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SDS: SEC fans, here's a primer on the state of Oklahoma Sooners football

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Iraq2xVeteran
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By Connor O'Gara

Boomer. Sooner. Get used to it, SEC fans. You're going to hear it a lot, and perhaps as early as 2022.

Despite what some might think, Oklahoma is far more than a Texas-hatin', horns down-throwin', wagon-lovin', Toby Keith-supportin', Heisman quarterback producin' university. It's been one of the best programs in America in the 21st century. It owns 6 consecutive Big 12 titles, and only Alabama and Clemson have more Playoff appearances than the Sooners.

The lack of Playoff success shouldn't totally overshadow the ridiculous run of quarterbacks
I get it. In this era, if you don't at least get to a national championship, it's held against you. That's especially true if you're a decorated quarterback.
But my goodness, man. Some of this stuff is absurd:
  • 4 consecutive years (2016-19) with a QB who averaged > 11.0 yards per attempt
  • 5 consecutive years (2015-19) with a QB who finished top-4 in Heisman voting
  • 3 consecutive years (2017-19) with a Heisman winner or runner-up
  • 6 consecutive years (2015-20) with a QB with quarterback rating > 170.0
  • 5-year stretch (2015-19) in which QBs averaged 49 total touchdowns per season
  • 3 consecutive years (2018-20) with a QB drafted in first 2 rounds
No, I don't know how all of them would've played against an SEC schedule. I'm pretty sure a pair of Heisman winners/No. 1 overall picks (Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray) would've been just fine, and, before transferring, Jalen Hurts was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year as a true freshman at Alabama. Oh, and if we're allowed to mention last year's Cotton Bowl, well, Spencer Rattler had 287 scrimmage yards and 4 total touchdowns in a beatdown of Florida.
(I know, I know. It wasn't the same Florida team you had throughout 2020, Dan Mullen.)

Don't cross your fingers that Lincoln Riley is leaving for the Cowboys, either
It's just not worth your time to assume Riley is leaving for the Cowboys, despite what future Skip Bayless will yell at you. Instead, assume you'll see a lot of the 37-year-old head coach who happens to be roughly half the age of Nick Saban.

On one hand, there are plenty of SEC fans who probably aren't worried about the idea of Riley joining the league. After all, those 3 consecutive Playoff losses to 3 different SEC programs are still fresh in all of our minds.

Oklahoma finally feels like it has a defense that can hang
That's not just based on the Cotton Bowl. It's based on Alex Grinch, who is proving to be one of the top rising defensive minds in the sport. After that shootout win in the Red River Rivalry, Grinch's defense surrendered an average of 16 points in its final 7 games. Oklahoma finished with a top-30 defense for the first time since 2015. Shoot, that was Oklahoma's first top-60 defense since 2015. Nik Bonitto might lead an even better group this year, even after the departure of Ronnie Perkins.

The recruiting breakdown
Here's what the classes ranked nationally in the past decade:
  • 2012 No. 12
  • 2013 No. 16
  • 2014 No. 14
  • 2015 No. 15
  • 2016 No. 19
  • 2017 No. 8
  • 2018 No. 9
  • 2019 No. 6
  • 2020 No. 12
  • 2021 No. 10
I'm gonna credit Riley's 2015 arrival as a reason that mid-decade boost is so evident. When you know you're going to have an elite quarterback in any given year, the rest lines up pretty well. The top 5 recruits in each of Riley's past 3 classes were composed of 13 offensive players and just 2 defensive players. Not surprising, is it?

Oklahoma will enter the SEC with a national recruiting profile. Williams was from DC. Rattler was from Arizona. In those past 3 classes, only 2 signees in each class were from Oklahoma. Texas is where Riley does his damage. When Oklahoma signed that No. 6 class in 2019, 10 of the 24 signees were from the Lone Star State. In 2020, that number was just over half (52%).

That wagon is comin' to the SEC, too
Sooner Schooner gets the people going in a way that SEC fans will appreciate. Yes, it's a wagon with a couple of fired up ponies pulling it.

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sports/sec-fans-heres-primer-current-state-oklahoma-football-2021/
Bluecat_Aggie94
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We so appreciate you coming here to post that. Please come back anytime when you need to compensate.
Goose
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woodlees
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Yep all those stats were generated against teams in a conference with no defense

gonna be different in SEC

can't wait to see those wagon wheels fall off in birmingham, athens, gainesville, baton rouge, and college station

your days of consecutive conference championships are OVER

welcome to the SEC
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
Ugly
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Iraq2xVeteran said:

The recruiting breakdown
Here's what the classes ranked nationally in the past decade:
  • 2012 No. 12
  • 2013 No. 16
  • 2014 No. 14
  • 2015 No. 15
  • 2016 No. 19
  • 2017 No. 8
  • 2018 No. 9
  • 2019 No. 6
  • 2020 No. 12
  • 2021 No. 10

So to translate:

The recruiting breakdown
Here's what the classes would have ranked in the SEC in the past decade (not including tu in the league, which usually ranks ahead of ou):
  • 2012 No. 5
  • 2013 No. 8
  • 2014 No. 8
  • 2015 No. 7
  • 2016 No. 9
  • 2017 No. 4
  • 2018 No. 3
  • 2019 No. 5
  • 2020 No. 8
  • 2021 No. 5

It's not that I don't think ou is going to be a good SEC team, I just think they are going to be a good SEC team.
woodlees
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by the way, why didn't you just try to join the conference on your own?

why did you have to cling on to the coattails of a bunch of teasips?

we would much rather have had you come in alone

someday you need to grow up and realize that you don't really need texas and that you are better off without them.

No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
LincolnBorglum79
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When the sips decide to do something else before the actual join date will ou wanna join anyway? You should probably be talking to Okie Lite or maybe your old friends in Nebraska about replacing tu. I think there is almost no chance tu will actually play in the sec. I suggest you use that chance to separate from them.
Detmersdislocatedshoulder
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Ugly said:

Iraq2xVeteran said:

The recruiting breakdown
Here's what the classes ranked nationally in the past decade:
  • 2012 No. 12
  • 2013 No. 16
  • 2014 No. 14
  • 2015 No. 15
  • 2016 No. 19
  • 2017 No. 8
  • 2018 No. 9
  • 2019 No. 6
  • 2020 No. 12
  • 2021 No. 10

So to translate:

The recruiting breakdown
Here's what the classes would have ranked in the SEC in the past decade (not including tu in the league, which usually ranks ahead of ou):
  • 2012 No. 5
  • 2013 No. 8
  • 2014 No. 8
  • 2015 No. 7
  • 2016 No. 9
  • 2017 No. 4
  • 2018 No. 3
  • 2019 No. 5
  • 2020 No. 8
  • 2021 No. 5

It's not that I don't think ou is going to be a good SEC team, I just think they are going to be a good SEC team.



Pretty much this. It's a whole new world in the sec. when u finish 7th in the nation in recruiting you just finished 5th in the sec. your not playing Kansas anymore Dorothy.
Z Team
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woodlees said:

by the way, why didn't you just try to join the conference on your own?

why did you have to cling on to the coattails of a bunch of teasips?

we would much rather have had you come in alone

someday you need to grow up and realize that you don't really need texas and that you are better off without them.




It's because the suckage of lhn had esipn highly motivated to push this through by throwing crazy money at it to get tu into the sec. it's esipn money driving OU being able to leave the big 12
Iraq2xVeteran
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woodlees said:

Yep all those stats were generated against teams in a conference with no defense

gonna be different in SEC

can't wait to see those wagon wheels fall off in birmingham, athens, gainesville, baton rouge, and college station

your days of consecutive conference championships are OVER

welcome to the SEC
Yes, Oklahoma will have to compete with Texas A&M and LSU just to win the SEC West. Even if they somehow win the SEC West, they will have to beat Alabama, Georgia, or Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

I was just posting an article from Saturday Down South about Oklahoma joining the SEC. I did the same thing for with a Saturday Down South article with the same headings, except it was for Texas.
Jarrin' Jay
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Iraq2xVeteran said:

It owns 6 consecutive Big 12 titles...... and only Alabama and Clemson have more Playoff appearances than the Sooners.



Those little 12 titles are completely irrelevant. OU won't win the SEC 6 times in the next 30 years. They may win one before A&M does, admittedly, and we both will before cow.

That is tangential to the only Bama and Clemson having more CFP appearances. That is worth about as much as the # of wins OU has in the CFP, i.e. zero.

Welcome to the big $$ big boy table, now understand you aren't starting every season with 9 or 10 wins before the first kickoff. OU will not just have to beat cow and hope they don't slip up against might Iowa Sate or Kansas State, they will be playing real teams like A&M, LSU, and one or two of Bama, Auburn, FL, UGA.

I think OU is going to be a good fit in the SEC and do well overall, but nothing like they have enjoyed the past 20 years. There are many more 8-4 or 9-3 seasons coming than 10-2+.
Iraq2xVeteran
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Jarrin' Jay said:

Iraq2xVeteran said:

It owns 6 consecutive Big 12 titles...... and only Alabama and Clemson have more Playoff appearances than the Sooners.



Those little 12 titles are completely irrelevant. OU won't win the SEC 6 times in the next 30 years. They may win one before A&M does, admittedly, and we both will before cow.

That is tangential to the only Bama and Clemson having more CFP appearances. That is worth about as much as the # of wins OU has in the CFP, i.e. zero.

Welcome to the big $$ big boy table, now understand you aren't starting every season with 9 or 10 wins before the first kickoff. OU will not just have to beat cow and hope they don't slip up against might Iowa Sate or Kansas State, they will be playing real teams like A&M, LSU, and one or two of Bama, Auburn, FL, UGA.

I think OU is going to be a good fit in the SEC and do well overall, but nothing like they have enjoyed the past 20 years. There are many more 8-4 or 9-3 seasons coming than 10-2+.
I agree with most of your post, but I think Texas A&M will win the SEC West before either Oklahoma or Texas does. Oklahoma will be a good fit in the SEC and will compete with Texas A&M and LSU for SEC West championships, but they will finish 8-4 or 9-3 in the regular season in most years. Texas will be struggling to finish 6-6 or 7-5.
Alpha Texan
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OU has some of the best tradition out there. Name a better tradition in CFB than OU losing in laughable fashion in the CFP!

I'm just sad we're gonna ruin the tradition of a different team getting to hand OU the Big 12 championship every year.
Tex117
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Z Team
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We have been a pathetic fan base scared of the power of tu to ruin the SEC, and to cheat by owning the refs, and building alliances to take control of the SEC. yadda yadda yadda people been crying about the evil empire of tu. He or she is right the A&M fanbase has been pathetic in the zoo.
However, Jimbo ain't been building anything like that and it's about to be revealed that A&M has grown into a team capable of challenging for top honors in the SEC. The team isn't scared to whip Saban and it sure ain't scared of dildos and land thieves.
aggiehawg
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Jarrin' Jay said:

Iraq2xVeteran said:

It owns 6 consecutive Big 12 titles...... and only Alabama and Clemson have more Playoff appearances than the Sooners.



Those little 12 titles are completely irrelevant. OU won't win the SEC 6 times in the next 30 years. They may win one before A&M does, admittedly, and we both will before cow.

That is tangential to the only Bama and Clemson having more CFP appearances. That is worth about as much as the # of wins OU has in the CFP, i.e. zero.

Welcome to the big $$ big boy table, now understand you aren't starting every season with 9 or 10 wins before the first kickoff. OU will not just have to beat cow and hope they don't slip up against might Iowa Sate or Kansas State, they will be playing real teams like A&M, LSU, and one or two of Bama, Auburn, FL, UGA.

I think OU is going to be a good fit in the SEC and do well overall, but nothing like they have enjoyed the past 20 years. There are many more 8-4 or 9-3 seasons coming than 10-2+.
I starred your post but I'm not convinced (anymore as I have changed my opinion very recently, like last week) about them being a good fit in the SEC. The fan base HATES the SEC. I mean really hates the SEC. They don't want to "join" the conference. They just want to be paid and have fewer 11AM starts. If the media partners had been more "attuned* to that, they would still be in the Big XII.

*attuned means if the plan had not always been to crater the Big XII.
el_guapo
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Boomer sooner is the world's most over played 3 note song. It will drive a normal person crazy

TxAg76
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el_guapo said:

Boomer sooner is the world's most over played 3 note song. It will drive a normal person crazy




Either that, or rocky top.
When they play each other, it's the worst
MoparMan
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Just image OU playing TU, Rockytop and Boomer Sooner burned into the brains of everyone watching *UGH*
Ugly
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MoparMan said:

Just image OU playing TU, Rockytop and Boomer Sooner burned into the brains of everyone watching *UGH*
Need to invite the two-note LSU band to fill in the sound gaps.
Glenn Quagmire
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woodlees said:

Yep all those stats were generated against teams in a conference with no defense

gonna be different in SEC

can't wait to see those wagon wheels fall off in birmingham, athens, gainesville, baton rouge, and college station

your days of consecutive conference championships are OVER

welcome to the SEC
To be fair, the big 12 had 5 teams in the top 30 of overall defense- the most of any conference. Only two sec teams, georgia and aggie were on that top 30. 9 of the 14 current sec teams were below 60. The champion of the conference was #32. The national runner up, #59. Some of these stats can be skewed by better offenes coming out of the sec these days. But that's just the thing, good offense beats good defense these days. Even saban says as much.

"It used to be that good defense beats good offense. Good defense doesn't beat good offense anymore," Saban told ESPN on Friday. "It's just like last week. Georgia has as good a defense as we do an offense, and we scored 41 points on them. That's not the way it used to be. It used to be if you had a good defense, other people weren't going to score. You were always going to be in the game.

"I'm telling you. It ain't that way anymore."

"We're not very good on defense, average at best, but I think we will get better"

Won the title with an average defense. They even had to score 52 to beat florida by a score. Lsu was not far from average too, according to saban's metric, being #33 overall on D when they won. But there's a little mini 2 year trend where the basically top offense in the country who doesn't play elite defense winning it all.
Belldozer1
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Iraq2xVeteran said:

woodlees said:

Yep all those stats were generated against teams in a conference with no defense

gonna be different in SEC

can't wait to see those wagon wheels fall off in birmingham, athens, gainesville, baton rouge, and college station

your days of consecutive conference championships are OVER

welcome to the SEC
Yes, Oklahoma will have to compete with Texas A&M and LSU just to win the SEC West. Even if they somehow win the SEC West, they will have to beat Alabama, Georgia, or Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

I was just posting an article from Saturday Down South about Oklahoma joining the SEC. I did the same thing for with a Saturday Down South article with the same headings, except it was for Texas.

Considering A&M has been in the SEC for 10 years and has not ever come close to winning the conference, I'm not sure why you think teams would be fearful of having to compete with A&M? Am I missing something? I don't think you see the full picture and you believe that every team will struggle like A&M has. Same when you were in the Big 12.
Iraq2xVeteran
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Belldozer1 said:

Iraq2xVeteran said:

woodlees said:

Yep all those stats were generated against teams in a conference with no defense

gonna be different in SEC

can't wait to see those wagon wheels fall off in birmingham, athens, gainesville, baton rouge, and college station

your days of consecutive conference championships are OVER

welcome to the SEC
Yes, Oklahoma will have to compete with Texas A&M and LSU just to win the SEC West. Even if they somehow win the SEC West, they will have to beat Alabama, Georgia, or Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

I was just posting an article from Saturday Down South about Oklahoma joining the SEC. I did the same thing for with a Saturday Down South article with the same headings, except it was for Texas.

Considering A&M has been in the SEC for 10 years and has not ever come close to winning the conference, I'm not sure why you think teams would be fearful of having to compete with A&M? Am I missing something? I don't think you see the full picture and you believe that every team will struggle like A&M has. Same when you were in the Big 12.
Yes, you are missing how Jimbo Fisher has changed the culture of the Texas A&M football team. Last year, Texas A&M went 8-1 in an all-SEC regular season schedule and finished 9-1 and No. 4 overall. After a 52-24 blowout loss at Alabama, Texas A&M won 8 consecutive games and the last 7 by 11+ points, including 4 SEC road games at Mississippi State, South Carolina, Auburn, and Tennessee. Before Jimbo arrived, Texas A&M posted just one winning SEC record (6-2 in 2012). Under Jimbo, we have posted 2 winning SEC records (5-3 in 2018 and 8-1 in 2020). With Alabama and Auburn moving to the SEC east, Texas A&M, LSU, and Oklahoma should be among the top teams in the SEC West.
Bunk Moreland
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2020: Losses to unranked KSU and ISU
2019: Loss to unranked KSU
2018: Loss to #19 Texas
2017: Loss to unranked ISU
2016: Loss to Houston and tOSU
2015: Loss to unranked tu

Gonna need to clean up those unranked losses if you want a chance in the SEC because there will only be more of those landmines to navigate on the schedule now.
bryanw1995
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aggiehawg said:

Jarrin' Jay said:

Iraq2xVeteran said:

It owns 6 consecutive Big 12 titles...... and only Alabama and Clemson have more Playoff appearances than the Sooners.



Those little 12 titles are completely irrelevant. OU won't win the SEC 6 times in the next 30 years. They may win one before A&M does, admittedly, and we both will before cow.

That is tangential to the only Bama and Clemson having more CFP appearances. That is worth about as much as the # of wins OU has in the CFP, i.e. zero.

Welcome to the big $$ big boy table, now understand you aren't starting every season with 9 or 10 wins before the first kickoff. OU will not just have to beat cow and hope they don't slip up against might Iowa Sate or Kansas State, they will be playing real teams like A&M, LSU, and one or two of Bama, Auburn, FL, UGA.

I think OU is going to be a good fit in the SEC and do well overall, but nothing like they have enjoyed the past 20 years. There are many more 8-4 or 9-3 seasons coming than 10-2+.
I starred your post but I'm not convinced (anymore as I have changed my opinion very recently, like last week) about them being a good fit in the SEC. The fan base HATES the SEC. I mean really hates the SEC. They don't want to "join" the conference. They just want to be paid and have fewer 11AM starts. If the media partners had been more "attuned* to that, they would still be in the Big XII.

*attuned means if the plan had not always been to crater the Big XII.
I was lurking on dirt burglars the other day and noticed quite a few upturned noses at the perceived academic prowess, or lack thereof, in the SEC. Kind of ironic coming from a school that would be tied for the 5th lowest academic ranking in the SEC at a paltry #133.

link:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/where-big-12-schools-rank-among-the-2019-best-colleges?slide=6
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/where-sec-schools-rank-among-the-2017-us-news-best-colleges?slide=7
Iraq2xVeteran
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Bunk Moreland said:

2020: Losses to unranked KSU and ISU
2019: Loss to unranked KSU
2018: Loss to #19 Texas
2017: Loss to unranked ISU
2016: Loss to Houston and tOSU
2015: Loss to unranked tu

Gonna need to clean up those unranked losses if you want a chance in the SEC because there will only be more of those landmines to navigate on the schedule now.
Here are the final records and rankings of these teams
2020: Kansas State finished 4-6 (4-5 in Big 12 games) and Iowa State finished 9-3 (8-1 in Big 12 games) and No. 9.
2019: Kansas State finished 8-5 (5-4 in Big 12 games)
2018: Texas finished 10-4 (7-2 in Big 12 games) and No. 9
2017: Iowa State finished 8-5 (5-4 in Big 12 games)
2016: Houston finished 9-4 (5-3 in AAC games) and Ohio State finished 11-2 and No. 6
2015: Texas finished 5-7

To Oklahoma's credit, they avenged avenged regular season loses by beating these teams in the 2018 and 2020 Big 12 Championship Games.
2020: Iowa State defeated Texas 37-30 in the regular season, but Oklahoma defeated Iowa State 27-21 in the Big 12 Championship Game.
2018: Texas defeated Oklahoma 48-45 in the regular season, but Oklahoma defeated Texas 39-27 in the Big 12 Championship.

Still, they will have a tougher regular season schedule because there will be more landmines in the SEC than in the Big 12.
Glenn Quagmire
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Iraq2xVeteran said:

Bunk Moreland said:

2020: Losses to unranked KSU and ISU
2019: Loss to unranked KSU
2018: Loss to #19 Texas
2017: Loss to unranked ISU
2016: Loss to Houston and tOSU
2015: Loss to unranked tu

Gonna need to clean up those unranked losses if you want a chance in the SEC because there will only be more of those landmines to navigate on the schedule now.
Here are the final records and rankings of these teams
2020: Kansas State finished 4-6 (4-5 in Big 12 games) and Iowa State finished 9-3 (8-1 in Big 12 games) and No. 9.
2019: Kansas State finished 8-5 (5-4 in Big 12 games)
2018: Texas finished 10-4 (7-2 in Big 12 games) and No. 9
2017: Iowa State finished 8-5 (5-4 in Big 12 games)
2016: Houston finished 9-4 (5-3 in AAC games) and Ohio State finished 11-2 and No. 6
2015: Texas finished 5-7

To Oklahoma's credit, they avenged avenged regular season loses by beating these teams in the 2018 and 2020 Big 12 Championship Games.
2020: Iowa State defeated Texas 37-30 in the regular season, but Oklahoma defeated Iowa State 27-21 in the Big 12 Championship Game.
2018: Texas defeated Oklahoma 48-45 in the regular season, but Oklahoma defeated Texas 39-27 in the Big 12 Championship.

Still, they will have a tougher regular season schedule because there will be more landmines in the SEC than in the Big 12.

OU has really themselves to blame for losing early in 2020. Mostly because they had a new qb being broken in, their rb1 opted out, rb2 was suspended and their best defensive player was suspended. These factors are not common. With a salty and hopefully healthy defense, two healthy rbs and an experienced heisman contender at qb, I expect OU to lose no more than once this year.
aggiejim70
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Sooners......To quote a great American......."It ain't gonna be like it used to be"
The person that is not willing to fight and die, if need be, for his country has no right to life.

James Earl Rudder '32
January 31, 1945
aglaes
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Belldozer1 said:

Iraq2xVeteran said:

woodlees said:

Yep all those stats were generated against teams in a conference with no defense

gonna be different in SEC

can't wait to see those wagon wheels fall off in birmingham, athens, gainesville, baton rouge, and college station

your days of consecutive conference championships are OVER

welcome to the SEC
Yes, Oklahoma will have to compete with Texas A&M and LSU just to win the SEC West. Even if they somehow win the SEC West, they will have to beat Alabama, Georgia, or Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

I was just posting an article from Saturday Down South about Oklahoma joining the SEC. I did the same thing for with a Saturday Down South article with the same headings, except it was for Texas.

Considering A&M has been in the SEC for 10 years and has not ever come close to winning the conference, I'm not sure why you think teams would be fearful of having to compete with A&M? Am I missing something? I don't think you see the full picture and you believe that every team will struggle like A&M has. Same when you were in the Big 12.
2012 was pretty damn close. If we beat either Florida or LSU - both were very competitive games - we're in the conference final and I think we would have beat Georgia and gone on to win a NC.

But if ifs and buts were candy and nuts ...

Getting past Bama as long as Saban is there is a tall task, but not impossible.
Stone44
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The last time we played ou was when they were co-champs of the bdf. Stoops was bragging about them and how he looked forward to playing us again especially JFF. Well......we remember that game. JFF made the Stoops brothers look like the Marx brothers and we destroyed them. They were the champs of their conference and we were third in the SEC west. They were in the playoffs two years ago against LSU and their defense gives up 49 points in the first half! Facts don't lie.
S.A. Aggie
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Iraq2xVeteran said:

By Connor O'Gara

Boomer. Sooner. Get used to it, SEC fans. You're going to hear it a lot, and perhaps as early as 2022.

Despite what some might think, Oklahoma is far more than a Texas-hatin', horns down-throwin', wagon-lovin', Toby Keith-supportin', Heisman quarterback producin' university. It's been one of the best programs in America in the 21st century. It owns 6 consecutive Big 12 titles, and only Alabama and Clemson have more Playoff appearances than the Sooners.

The lack of Playoff success shouldn't totally overshadow the ridiculous run of quarterbacks
I get it. In this era, if you don't at least get to a national championship, it's held against you. That's especially true if you're a decorated quarterback.
But my goodness, man. Some of this stuff is absurd:
  • 4 consecutive years (2016-19) with a QB who averaged > 11.0 yards per attempt
  • 5 consecutive years (2015-19) with a QB who finished top-4 in Heisman voting
  • 3 consecutive years (2017-19) with a Heisman winner or runner-up
  • 6 consecutive years (2015-20) with a QB with quarterback rating > 170.0
  • 5-year stretch (2015-19) in which QBs averaged 49 total touchdowns per season
  • 3 consecutive years (2018-20) with a QB drafted in first 2 rounds
No, I don't know how all of them would've played against an SEC schedule. I'm pretty sure a pair of Heisman winners/No. 1 overall picks (Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray) would've been just fine, and, before transferring, Jalen Hurts was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year as a true freshman at Alabama. Oh, and if we're allowed to mention last year's Cotton Bowl, well, Spencer Rattler had 287 scrimmage yards and 4 total touchdowns in a beatdown of Florida.
(I know, I know. It wasn't the same Florida team you had throughout 2020, Dan Mullen.)

Don't cross your fingers that Lincoln Riley is leaving for the Cowboys, either
It's just not worth your time to assume Riley is leaving for the Cowboys, despite what future Skip Bayless will yell at you. Instead, assume you'll see a lot of the 37-year-old head coach who happens to be roughly half the age of Nick Saban.

On one hand, there are plenty of SEC fans who probably aren't worried about the idea of Riley joining the league. After all, those 3 consecutive Playoff losses to 3 different SEC programs are still fresh in all of our minds.

Oklahoma finally feels like it has a defense that can hang
That's not just based on the Cotton Bowl. It's based on Alex Grinch, who is proving to be one of the top rising defensive minds in the sport. After that shootout win in the Red River Rivalry, Grinch's defense surrendered an average of 16 points in its final 7 games. Oklahoma finished with a top-30 defense for the first time since 2015. Shoot, that was Oklahoma's first top-60 defense since 2015. Nik Bonitto might lead an even better group this year, even after the departure of Ronnie Perkins.

The recruiting breakdown
Here's what the classes ranked nationally in the past decade:
  • 2012 No. 12
  • 2013 No. 16
  • 2014 No. 14
  • 2015 No. 15
  • 2016 No. 19
  • 2017 No. 8
  • 2018 No. 9
  • 2019 No. 6
  • 2020 No. 12
  • 2021 No. 10
I'm gonna credit Riley's 2015 arrival as a reason that mid-decade boost is so evident. When you know you're going to have an elite quarterback in any given year, the rest lines up pretty well. The top 5 recruits in each of Riley's past 3 classes were composed of 13 offensive players and just 2 defensive players. Not surprising, is it?

Oklahoma will enter the SEC with a national recruiting profile. Williams was from DC. Rattler was from Arizona. In those past 3 classes, only 2 signees in each class were from Oklahoma. Texas is where Riley does his damage. When Oklahoma signed that No. 6 class in 2019, 10 of the 24 signees were from the Lone Star State. In 2020, that number was just over half (52%).

That wagon is comin' to the SEC, too
Sooner Schooner gets the people going in a way that SEC fans will appreciate. Yes, it's a wagon with a couple of fired up ponies pulling it.

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sports/sec-fans-heres-primer-current-state-oklahoma-football-2021/

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