When you take a good, hard look at Oklahoma's 2025 football schedule, the first impression likely is the conference teams are the same as last season, which is not particularly a comforting notion.
The only differences in the SEC portion of the schedule this coming season are the order in which some of the games will be played and where they will be played. The other problem with the schedule, from an Oklahoma perspective, is that seven of the Sooners' eight conference games and one nonconference game (against Michigan in Week 2) are against teams projected to begin the season among the nation's top-25 teams.
Needless to say, there are precious few games on the 2025 Oklahoma schedule that one might consider a reasonably sure win. An ideal season would be one in which a team wins all the games it is supposed to win and a couple others that perhaps it wasn't. In reality, though, you probably aren't going to win all the games in which you're favored, and you will be lucky to win one or more against teams you aren't suppose to win.
It's difficult to imagine that Oklahoma would be guilty of looking past any of its SEC opponents, especially with so much riding on the season for the Sooners and their head coach. But if there is one conference game OU needs to be particularly mindful of it would be Sept. 20 against Auburn.
Auburns could be Sooners' trap game
The Sooners rallied from 11 points down in the final quarter to defeat Auburn 27-21 on the road last season, one of the Sooners' two conference wins a year ago. The Tigers come to Norman this season and are projected to finish 11th in the SEC in the conference's preseason media poll, one spot lower than Oklahoma.
Auburn has not had a winning season since the 2020 pandemic year and has not won more than three conference games in any of those years since. The game with Auburn is sandwiched between OU nonconference games at Temple and a home game against Kent State.
The big factor that could make this a dangerous game for Oklahoma, however, will be the emotion and added motivation surrounding the return to Norman of former Sooner quarterback and five-star prospect Jackson Arnold, who is expected to be the starting quarterback for Auburn and head coach Hugh Freeze after transferring this offseason.
The Tigers will undoubtedly come to town in the third week of September with a bit of a chip on their shoulder and seeking some revenge for last season's loss to the Sooners. Auburn has not beaten Oklahoma in three previous meetings, which is another motivational factor to be mindful of.
With Oklahoma needing as many as eight or even nine wins to in all likelihood save Brent Venables' job, the Auburn game at home is one that the Sooners definitely cannot afford to lose this season.
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