Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: If past is prelude to the present, something’s got to give Saturday

By Chip Rouse

Oct 24, 2020; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs wide receiver Quentin Johnston (1) runs with the ball as Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jaden Davis (4) defends during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2020; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs wide receiver Quentin Johnston (1) runs with the ball as Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jaden Davis (4) defends during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

For six seasons, from 2015 to 2020, Oklahoma football ruled the Big 12 with six consecutive conference championships and a combined conference record of 59-6.

The Sooners are one game into the 2022 Big 12 schedule, and they already own a conference loss. Things are very different these days in the Big 12. There is much greater parity top to bottom in the conference and no easy games exist anywhere on the conference schedule.

Check out the overall standings a quarter of a way through the season and you will find what appears to be an upside-down look at the conference leaders with the Kansas Jayhawks on top sporting a 4-0 record and Oklahoma and Texas near the bottom with a combined overall record of 5-3.

Oklahoma will roll into Fort Worth, Texas, riding an eight-game winning streak against TCU and owning a 10-1 record over the Horned Frogs since they became a member of the Big 12 in 2012. Sooner head coach Brent Venables only faced TCU two times (2005 and 2008) as an OU assistant from 1999 to 2011. The two teams split the two games, with each team winning on the road.

TCU comes into its battle with the Sooners with three consecutive wins to start the season. It’s the first time the Horned Frogs have opened the season with three straight wins since 2017, when new head coach Sonny Dykes was an offensive analyst on Gary Patterson’s coaching staff.

Here’s the kicker: The last time the Horned Frogs started 3-0 and played Oklahoma in its fourth game was in 2014, the last time they defeated the Sooners. Like this season, that game was played at TCU, with the Frogs outlasting Bob Stoops’ Sooners 37-33. That same season, TCU went on to a 12-1 record, a share of the Big 12 championship and a No. 3 final ranking in the Associated Press poll.

So, something’s got to give on Saturday. Does OU’s eight-game winning streak over TCU reach nine, or do the Horned Frogs pick up a win in their Big 12 opener and remain unbeaten?

We’re going to learn a lot about both programs this weekend.

Home/OU Football