Oklahoma Spring Game Observation- Heisman Capital Of CFB

[Duckley Palace]

I had some free time this afternoon, clicked about and found the Oklahoma Sooner spring game. It made me realize that the soon to be defunct Pac Twelve has the worst media coverage period.

 

Baker Mayfield returned in his Buccaneers uniform, and the announcers called Oklahoma "The QB Heisman Trophy Winners Club". They named off Jason White, Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Caleb Williams as Sooner alum that won the Heisman, and have/will be number 1 overall draft picks. Excluding Jason White(who want undrafted in 2005).

 

Will Dillon Gabriel follow this lineage? We can hope.

Edited April 21 by Duckley Palace

[Jon Joseph]

Good luck to the Sooners in the maiden season in the SEC. Oklahoma would sooner have Texas far easier in-conference schedule. Oklahoma will be quarterbacked by RS Frosh Arnold, In the bowl loss to Arizona, Arnold threw for 361 yards but also threw 3 picks. All of the PL starters from 2023 are gone.

 

OOC - B12 Houston and playoff contender AAC Tulane. 

 

Home - Tennessee, Alabama

 

Away - Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU. Whew!

 

Neutral - Texas

 

I think that Oklahoma, ranked mostly in the 12 to 15 range in the preseason is because of the schedule in part, overrated. The SEC did Oklahoma, which plays an OOC game in 2025 vs. Michigan, no favors by simply flipping the home and away games in 2025 and playing the same SEC teams that were played in 2024. 

[Drake]

Venables will find out quickly that the BIG12 and ACC were a much easier path to a playoff berth. Schooners will need Heisman caliber QBs to compete in the SEC. 

 

Venables record at Oklahoma is 16 - 10. If he stumbles in the SEC how long will he last as HC? 

[Jon Joseph]

On 4/21/2024 at 1:15 PM, Drake said:

Venables will find out quickly that the BIG12 and ACC were a much easier path to a playoff berth. Schooners will need Heisman caliber QBs to compete in the SEC. 

 

Venables record at Oklahoma is 16 - 10. If he stumbles in the SEC how long will he last as HC? 

Perhaps a year? No more than 2 years and the schedule for the next 2 years are brutal.

[Jon Joseph]

On 4/21/2024 at 12:33 PM, Jon Joseph said:

Good luck to the Sooners in the maiden season in the SEC. Oklahoma would sooner have Texas far easier in-conference schedule. Oklahoma will be quarterbacked by RS Frosh Arnold, In the bowl loss to Arizona, Arnold threw for 361 yards but also threw 3 picks. All of the PL starters from 2023 are gone.

 

OOC - B12 Houston and playoff contender AAC Tulane. 

 

Home - Tennessee, Alabama

 

Away - Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU. Whew!

 

Neutral - Texas

 

I think that Oklahoma, ranked mostly in the 12 to 15 range in the preseason is because of the schedule in part, overrated. The SEC did Oklahoma, which plays an OOC game in 2025 vs. Michigan, no favors by simply flipping the home and away games in 2025 and playing the same SEC teams that were played in 2024. 

Sorry, OL, not PL.

[Duckley Palace]

On 4/21/2024 at 9:33 AM, Jon Joseph said:

Good luck to the Sooners in the maiden season in the SEC. Oklahoma would sooner have Texas far easier in-conference schedule. Oklahoma will be quarterbacked by RS Frosh Arnold, In the bowl loss to Arizona, Arnold threw for 361 yards but also threw 3 picks. All of the PL starters from 2023 are gone.

 

OOC - B12 Houston and playoff contender AAC Tulane. 

 

Home - Tennessee, Alabama

 

Away - Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU. Whew!

 

Neutral - Texas

 

I think that Oklahoma, ranked mostly in the 12 to 15 range in the preseason is because of the schedule in part, overrated. The SEC did Oklahoma, which plays an OOC game in 2025 vs. Michigan, no favors by simply flipping the home and away games in 2025 and playing the same SEC teams that were played in 2024. 

They are going in without Saban at Alabama. Brian Kelly at LSU. Auburn and Florida with questionable coaches, and Tennessee as a more classic Big 12 light up the board type with former Sooner Heupel at the helm.

 

Really it's Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, and Missouri as the favorites right now. With Georgia being the new heavyweight.

 

I would rank their hardest games as at LSU, at Missouri, at Ole Miss, vs Texas, and home to Alabama. Alabama will still have the remnant upperclassmen with that Saban lineage. Away games in Baton Rouge are an experience I hope to experience one day, possibly with a future scheduling alliance with the Big Ten/SEC down the road. 

[Jon Joseph]

On 4/23/2024 at 12:16 AM, Duckley Palace said:

They are going in without Saban at Alabama. Brian Kelly at LSU. Auburn and Florida with questionable coaches, and Tennessee as a more classic Big 12 light up the board type with former Sooner Heupel at the helm.

 

Really it's Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, and Missouri as the favorites right now. With Georgia being the new heavyweight.

 

I would rank their hardest games as at LSU, at Missouri, at Ole Miss, vs Texas, and home to Alabama. Alabama will still have the remnant upperclassmen with that Saban lineage. Away games in Baton Rouge are an experience I hope to experience one day, possibly with a future scheduling alliance with the Big Ten/SEC down the road. 

Good take. I do think that Freeze at Auburn will improve the Tigers's play. He is doing a good job of recruiting and picking from the transfer portal. But QB in 2024 will again be an issue. 

 

I'm a bit confused (no surprise.) If you are referring to Georgia, Georgia does not play LSU and Missouri in 2024-25. Preseason top 25 teams on the Dawgs' schedule are Clemson in Atlanta, Tennessee at home. Bama, Ole Miss, Texas, and possibly Kentucky on the road. 

 

Bama will be preseason ranked in the top 10. Bama plays UGA and Missouri at home, Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma. on the road.  Auburn in 2024 is a home game. 

 

I think that both Tennessee and Alabama will contend for a playoff berth. Especially, playing only eight conference games. Tennessee's 'B12 offense' is no longer an anomaly in an SEC that these days features many a shootout. Heupel is another coach who is recruiting very well and looks to have a very good QB in Nico Iamaleva, from Long Beach, CA, for the next two seasons. The Vols miss Texas, LSU, and Missouri in the next two seasons.

 

Texas? Loses a lot of talent. Will young players and transfers come through at DL, WR, and RB? Will last year's close wins in the B12 be losses in the SEC? I'm very interested to see how Texas plays on the road at Michigan, Arkansas, and A+M and in Austin vs. Georgia and in Dallas vs Oklahoma. I'm not sold on Sark having the chops to win a Natty at Texas. IMO he abandoned the run game far too soon vs UW in the semifinal. 

 

Mizzou due to a lightweight OOC schedule and the easiest conference schedule does have a shot at making the playoffs.

 

 

[Duckley Palace]

On 4/23/2024 at 12:31 PM, Jon Joseph said:

Good take. I do think that Freeze at Auburn will improve the Tigers's play. He is doing a good job of recruiting and picking from the transfer portal. But QB in 2024 will again be an issue. 

 

I'm a bit confused (no surprise.) If you are referring to Georgia, Georgia does not play LSU and Missouri in 2024-25. Preseason top 25 teams on the Dawgs' schedule are Clemson in Atlanta, Tennessee at home. Bama, Ole Miss, Texas, and possibly Kentucky on the road. 

 

Bama will be preseason ranked in the top 10. Bama plays UGA and Missouri at home, Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma. on the road.  Auburn in 2024 is a home game. 

 

I think that both Tennessee and Alabama will contend for a playoff berth. Especially, playing only eight conference games. Tennessee's 'B12 offense' is no longer an anomaly in an SEC that these days features many a shootout. Heupel is another coach who is recruiting very well and looks to have a very good QB in Nico Iamaleva, from Long Beach, CA, for the next two seasons. The Vols miss Texas, LSU, and Missouri in the next two seasons.

 

Texas? Loses a lot of talent. Will young players and transfers come through at DL, WR, and RB? Will last year's close wins in the B12 be losses in the SEC? I'm very interested to see how Texas plays on the road at Michigan, Arkansas, and A+M and in Austin vs. Georgia and in Dallas vs Oklahoma. I'm not sold on Sark having the chops to win a Natty at Texas. IMO he abandoned the run game far too soon vs UW in the semifinal. 

 

Mizzou due to a lightweight OOC schedule and the easiest conference schedule does have a shot at making the playoffs.

 

 

You read it correctly, my writing was off the wall. What I mean by Georgia being the favorite isn't based off yearly schedule, more like that invisible force Miami had in the 80's or early 2000's. What USC had from '03-'08, or Alabama had from their first title under Saban in '09 to their last in '20.

 

When I see Georgia on a big stage under Kirby, I expect them to win. Even if they're down double digits to a team that might be better than them. Like the Peach Bowl vs Ohio State. 

 

It's not quantifiable, although having fifteen five star studs each class helps. It's wave after wave of development. Lose five guys to the first round, replace them with even more talented guys.

 

Oklahoma has the stench of softness to them. They get blown out every playoff, it's the complete opposite of Georgia. Texas is out of that boat to me because I saw them take the fight out of a Saban coached Tide in Tuscaloosa. That's a big confidence booster.

 

Sorry if my post doesn't illustrate what I mean entirely. It's hard for me to speak on unproven players, but I trust the coaching staff at Georgia. I trust the program. I don't trust Oklahoma.

 

As it relates to Oregon under Dan, he needs to close the deal. We all know he has the goods, but like Ryan Day, or Harbaugh up till last year. He needs to close the deal, beat the best and win it all.