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Oklahoma football: Five reasons OU will win the Big 12 championship in their final year

By Brandon Self

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 19: Quarterback Dillon Gabriel #8 of the Oklahoma Sooners throws a pass before a Bedlam game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 19, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 19: Quarterback Dillon Gabriel #8 of the Oklahoma Sooners throws a pass before a Bedlam game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 19, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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2023 Big 12 Champions – The Oklahoma Sooners… maybe.

How could it be? Is such a statement possible? Could a team who finished 6-7 turn around in one offseason and win the conference? A conference that sent a team to the National Championship game, no less (literally just sent…nothing beyond that). Better question…how? How can the Oklahoma Sooners win the Big 12 conference in their final year of participation? How could the Oklahoma football program win it’s fifteenth Big 12 title?

There are five reasons why I, the “Self”-proclaimed OU football expert thinks the Sooners can, and will, win the Big 12 conference in 2023. But before I get to them, let me first say that winning aPower-5 conference championship is NOT EASY. Coach Stoops, Coach Riley, and their gang of 1st round draft picks and Heisman trophy winners may have made it look routine, but I assure you it wasn’t. Sooner Nation can’t see conference championships as a box to check off on the way to the College Football Playoff. In fact, don’t even think about the CFP; it ruins Saturdays anyways. This isn’t the pros; each Saturday matters more than the end of the road.

Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Big 12 logo on the field before the game between the Oklahoma Sooners and TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Big 12 logo on the field before the game between the Oklahoma Sooners and TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

It has been a while since I’ve been inside the weight room of the Switzer Center, but there used to be a board inside the room with a list of goals. The first goal was to win the Big 12. That should always be the goal, to win the conference. It’s a huge accomplishment. Just wait until the dog days of the SEC are upon us; we will then truly appreciate how difficult conference football is. Don’t get spoiled, and don’t mistake my prediction for arrogance. I understand how difficult the task of winning the Big 12 will be. However, I believe the Sooners will get it done in 2023… and here’s why.

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