The Oklahoma Sooners have an opportunity to make a statement this week when they take on the archrival Texas Longhorns in the 2024 edition of the Red River Rivalry.
Texas is 5-0 and the No. 1 team in the country heading into Week 7. They’ll be looking for revenge after Oklahoma pulled off the 34-30 upset a year ago.
The game always has massive implications, and it will once again happen in 2024.
Most experts have placed OU in lower-tier bowls than they’re used to. A sluggish start to the season certainly didn’t help, nor did a tough loss against Tennessee or a heart-stopping win against Auburn. The chaos of week six in college football also didn’t move the needle much in Oklahoma’s favor.
CBS Sports college football writer Jerry Palm released his latest bowl projections after a wild week but still had OU headed for a below-expectation postseason destination.
Palm has the Sooners earning a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl. That game will be played on December 27th. The bowl typically pits the Big Ten against the Pac-12.
Smith predicts that the Sooners will match up against the Arizona Wildcats, the same team that defeated OU in the Alamo Bowl last year.
Arizona has a new coach this year, as Jedd Fisch was hired away by Washington after the Huskies lost Kalen DeBoer to Alabama when Nick Saban retired. The Wildcats responded by hiring San Jose State’s Brent Brennan to lead them into the Big 12.
Arizona is currently 3-2 and 1-1 in conference play. They concluded a very successful season last year by knocking off the Sooners 38-24 in San Antonio, dropping Oklahoma to 10-3 by forcing turnover after turnover. Arizona leads the all-time series between the teams 2-1, winning at home in 1989 after losing in Norman in 1988.
Being in the Las Vegas Bowl isn’t what Sooner Nation was hoping for to begin this season. But if that’s the way the year goes, OU could do a lot worse than getting a shot at revenge to cap off 2024.
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