The countdown has begun for 2020 Oklahoma football…but how many days till the season opener?
We can probably narrow it down to 21, 28 or 35 days before the start of the 2020 season. That translates to Aug. 29 (the current date for the Sooners’ season kickoff), Sept. 5 (the original date for the season-opening game) or Sept. 12. Oklahoma will play Missouri State, an FCS opponent from the Missouri Valley Conference, to open its 10-game 2020 schedule.
With three of the Power Five conferences electing to play conference-only schedules this season — because of health and safety concerns surrounding coronavirus exposure — and two others, including the Big 12, adopting plus-one models allowing one out-of-conference contest, it allows for a later start to the season.
Although the Big 12 has yet to formalize its revamped football schedule, my guess is that Oklahoma’s season opener will move once more, this time to Sept. 12, a week later than the originally scheduled Sept. 5 date. A week ago that would not have been an option because Missouri State was slated to play Montana on Sept. 12.
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On Thursday, however, the Big Sky Conference, of which Montana is a member, announced that it is cancelling the 2020 football season. That decision frees up Missouri State on that date, and the date is open for the Sooners because the game with Tennessee has been dropped from the schedule. Both OU and Missouri State still have to work out the schedule change with their two leagues and the NCAA, but I believe they will move in that direction.
Even if the Sooners were successful in moving their season-opener to Sept.12, they would be off for three weeks before their first scheduled Big 12 game, Oct. 3 at home against Baylor.
One of the rites of passage every college football season is the arrival of Phil Steele’s College Football Preview publication, and it is especially so for Oklahoma football in this COVID-crazed year that begins the third decade of the 21st century.
Steele’s renowned annual publication, considered one of the bibles of college football and a heaven for the football nerd set, this year is projecting a College Football Playoff final four of Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama and Oklahoma. He also is projecting that this may finally be the year that Lincoln Riley and the Sooners get their first Playoff win after four previous attempts.
All of this, of course is dependent on how the 2020 college football season ultimately plays out with major hurdles to overcome prompted by the continuing COVID-19 health crisis.
One of the features in every edition of Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is the national ranking of the best offensive and defensive position units. Perhaps it isn’t too surprising, but nevertheless reinforcing to hear, that Oklahoma ranks high in the breakdown of the four position units that make up the high-powered Sooner offense.
For the third year in a row, Oklahoma will have someone new starting at quarterback in 2020. Spencer Rattler, the No, 1 quarterback nationally in the 2019 class, has yet to start a game at OU, but does have loads of talent and a year under his belt in Riley’s offensive system. It also represents the first time in three years that the Sooners do not have a talented transfer QB waiting in the wings.
Despite Rattler’s perceived shortcomings, Steele ranks OU’s quarterback situation as the seventh best in the country. Clemson, with Heisman hopeful Trevor Lawrence in his third season, and Ohio State with Justin Fields. a former transfer from Georgia, rank one and two in this category. Texas, with three-year starter Sam Ehlinger at the reins, is No. 3.
The offensive skill positions cannot reach their potential without a solid offensive line to protect the QB and clear the way for the other offensive playmakers. Oklahoma is blessed with one of the best. Two years ago, the veteran OU offensive line was awarded the Joe Moore Award as the best in college football.
Oklahoma lost two-year starter Trey Sermon to the transfer portal in the offseason and will be without senior Rhamondre Stevenson for at least five games, but the Sooners still have junior Kennedy Brooks, who led all OU backs a year ago with 1,011 rushing yards and an average of 6.5 yards per carry. Junior T.J. Pledger will finally get a solid chance to show what he can do, and look for homegrown Marcus Major, who was injured most of his freshman year, to make a strong contribution.
The Oklahoma running backs ranked No. 9 among Steele’s top 2020 individual units.
Ever since Lincoln Riley came onboard at Oklahoma, and with him a grouping of celebrated, Heisman-level quarterbacks, the Oklahoma receivers have enjoyed a field day against opposing defenses. In recent years, the Sooners have had the likes of Sterling Shepard, Dede Westbrook, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and CeeDee Lamb as receiving targets. All are now in the NFL.
In 2020, junior Charleston Rambo is poised to be OU go-to receiving target. He’ll get plenty of help from a couple of veteran transfers (Theo Howard from UCLA and Obi Obialo from Marshall) and a couple of former five-star receiving prospects. Also watch for sophomore tight end Austin Stogner to have a big year.
Steele ranks the 2020 OU receiving corps at No. 7 behind No. 1 LSU, USC, Alabama, Purdue, Oklahoma State and Colorado State.
The Sooners lost four O-line starters off of that award-winning group for the 2019 season, but their depth at that position under assistant coach Bill Bedenbaugh enabled the Sooners to reload and continue performing at a high level. All five starters are back in 2020, which is a big reason Oklahoma ranks second behind Alabama in the offensive line category.
Another Sooner strength area for the 2020 season, according to Steele, is special teams. OU ranks No. 6 in this important category. With sophomore Gabe Brkic kicking field goals (17 of 17 in 2019) and junior Reeves Mundshau doing the punting (40.2-yard average), OU should be in good shape in securing field position and if the offense has to settle for three points instead of seven.
In case you are curious, Steele ranked the Sooner defensive line 16th coming into the new season, the linebackers 35th, the defensive backs 27th.