Why Texas making College Football Playoff is good for Oklahoma

Sooner Scoop’s Eddie Radosevich and George Stoia III both agreed Texas being good is also good for Oklahoma.

Now stop for a second and think. The Sooner fanbase is certainly not rooting for any success for the Longhorns in football, or any sport frankly.

But as the two described on Andy Staples On3, it could be the wake up call for Oklahoma to take the next step under Brent Venables.

“I don’t know if anybody would ever admit it around here, but I think that Texas and the resurgence that they’ve had under Sark, it’s only a good thing for Oklahoma,” Radosevich said. “From the administration on to the band mates. Like that grabs your attention when all you see for the month of December is Texas getting into a College Football Playoff. 

“The idea of you know, for people around Norman, the idea of Texas playing for a national title possibility, you know, I think certainly heightens everybody’s radar. It’s a good thing for the program when Texas is good.”

Of course, both programs are now in the SEC starting this coming season. It only gets more difficult for both teams.

But a recent example between two other arch rivals could serve well for the folks in Norman.

“It’s like Michigan winning a national title,” Stoia said. “I’m not saying obviously Ohio State fans don’t want that to happen. I think Texas all of a sudden waking up and becoming the giant that we know they can be in college football, I think is also in turn woken up Oklahoma a little bit in terms of whether it’s booster money, NIL, recruiting, whatever that may be. When Texas is good, Oklahoma is historically also good.”

As Oklahoma moves into the SEC, winning in the trenches is going to be important. With so much turnover on the offensive line, though, it’ll be worth seeing how the Sooners handle the pressure from opposing defenses and protect a guy like new quarterback Jackson Arnold.

“The most interesting thing, too, with the 2024 edition of what Oklahoma will be is when you look at both sides of the football – whether it be defensive side, which should be one of the better defenses that was put on the field, at least on paper, in the last decade or so. Along with you know, Jackson Arnold and what he’s inheriting in terms of skill position talent, they’re an extremely talented football team,” Radosevich said. “It’s just … how’s that question on the offensive line going to be answered?

“Certainly, on the defensive line perspective and especially with their stepping into and the SEC, I think everybody around here knows that those two units are going to have to be extremely, extremely good if you want to make that jump into whatever that elite level is.”