It was an up and down effort for the Sooners in week one but it still ended with a win. Oklahoma struggled to find a rhythm after a 23 point second quarter gave them a 37-14 lead at halftime.
Despite the manner in which they won, the Sooners remain one of the top teams in the country according to ESPN’s power rankings.
The Sooners’ 40-35 victory over Tulane showed plenty of room for concern, particularly on defense, where they allowed 5.1 yards per play (Tulane QB Michael Pratt was 27-of-44 for 296 yards and 3 TDs) and allowed Tulane to outscore them 21-3 in the second half. Spencer Rattler, the Heisman favorite, threw two interceptions, including on the second play of the game. Still, a win is a win, and the Sooners improved by leaps and bounds as last season went on. They’ll need that again to live up to this season’s high hopes. – Dave Wilson
ESPN has Alabama as the top team in the country after their annihilation of Miami. Georgia follows at no. 2, and Ohio State comes in at no. 3.
The Sooners have a lot of football to play in 2021, which gives them time to find the killer instinct needed to put teams away once they have sizable leads. The best thing to take from that game is how dominant they were in the second quarter of the game.
If this Oklahoma team can figure out a way to play like that more consistently, they’ll be incredibly difficult to beat.
The only other Big 12 teams to show up in the rankings were the Iowa State Cyclones at 11 and the Texas Longhorns at 16. The Cyclones drop out of the top 10 after a disappointing showing against Norther Iowa. Texas starts its climb to relevance after a win against ranked Louisiana.
Regardless of the week one performances, the Big 12 still runs through Oklahoma and the Sooners will have to navigate the Big 12 to repeat as conference champions.
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