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Oklahoma football: CBS Sports has different take on OU’s projection for 2022

By Chip Rouse

Oct 16, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners tight end Jeremiah Hall (27) celebrates with wide receiver Mario Williams (4) after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners tight end Jeremiah Hall (27) celebrates with wide receiver Mario Williams (4) after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Earlier this week, I reported on the earliest of the “Way-too-Early” Top-25 projections for next season and how it was the usual cast of characters at the top of the ladder, with one notable exception: No Oklahoma football. Not in the top five…and not in the top 10.

The last time the Sooners were not ranked in the Associated Press top 10 in offseason and preseason polls was in 2015, when OU was ranked 19th to begin the season. The Sooners proved the early crystal-ball projections wrong, however, finishing the 2015 season ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll.

To be fair, the way-too-early rankings are created by the media to stir up some excitement and offseason conversation ahead of the next season of college football after the final game of the season. That’s why we started seeing those way-too-early predictions hours after the final whistle in Monday’s national championship game between Georgia and Alabama.

They’ll still be a few more too-early top-25 predictions in the next few weeks before the next wave of early top-25 polls hit the newsstands and mailboxes when the college preview publications come out beginning in May. And the excitement builds further with the Associated Press and Coaches preseason polls are released in late July/early August.

For right now, however, eight full months before the next college football season, we are stuck with the views and opinions of college football experts and wannabe football fortune tellers looking eight months ahead.

ESPN, Sports Illustrated and The Athletic were the first to dip their toes in the water with 2022 crystal-ball predictions on next college season, and the initial previews were not all that flattering for the Oklahoma Sooners.

ESPN placed the Sooners 17th in its early projection. Stewart Mandell of The Athletic had an even less favorable view of OU’s prospects for next season, ranking the Sooners 25th and behind three other Big 12 teams. Sports Illustrated was the best of the tree from an OU point of view. SI had Oklahoma in the No. 15 slot.

The sports folks at CBS Sports must be hanging around a different water cooler, because their projection for Oklahoma football and new head coach Brent Venables is distinctly different from how the other three outlets see the college football landscape for 2022.

CBS has the Sooners in the No. 4 spot behind usual college football powerhouses Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia. Texas A&M, Baylor, Notre Dame, LSU, Clemson and Arkansas round out the top 10.

"“No. 4 Oklahoma is going to be sneaky good with new coach Brent Venables,” writes Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports."

The CBS Sports analysis of the Sooners for next season goes on to say:

"“The Sooners will play (much?) better defense. Expect more of the same from the Sooners, with an added defensive edge. The Big 12 battle with Baylor will be fascinating.”"

Venables won’t have quite as good a handoff as Lincoln Riley got from Bob Stoops five years ago, but it will still be a strong and talented team and able to compete with the best of the best. And you can be sure OU will build and get better from there.

That’s just who Oklahoma is.

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