You’d have to go back quite a while before a preseason conference poll didn’t have Oklahoma as one of the top three teams in that conference. However, in 2024, with the Sooners joining the SEC, Brent Venables’ squad is doing just that as they stare down a predicted eighth-place finish by the SEC media on Friday afternoon.
After a fun week of media days that saw the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns acclimate themselves to their new conference, SEC media members voted on preseason accolades, the media poll, and the preseason champion.
Oklahoma’s eighth-place finish isn’t farfetched in a conference where the caliber of teams has risen dramatically. The Sooners will have to earn their respect.
Here’s how the rest of the SEC shakes out in front of the boys in Crimson and Cream.
Once again, the Georgia Bulldogs are the preseason favorite to win the conference. Oddly, the Texas Longhorns aren’t being treated in a similar fashion to the Oklahoma Sooners despite OU’s win over the Longhorns just last year. Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Missouri, and Tennessee also slot in front of them.
Here’s the kicker for the Sooners: They are scheduled to play every team picked ahead of them, with the exception of Georgia.
If the Sooners feel disrespected, and it’s hard to imagine they don’t, they have an entire season to prove the voters wrong. They can make liars out of everyone who voted against them.
Oklahoma will head into the season with plenty of questions, which is a central reason many are doubting the Sooners’ chance of pushing for a top-three or four finish in the conference.
Questions about Jackson Arnold’s readiness, Oklahoma’s revamped offensive line, and how Oklahoma’s defense will respond to another year in Brent Venables system. Each of these questions casts doubt on the new SEC members as they try to garner the respect of their new peers.
One thing is for certain, the Oklahoma Sooners shouldn’t lack motivation at any point this year.
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