FOX CFB analyst Joel Klatt believes Sooners are highly capable of making College Football Playoff

Like most every team in college football, Oklahoma has some issues heading into the new season, unlike most, the Sooners also have answers.

The Sooners' schedule is one of the most demanding in all of college football for the coming season, and that appears to be the biggest reason numerous media outlets and their pundits are projecting Oklahoma to fall short of expectations in Year 1 as a new member of the SEC.

FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt has a countering view of Oklahoma for the 2024 season. On his podcast this week, Klatt said he has high expectations for Brent Venables and the Sooners this season despite all the hurdles they will face now competing in the SEC.

Klatt acknowledged that the Sooners' 2024 schedule is extremely tough, but he sees that as an opportunity to register several quality wins that would definitely help their playoff argument, especially coming out of the SEC.

"Oklahoma is Oklahoma. This is a proud program. My definition for success for Oklahoma this year is the College Football Playoff"

Joel Klatt, FOX Sports CFB analyst

Klatt specifically cited the Oklahoma's games against the sextet of Tennessee, Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama and LSU. "You split those six games that I've talked about," he said, "go three and three, you're nine and three and you probably go to the College Football Playoff."

To get to that place, of course, Klatt is apparently assuming OU wins over all four of its nonconference opponents (Temple, Houston, Tulane and Maine) as well as conference wins over South Carolina and Auburn. Aside from perhaps Temple, against whom Oklahoma is a 43-point favorite in the early odds, and Maine, the other four games certainly won't be cakewalks.

Klatt said the Sooners have a lot going for them in their third season under Venables and with a talented roster. "They should be better on defense, (and) I like their quarterback. He fits what they've got on the outside with their wide receivers," he said.

It's true that the Oklahoma schedule pits the Sooners against a high-quality opponent virtually every weekend, but it is equally true that OU will be a challenge to every opponent on the schedule, as well.