The closer we get to the actual games being played, it seems the national media is starting to believe Oklahoma could be one of the last four teams standing when it’s time to decide the College Football Playoff participants.
USA TODAY Sports’ latest bowl projections were released this week ahead of the first full week of college football, and they list the Sooners in the four-team playoff.
The Sooners and Ohio State Buckeyes replace the Michigan Wolverines and Cincinnati Bearcats from the 2021 playoff field. Michigan and Cincinnati struggled against the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide.
Oklahoma’s last matchup in the playoffs against the Crimson Tide was in 2018. It’s safe to say the Sooners will look a little different from that game.
Brent Venables would be coaching against Nick Saban as head coach. Venables last matched up against Alabama in the playoffs as the defensive coordinator for the Clemson Tigers in the 2019 national championship game. Clemson dismantled Alabama, 44-16.
That year’s Alabama squad dispatched a Lincoln Riley-coached football team led by Heisman winner Kyler Murray in the Orange Bowl. The Sooners looked stunned from the opening drive. Oklahoma settled, but couldn’t get the requisite stops to beat Alabama.
Venables found ways to disrupt that dynamic Alabama offense, which featured top-100 draft picks Najee Harris, Tua Tagovailoa and Jerry Jeudy.
This year’s Oklahoma’s defense has not been unveiled, but it will have a similar test with quarterback Bryce Young, the 2021 Heisman winner and a favorite to win the award again in 2022. Young is almost a lock to land inside the top 10 of the 2023 NFL draft. It would be quite the test for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Despite the shift in the regime, the expectations for Oklahoma are still high. Even with Venables entering his first season as a head coach, Oklahoma is still a significant player in college football. Now it will begin to show it on the field, starting with its first game against UTEP.
[listicle id=70017]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.