The Oklahoma Sooners 2023 season just came to an end less with a loss to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl just a few weeks ago. But we are already looking ahead to their first season in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] with our Way-too-early 2024 SEC Power Rankings. It’s also the first season of the 12-team playoff.
The Sooners go into next year with one of the most experienced defenses in all of college football after a number of starters and key contributors announced their returns for 2024. But on the offensive side of the ball, they have to replace one of the most prolific passers in college football history as well as nearly their entire offensive line.
Yes, we are excited about the [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] era and think he will be better than Dillon Gabriel, but until we see it, that is a question mark for next season.
247Sports shared their way too early bowl projections, and because of the turnover, the Sooners ended up in the Mayo Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes.
The Mayo Bowl will be an ACC and SEC matchup next season. Hearing that name probably makes a lot of OU fans groan, but I have said an 8-4, 9-3 season in the SEC your first year will be a success.
I know it’s Oklahoma, and they should be better than that. They will be in the future, but they still have a roster to build, thanks to what [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] left or wasn’t able to recruit to begin with. That’s not to say this staff hasn’t had their own mistakes because offensive line recruiting hasn’t had the star power, and the development on that side of the ball hasn’t been great either.
But if 8-4, 9-3 is a success, the two teams that played in the Mayo Bowl a year ago went 8-4. What might make Oklahoma fans mad, though, is 247Sports has four SEC teams making the playoff, and of course, Oklahoma isn’t one of them. Neither is the Alabama Crimson Tide, for what it’s worth.
Ultimately, this is an early projection that is a good talking point in the offseason. Oklahoma can definitely make the College Football Playoff next season, but there is going to have to be a major jump and some questions answered.
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