Spring football festivities are out of the picture, as programs gave fans the closest things they’ll get to a gameday atmosphere until this fall with spring football games. Gears are now turned toward the recruiting trail and summer workouts for college football programs, and media companies are beginning to release their post-spring college football top 25 rankings, including ESPN.
Now, the Oklahoma Sooners had a strong spring — including bringing in some help in the transfer portal, watching Jackson Arnold put in work under center heading into next season as a starter and wide receiver Deion Burks breaking out. All-in-all, there’s reason to believe Brent Venables and his Sooners program are taking momentum into the SEC.
Still, the Sooners ranking from ESPN’s post-spring Top 25 is quite shocking.
Sooners narrowly ranked top-20 in ESPN’s updated rankings
Oklahoma is a blue blood. They posted a 6-7 season in the Big 12 as Venables took the program which Lincoln Riley left the program high and dry. He quickly bounced back, leaving last season with a 10-3 record. Still, ESPN doesn’t believe the Sooners can be a playoff team next season.
In the post-spring Top 25, the Sooners come in ranked No. 18 in the nation.
“The Sooners improved by four victories in coach Brent Venables’ second season, and programs typically make an even bigger jump in Year 3. The only problem: It’s also Year 1 in the SEC, and the schedule is downright scary,” ESPN wrote.
Yeah, the Sooners are heading to the SEC. Sure, it’ll be a big jump in competition from the Big 12. The Sooners are still building off a double-digit win season with an abundance of talent on the roster. Oklahoma isn’t heading into the new conference with the same staff, either, as Venables brought in new coordinators on both sides of the ball.
“…The Sooners could be good again, but they’re going to face one of the most difficult schedules in the FBS with road games at Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU and home contests against Tennessee, Texas (in Dallas) and Alabama,” ESPN continued.
The schedule might be scary, but the SEC is a different beast and everyone knows that. Oklahoma missed the playoff as a 10-2 team a season ago. With a 12-team playoff field, a 9-3 Sooners team arguably makes the new playoff field. If the three losses come against other top-15 programs, they should still be a playoff team.
It seems the Sooners aren’t holding much expectation heading into the SEC, and they’ve got plenty of doubters to prove wrong, including ESPN and universal oddsmakers.
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