The Oklahoma Sooners are just over two months from kicking off their 2024 season against Temple in Norman. For now, though, it’s preview magazine season, and one of the biggest names in that game has released his preseason Top 25.
Phil Steele ranked the Sooners a bit lower than some other analysts. He has Oklahoma at No. 20 in the country coming into the season and seventh in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].
Brent Venabes has built a strong defense and Oklahoma is actually #7 in my Power Poll but has the SEC’s toughest schedule with just 3 SEC home games and they face each of the other top 6 teams (4 on road). – Steele
Steele also had OU 20th to begin last season after putting them at No. 8 ahead of [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ rough first season at the helm.
This is in part due to the challenging schedule OU faces this year. Moving to the SEC from the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] means a big jump in competition and though Oklahoma is in a better place now than they were a year ago, getting to 10 wins again will be more difficult.
The defense looks stacked. [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] return to lead a group that is solid across the board, especially in the back seven. The defensive line was probably the weakest of the three levels, so Oklahoma made a big move and added [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] in the spring portal window. Williams helps shore up a talented, but young unit up front.
Offensively, [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] takes over at quarterback, with plenty of weapons at running back and wide receiver. Offensive line and tight end leave a bit to be desired, but if the transfer portal additions at those positions click, Oklahoma could jell on offense.
With Brent Venables entering Year 3, the way for the Sooners to out-do Steele’s projections would be to take another step forward and get back to the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag], somewhat shocking the nation in the process.
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