The Toughest OU Football Challenge May Not Come Until Later in the 2016 Season

It has already been widely documented that OU football faces one of the most daunting schedules in 2016 of any FBS team, and perhaps the most difficult among those teams expected to vie for a national championship.

Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jordan Thomas (7) breaks up a pass intended for TCU Horned Frogs wide receiver Kolby Listenbee (7)during the second half at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

The Sooners open the season with three of their first four games against teams that finished in the top 15 in the country last season. Moreover, two of the three are on the road.

While a number of the nation’s top teams open up the 2016 campaign in walk-over fashion against teams that will provide little more than mental therapy and a video-game-like runaway score, Oklahoma will get a big-boy challenge away from home against the University of Houston, a team that you may have forgotten finished last season at 13-1 and polished off No. 9 Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The Cougars were rewarded with a No. 8 finish in the final USA Today Coaches Poll for 2015.

Two weeks later, Oklahoma will host Ohio State in what could easily be the game of the year in college football. The Buckeyes rolled to a 12-1 record a year ago and were ranked No. 4 in the final USA Today poll last season.

Then comes the 2016 Big 12 opener with TCU at their place, which has historically been a hard-fought, close game for the Sooners, with the last three meetings being decided by a combined eight points. The one saving grace for Bob Stoops and Company is that they have a week off between the Ohio State and TCU games, which should aid the Sooners cause in getting a bit healthier and preparing for the Horned Frogs.

Even though they finished the season ranked seventh in the country, the Horned Frogs had a bit of a down year last season from what was expected of them, and they could experience a further regression this season with All-Big 12 performers Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson gone from the high-scoring TCU offense. But they are a strong opponent nonetheless, and even tougher when they play at home.

Last season, Houston, Ohio State and TCU produced an eye-popping combined season record of 36-4. That should be more than enough to underscore the fact that the Sooners aren’t shying away from anyone next season.

Like Stoops has always said, to be the best you have to play the best. Oklahoma’s 2016 football schedule is a testament to that philosophy.

While no one will argue with the degree of difficulty facing the Sooners this fall in opening the 2016 season, here is something that should catch you off guard and smack you right between the eyes.

Nov 14, 2015; Waco, TX, USA; The Oklahoma Sooners face off against the Baylor Bears during the game at McLane Stadium. The Sooners defeat the Bears 44-34. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

I suggest to you that OU’s toughest game of the season – not the biggest, mind you, but the toughest -and the trap game that could rain on its potential College Football Playoff celebration will not come until the next to last game of the season, when the Sooners visit West Virginia.

Believe it or not, ESPN’s preseason Football Power Index gives the Sooners an 18 percent chance of finishing the season undefeated next season, despite having such a perilous slate of opponents. That is a better chance of running the proverbial table than any other FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) school this-2016 coming season.

According to the ESPN early-preseason projections, Oklahoma has a 90 percent of beating Houston and an 81 percent probability of prevailing at home over Ohio State. The forecasters who crunch the numbers for the network’s Football Power Index have the Sooners with a 73 percent chance of winning at West Virginia, as well, but that is the lowest percentage against any of the dozen OU opponents in 2016.

And it certainly makes some sense to me that a road contest that far away from home and against a good West Virginia team, at a time of the season when some complacency can begin to set in, especially if the Sooners are fortunate enough to sit undefeated that late in the year, might pose the biggest stumbling block to what could be a tremendously successful season.

And this doesn’t even take into account the games on the schedule against Red River-rival Texas, Kansas State, Baylor. Texas Tech and the regular-season Bedlam finale with Oklahoma State, certainly no walk in the park in any season.

Needless to say, if Oklahoma were to pull off its first perfect season since 2000, it will surely go down as one of the greatest football seasons in the Sooners’ storied gridiron history.

Home/OU Football