC. Most coaches and players thought they are ready, even if analysts have some skepticism.

Making an appearance on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” Billy Liucci shared why he thinks Texas is more ready.

Texas is doing a (expletive) of a lot better job than OU is in terms of preparing to come into this league. Sooner fans are in for the rudest awakening because they’ve been going, except last year, 10-2, 11-1, making the playoffs. They’ve been doing that because they’ve been doing it against the Big 12. – Liucci, TexAgs via The Paul Finebaum Show

He added the success Texas has had in recruiting has created a talent gap between the Longhorns and Sooners’ rosters.

These comments scream someone who isn’t following what is happening in Norman. Texas has recruited well, but Oklahoma had a top-five class a year ago, too, and has a better class than the Longhorns this season. The Sooners are trending toward another top five class in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

The nation better hope Brent Venables doesn’t land two, let alone three, five-star defensive linemen in this class. It may sound crazy, but doubt Venables and this coaching staff at your own peril.

The other part is him dismissing the recent success of the Sooners by saying, “They’ve been doing it against the Big 12.” Did Liucci forget what conference Texas is in?

Texas has had one 10-win season since 2010. While last year was an improvement, the Longhorns still went 8-5 (just two games better than the Sooners) but are being discussed like they just went 11-2.

Since 2000, the Sooners have won fewer than nine games in a season four times. An 8-5 record at Oklahoma is looked at as a disappointment. Is that what’s considered successful at Texas?

Now, it doesn’t help that one of those seasons was a year ago, and it was the worst since the turn of the century. However, that looks like it’s going to be an aberration more than the beginning of a trend.

The argument for Texas being more prepared is simple. It started its rebuild two years ago with its new head coach. Oklahoma began its first and hopefully their last phase, just a year ago. The Longhorns have a head start on the Sooners.

But as we’ve seen the last decade, Oklahoma’s rebuilds are very short, whereas Texas is in the midst of one. Until Texas proves it is actually back, I wouldn’t be saying it is more prepared than anyone.

It had better win at least 10 games this year and compete for the conference title or it’s very possible Steve Sarkisian will not be there much longer.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Oklahoma Sooners all-time record vs. opponents on 2024 SEC schedule

A look at Oklahoma’s all-time record against the eight teams they’ll face in the SEC in 2024.

The 2024 season will be one of the more anticipated ones in college football history: The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns move to the SEC, and the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins take their talents to the Big Ten.

All of that is happening in the same year that the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams, creating even more intrigue and anticipation. Teams that would be out of the hunt entering November will have something to play for down the stretch.

2024 is going to be bonkers, and we’re here for it.

Though it’s still a ways out, let’s take a look at Oklahoma’s all-time head-to-head record against the eight opponents they’ll play in their inaugural season in 2024.

How do the Sooners stack up with the SEC in 2024 recruiting after first commitment?

After receiving their first commitment of the 2024 cycle, how do the Sooners compare to their future SEC foes in 247Sports recruiting rankings?

The Oklahoma Sooners 2024 recruiting class will be the first of Oklahoma’s tenure in the SEC. With the Sooners and the Texas Longhorns making the move in 2024, the recruiting classes that the Red River Rivals are building for 2024 “just means more.”

While the 2022 and the 2023 classes will be the foundation of Oklahoma’s move to the SEC, the 2024 class will be marked as the Sooners’ first recruiting class of the SEC era. And much like last spring, when the Sooners appeared to be struggling on the recruiting trail (to some), Oklahoma looks to be on the verge of seeing the fruits of their labors.

That first fruit came in the form of a commitment from four-star cornerback Jeremiah Newcombe out of Arizona. The quick-twitch corner is a playmaker who plays fast on the field and brings an edge to the outside cornerback position.

With the Sooners’ first commitment in the cycle, where does that put them amongst their future SEC foes? Here’s how the Oklahoma Sooners compare to the SEC in the 247Sports composite team rankings.

Note: Blue chip prospects refers to the number of four and five-star players combined for a given recruiting class.