Oklahoma’s bye week arrives with the Sooners sitting at 2-2 and looking at a second half that is loaded with SEC problems. Eight league games remain, and six of them come against teams in the AP Top 25. For a team already fighting on offense, that’s a brutal runway.
The challenge now is less about finding comfort than figuring out where the best shot at survival actually lives. Some of these games look like land mines.
A few at least offer a sliver of hope. And if Oklahoma is going to avoid a third losing record in five seasons under Brent Venables, it’s going to need to steal a few it probably isn’t supposed to win.
The softest landing spot on the schedule might come on Halloween in Norman, when South Carolina visits. Arkansas is probably the only SEC team worse than the Gamecocks right now, and by the time they reach Norman, former OU offensive assistant Shane Beamer might not even still be the head coach.
The source of the trouble could be mutual, too, because Oklahoma may need an offensive coordinator of its own by then. Maybe Beamer should just stay off the plane back.
Texas A&M is next on the difficulty scale, even if this one still carries plenty of danger. The Aggies’ season has tracked a lot like Oklahoma’s: both brought back veteran rosters that reached the College Football Playoff last year, and both expected more than what they’ve gotten so far. The difference is that this one lands at home, which keeps it from climbing higher on the list.
Kentucky is one of the more intriguing problems left. Under new coach Will Stein, the Wildcats are on the rise and sitting just inside the top 25.
They pushed Alabama for a half and then blew out Texas A&M, which is enough to make this trip - or in this case, home game - feel a lot less comfortable. If Kentucky is still ranked when the Sooners get there, it could be Oklahoma’s best chance at an upset.
That would have sounded wild three weeks ago.
The next two road trips both bring plenty of trouble. Missouri would be a much worse assignment if it were in Norman, and while the Tigers may be a little overrated at No. 25 and could easily be unranked by the end of the regular season, they still look dangerous, especially at home.
Then comes Ole Miss, and the Rebels still belong in the CFP conversation even after getting hammered by Florida. Oklahoma has not beaten Ole Miss in SEC play in two tries, and even with Lane Kiffin gone, the Rebels might still have Venables’ number.
Mississippi State is another one that now has to be taken seriously. Former OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby has the Bulldogs rolling, and they have a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback in Kamario Taylor.
That offense is good enough to stress Venables’ defense, and Starkville brings the added edge of cowbells. Depending on how the next two games go and what decisions are made, this could also be a first SEC road start for either Whitt Newbauer or Bowe Bentley at quarterback.
The hardest game left, though, is the one waiting immediately after the bye. Oklahoma travels to Texas to face the No. 1 team in the country, and the Longhorns are 4-0 with the best resume in college football. At the same time, they could just as easily have been 2-2 like the Sooners.
That Texas sits at the top of this ranking says plenty about the road ahead. It still feels strange to put the Red River Rivalry anywhere but the very top, but that’s the reality when the opponent is No. 1 and the crowd is split right down the middle. In that setting, anything can happen.
And if that wasn’t enough, Florida is lurking too. The Gators are clearly for real under Jon Sumrall after blasting Ole Miss in Gainesville and moving into the top 10.
Even when they were thought to be average, a trip to The Swamp looked like a nightmare. Now it looks even worse.
In Other News...
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No timetable was offered for Fasusis return, so the update is more encouraging than conclusive. Still, it gives Sooners fans a fresh reason to keep an eye on the injury report, especially with the offense searching for stability and depth up front. [Read more 🡒]
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For Oklahoma followers, Mayfield has always been one of the programs most visible pro links, so news like this tends to hit harder than an ordinary NFL injury update. Tampa Bay is off to an 0-3 start, and now it will have to navigate the next stretch without its quarterback, leaving Mayfield to recover while a season that already felt shaky gets even more complicated. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Is Feeling The Loss Of These Transfers Right Now
Oklahomas season has already been shaped by injuries and uneven play, and the ripple effects of roster turnover are showing up in a way that is hard to ignore. A look at four former Sooners now at other programs, Luke Baklenko, Michael Hawkins Jr., Sammy Omosigho and Zion Ragins, underscores how much depth and flexibility can matter when the lineup starts to fray.
Each of those transfers is finding a role elsewhere, and in different ways they are reminders of what Oklahoma could use right now. The Sooners are trying to patch together answers across the roster, and the contrast between those departures and the teams current challenges makes it fair to wonder how different things might look if even a couple of them had stayed in Norman. [Read more 🡒]