The game of college football has changed. Conference realignments have transformed the sport, with many teams finding themselves in new leagues in 2024. Name, image and likeness have become a bigger part of the sport as players can now be (legally) paid by companies and organizations. The transfer portal has also changed the way teams are formed.
The College Football Playoff has expanded from four teams to 12 starting this season, a change that is in keeping with the larger realignment efforts that will make 2024 a season of change for college football.
With Labor Day weekend marking the first week of the season, we are now just days away from the Oklahoma Sooners opening their season at home against the Temple Owls, meaning it is time to make some final CFP predictions and bowl predictions before kickoff.
That’s exactly what USA Today Sports did on Tuesday, predicting all of the bowl games and playoffs. While most national forecasts have Brent Venables’ team on the outside looking in to win the championship, college football expert Eric Smith has a different opinion.
One thing to expect is a lot of SEC and Big Ten teams. This year’s preseason projections have four teams from the SEC and three from the Big Ten. Two from the ACC, the independent and Group of Five champions, and the Big 12 representative team. Oklahoma could be a good case study of how we need to recalibrate how we evaluate teams on anything other than their win-loss records. The Sooners will face five teams ranked in the top 15 of the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, three of which will be on the road and one at a neutral site. Their 9-3 record should be enough to beat a 10-2 team that doesn’t have the same win total. – Smith, USA TODAY Sports
Smith will lead the Sooners to the playoffs and a first-round matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend, Ind. OU last visited Notre Dame 13 years ago, winning 35-21 during the 2013 season.
Smith expects the Sooners to advance to the second round of the playoffs and face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
The Rose Bowl represents one of the worst moments of the Lincoln Riley era. Oklahoma led 31-14 with six seconds left in the first half. Riley tried to give the ball back to Georgia with a squib kick, but Georgia had great field position and got the ball. Bulldogs kicker Rodrigo Blankenship booted a 55-yard field goal to cut Oklahoma’s lead to two points.
Georgia took control of the game, scoring 21 points afterward to take a 38-31 lead. The Sooners fought the Bulldogs but ultimately lost in double overtime.
A Rose Bowl matchup against Ohio State would give Oklahoma a chance to face one of the best teams in the country, and a return to the Rose Bowl would give the Sooners a chance to exorcise their demons.
Making the playoffs this year and reaching the quarterfinals would be recognition of all the work that Coach Venables and his coaching staff have done since taking over. If they can get through this year’s tough schedule and finish in the top 12, it would send a message to the rest of college football that the Sooners can be a powerhouse.
It’s a tall order, but one that’s expected in Norman, Oklahoma.
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