Oklahoma has had a rough year but here are five things to consider when considering the Sooners’ future. From @thatmanbryant
Oklahoma fans have experienced a roller coaster for the better part of the last 500 days. There was optimism after the 2020 season about the possibilities for that 2021 team. That optimism was dashed when their on-field performance never came close to the lofty expectations. There was a mid-season QB change involving a pair of former five-star quarterbacks.
After picking up a win over Texas in one of the greatest comebacks of all time, the Sooners’ offense stalled in late-season losses on the road to Baylor and Oklahoma State. The day following that loss to the Cowboys, Lincoln Riley bolted for the University of Southern California after gaslighting an entire fanbase that he wasn’t leaving (for LSU).
In the week that followed, Oklahoma hired Brent Venables. Despite the attrition suffered by the 2022 recruiting class after Riley’s departure, Venables and his staff helped put together a group that was viewed as the No. 8 recruiting class in the cycle.
Offseason expectations were fairly high (quite possibly, too high) as we rolled into the summer. Summer practices offered extreme optimism, as did the first three games.
A confounding loss to Kansas State, a team notorious for how they’ve played Oklahoma as of late, made us take a step back. The next week, Oklahoma barely got off the bus before getting blasted by TCU. The Horned Frogs now look like the favorites to win the Big 12 and possibly find themselves in the College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma lost quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the TCU loss and would be forced to play without him in the Red River Showdown. The Sooners got their bell rung by rivals Texas, losing 49-0. They ran the wildcat offense for the vast majority of the game with multiple scholarship quarterbacks dressed. That felt like rock bottom.
Gabriel returned the following week for homecoming against Kansas. The offense would shine, and the defense made some plays. The Sooners beat Iowa State in a game where Gabriel and the passing game didn’t have to carry the load before dropping their latest contest to Baylor, where the defense couldn’t stop the run.
We sit days away from Oklahoma going on the road to Morgantown to face the West Virginia Mountaineers. Oklahoma is not only 5-4, but their biggest rival appears to be in a better spot going forward as both look ahead to their eventual departure to the SEC.
Looks can be deceiving, and things can change from year to year. With that said, here are five things to consider or reconsider about Oklahoma’s future.
