Oklahoma football: Five bold predictions with five days to go

ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners celebrates with his team including Caleb Kelly #19 and Marquise Overton #97 after defeating the Baylor Bears 30-23 in the Big 12 Football Championship at AT&T Stadium on December 7, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners celebrates with his team including Caleb Kelly #19 and Marquise Overton #97 after defeating the Baylor Bears 30-23 in the Big 12 Football Championship at AT&T Stadium on December 7, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Five days from now, the Sooners will take the field at a three-quarters-empty Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to kick off the 126th season of Oklahoma football.

The five-time, defending Big 12 champions are favored by the media that cover the Big 12 Conference to make it six in a row, but not without a stiff challenge from Oklahoma State and Texas, the Sooners’ two biggest rivals.

Oklahoma will open the season with a new starting quarterback for the third consecutive season and its fourth different starting quarterback in as many seasons.

Former five-star prospect Spencer Rattler, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2019 class nationally, steps into the quarterback role for the Sooners to kick off the 2020 season, and is the subject of the first of our bold predictions for this atypical college football season.