Soon, everything will actually happen, but until then, all we can do is predict the 2025 college football season.
The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a 6-7 season, which has head coach Brent Venables entering his fourth year on the hot seat. Will Venables do enough to save his job, or did he even turn things around enough to get the Sooners into the College Football Playoff?
vs Illinois State: W
Although the outcome is already known, this will be our first chance to see if OU's offense really did turn things around under new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle with John Mateer and Jaydn Ott in the backfield.
vs Michigan: W
Michigan will have a freshman QB making his second career start on the road at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. That environment paired with one of the best defensive lines in the country will force the Wolverines into enough mistakes for the Sooners to notch a win big enough to state they're back.
at Temple: W
I don't know why the Sooners are taking a trip to Philadelphia, but they'll go back to Norman with a W before starting SEC play.
vs Auburn: W
Things are a mess in Auburn right now and the difficulty level will be cranked up to Heisman mode for quarterback Jackson Arnold in his return to Norman. Arnold and the Tigers will eventually get some things figured out, but not in their SEC opener.
vs Kent State: W
This is basically a bye week before the Red River Rivalry, which actually helps set the Sooners up for two wins, not just this one.
vs Texas: W
A duel between Heisman candidate quarterbacks John Mateer and Arch Manning will take the headlines, and although I think Mateer is better, this game will be decided because of OU's advantage in the trenches. The Sooners have one of the defensive lines in the country, while Texas has to replace four starting offensive linemen from last season with an experienced QB behind them.
The Sooners will leave Dallas undefeated as legit national contenders with a Heisman frontrunner at quarterback.
at South Carolina: L
No one is perfect in college football today, but the Sooners had a heck of a run. South Carolina's defense could be questionable, but with LaNorris Sellers at QB, Shane Beamer's offense will be good enough to outdo the Sooners in a shootout in Columbia, South Carolina.
vs Ole Miss: W
Back home, the Sooners get back on track before another tough road trip.
at Tennessee: L
If the Sooners had at least one of the benefits of getting this game earlier in the season or at home like last year, then it would go their way. Unfortunately, the Sooners got neither advantage.
There's no denying it's hard to win a game in Knoxville. However, Josh Heupel has a lot to replace at Tennessee, but the Vols reloaded and Heupel will have things clicking by Week 10 with quarterback Joey Aguilar running the offense better than Nico Iamaleava ever did.
at Alabama: L
It's not that I think the Sooners will struggle away from Norman with this being their third straight road loss, it's just some of their toughest matchups come in tough SEC environments that are enough to be a difference.
For this one, though, Alabama has had it circled in the brightest marker after ultimately getting left out of the College Football Playoff last year thanks to a late upset to OU in Norman. The Crimson Tide will get revenge in Tuscaloosa if it's the last thing they do.
vs Missouri: W
Missouri wants so badly to be considered a rival to the Sooners, so the Tigers can consider this a rivalrly loss.
vs LSU: W
There could be a lot on the line in this one with OU and LSU both possibly being fringe CFP teams desperate for one more win. After the Sooners suffered some tough losses on the road, though, they get the benefit of a ruckus home crowd in Norman as Bauer Sharp surely does something wrong to help out his former team.
Final record: 9-3
According to KFord Ratings, the Sooners need nine wins to be in serious consideration for the CFP. They do that, but how everything else shakes out will decide if it really was enough. Wins over Michigan, Texas and ending with that LSU victory will certainly be a solid resume.
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