Spring ball has wrapped up, classes are about to finish for the semester, and coaches are hitting the recruiting trails hard before they settle back in for fall camp and the 2022 college football season.
While the college football landscape continues to evolve with NIL, the transfer portal, realignment discussions, and the future of the College Football Playoff, not much has changed at the top in the college football hierarchy.
In the latest USA TODAY Sports post-spring power rankings, the top five teams are five of the most successful programs over the last decade. Coming off a national championship game loss, Alabama sits atop the post-spring power rankings with 2021 national champion Georgia right behind them. Ohio State comes in at No. 3. The Oklahoma Sooners moved up a spot and sit at No. 4. Clemson looks like a team that could see a return to national prominence after a down year (by their standards) in 2021. The Tigers come in at No. 5.
Despite all of the turnover at head coach, on the coaching staff, at quarterback, and on defense, the Oklahoma Sooners sit at No. 4 in USA TODAY Sports updated power rankings after spring ball.
Sometimes change is good even during an era of success. Lincoln Riley won 55 games in five seasons, but his departure created an opportunity to fix the culture of a program that was on a downward trajectory. The arrival of former Sooners defensive coordinator Brent Venables might seem like a step back, especially after the program sustained significant losses in the transfer portal. However, Venables brings a needed emphasis on physical play on both sides of the ball that was lacking. Central Florida transfer Dillon Gabriel will be the starter at quarterback with Caleb Williams joining Riley at Southern California. Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby arrives from Mississippi and will rely more on the running game if the offensive line can do its part. On defense, Venables was aggressive in going into the portal to fill needs on the line and secondary. Holdover lineman Jalen Redmond and defensive back Woodi Washington should be among the players in the Big 12. OU didn’t see its run of six consecutive conference titles end because of a lack of talent. This is still the favorite in the league. — Erick Smith, USA TODAY Sports
As successful as Riley was at Oklahoma, he couldn’t push the Sooners over the top. Struggles in the College Football Playoff and multiple conference losses in his final two seasons at the helm made getting into the Big 12 championship game a challenge. They made it in 2020 with a lot of help from the league but failed to reach the title game in 2021 for the first time since the game was reinstituted in 2017.
The hiring of Brent Venables was the perfect response to the storm that was Riley’s departure. Someone with a ton of energy, that had a passion for the program, and who had success on the field and on the recruiting trail against the SEC. With his success as coordinator, Venables was the perfect person at the perfect time to lead the Oklahoma Sooners into the SEC.
While there may be lingering frustration over the way Riley left Oklahoma back in November, the program is in good hands with Venables at the helm.
Noticeable are the absences of the Texas Longhorns and the USC Trojans. Smith isn’t buying the hype coming out of Austin or Los Angeles after the two programs combined for nine wins in 2021.
The Oklahoma Sooners have a favorable schedule in 2022 and an experienced hand at the helm of their offense. Winning the Big 12 and getting back to the College Football Playoff isn’t outside the realm of possibility but teams like Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Texas won’t make it easy. The Big 12 is arguably as deep as it’s been in the last several years and a handful of teams could become legitimate contenders for the conference title.