Oklahoma football: FOX’s Joel Klatt has OU just outside top-10 as national title contender

Oklahoma football probably didn’t surprise too many college football experts with the way it romped through its nonconference schedule, outscoring its first three 2023 opponents by the combined score of 167-28.

Arkansas State, SMU and Tulsa weren’t expected to give the Sooners much of a challenge. The Big 12 opener last weekend at Cincinnati was another story and the first real validation of how much improved Brent Venables’ team was over last season.

Granted, Cincinnati is not the giant-killer of a team the Bearcats were just two seasons ago when they went to the College Football Playoff with a perfect 12-0 record, but they are still good enough to beat any team, particularly when playing at home.

The general consensus after OU’s 20-6 road victory:

• The Sooner offense did what it needed to do to win.
• The 2023 OU defense is definitely better than last season’s unit.

FOX college football analyst Joel Klatt had said back in the spring that he believed Oklahoma would be a much better team in Brent Venables’ second season as head coach. Last week on his radio show, the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback talked about the teams he considered “above the line” as legitimate national championship contenders this season.

There were 10 teams Klatt singled out as legit national title contenders this season: Georgia, Washington, Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, USC, Utah and Florida State.

He also cited several teams, including Oklahoma, that were, in his opinion, just below the line as national championship worthy. He placed five teams in the “just below the line” category. In addition to the Sooners, he called out Notre Dame, Alabama, LSU and Washington State.

Notre Dame was Klatt’s first time outside of the “above the line” group. But Oklahoma was next.

Here is an excerpt of what Klatt had to say about the Sooners:

"“I was impressed with Oklahoma when I called the Sooners game on Saturday. It was my next team in consideration for the top 10. The Sooners’ defense has been excellent so far this year, and that was a major question for them entering the season. While the stats say its defense is much-improved, we still have to see this team go up against better competition. I still don’t feel like Oklahoma has played a great offense yet…“I like what the Sooners do offensively. Their wide receivers are their best players. They need to find a running back to emerge as their guy in order to allow the run game to reach its potential. I don’t think Dillon Gabriel has the highest ceiling in the world. He gets the ball out quickly, but he needs to show me he can attack downfield with those weapons he has on the outside with more efficiency. “"

That great offense that Klatt says Oklahoma has yet to play this season is a week out from now when the Sooners go toe to toe with archrival Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas