With the way the 2023 season has started for the Oklahoma Sooners, the expectations have changed from the outside. Before the season, many wondered if the Sooners could get to 10 wins. Now the expectations for Oklahoma include a [autotag]Big 12 championship[/autotag] appearance.
The Sooners are 6-0 and have shown vast improvement on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football. But they aren’t a perfect team. Special teams continue to be an issue, and while they are much improved defensively, they aren’t among the elites.
Ethan Downs was asked on Monday about the outside pressure.
“We’ve already put the pressure on ourselves,” Downs said. “We have high expectations. We have goals and those goals are still the same even before all of the hype, even after. We appreciate all of the recognition, but our goals exceed far beyond any recognition. Our family and what happens in the building every practice is what we’re focused on, so it hasn’t changed.”
That answer right there is a testament to the culture and mindset [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] has established in Year 2 in Norman. They say a team takes on the personality of its coach, and you can see Brent Venables’ fingerprints all over this team.
It’s one thing to say that, and it’s another to show it on the football field. The players are saying all of the right things, but now they have an opportunity to put those words into action in Norman on Saturday when they take on the UCF Knights.
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