Oct 15, 2022; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Jovantae Barnes (2) scores a touchdown during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Oklahoma Sooners are just weeks away from beginning Year 3 of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era.
Nationally, the media thinks Oklahoma could have a good season, but that ultimately the offensive line and a tough schedule will be their undoing. The Sooners landed outside the top 15 in the coaches poll to begin the season.
The expectation in Norman is to win championships, and the hope in Sooner Nation is that Oklahoma can make it to the expanded 12-team [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] this year. It’s an uphill climb with a daunting schedule, but OU isn’t the place to be if you have middle-of-the-road expectations.
Athlon Sports, however, believes that Oklahoma will miss the CFP in their preseason bowl projections.
With a new conference comes new bowl tie-ins, and gone are the familiar Big 12 bowls that OU fans are used to. However, Athlon staff writer Steve Lassan thinks Oklahoma will end up in a matchup against a former conference opponent.
Lassan projects that the Sooners will wind up in the TaxAct Texas Bowl this season, which is played in Houston, Texas on New Year’s Eve. The Texas Bowl tie-ins feature the SEC and the Big 12, and Lassan thinks Oklahoma will be looking for revenge against the Kansas Jayhawks, one of two conference opponents that beat them last year.
For reference, the SEC’s representative in the Texas Bowl in 2023 was Texas A&M. The Aggies went 7-5 in the regular season, before falling in Houston against the Big 12’s Oklahoma State by a score of 31-23. However, with the expanded playoff, protecting bowl bids from previous seasons might be a lost cause with…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-sooners-land-athlon-sports-105624700.html
Author : Sooners Wire
Publish date : 2024-08-07 10:56:24
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