Setting early expectations for Oklahoma football against 'big dogs' in SEC

It’s July and that means the Oklahoma Sooners are officially a member of the SEC. It’s an exciting time for the school’s programs, especially football, which has a difficult schedule to face as it makes the transition to the conference.

Eddie Radosevich and George Stoia from Sooner Scoop joined Andy Staples On3. There, they broke down Oklahoma’s move to the SEC in the short term, setting those early expectations. They agree that, culturally, Oklahoma will fit in right away. However, having the same type of success on the field itself that Sooners’ fans are used to might take a couple of seasons.

“Certainly, year two was better than year one under Brent Venables,” Radosevich said. “I think they’ve taken steps into what they feel like is closer and closer to be able to compete with some of the quote-unquote big dogs of the SEC. But they’ve got a ways to go.”

In the two years that Brent Venables has been at Oklahoma, he’s been working to build the program in the image that he has for it. That includes an emphasis on recruiting, line play, and the defensive side of the football as a whole.

“I think, obviously, it starts on the offensive line. It starts on the defensive line. It’s something that we’ve talked to you about, Andy, just in terms of what Oklahoma is from an offensive line standpoint going into their first season in the SEC, but getting a guy like a Damonic Williams from TCU I feel like they’re starting to make those strides.”

Oklahoma had the ninth-ranked recruiting class in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. It’s a deep and talented class that could help lead to long-term success for the Sooners.

“Obviously, the 2024 recruiting class that they brought in with the defensive line is going to be a positive. It’s probably going to take a couple of years to really get a feeling for where that thing is at with the David Stones and Jayden Jacksons of the world, but I think they feel like they’re taking the right steps and that’s why you look at year number three and year number one in the SEC for Oklahoma,” Radosevich said.

“If you’re able to get to eight, nine, even 10 wins and all of a sudden you look up and you’re getting into a College Football Playoff, I think would be a spectacular season. So, I think that Oklahoma football, even in just the brand for itself, at least from the Norman perspective it should heighten what the SEC is, but at the same time they’re going to have their work cut out for them going into this first season, especially with that schedule.”

At that point, George Stoia emphasized that one challenge for fans is that there is an expectation to win at a high level. However, given the difficulty of Oklahoma’s schedule in 2024, that’s going to be tough. Instead, it’s about viewing how the team sets itself for long-term success in the SEC.

“I’ve told you this. It’s about the long-term expectations for the program. I understand OU fans want to win a lot next year and if they win nine games that’s a great year for them when you look at that schedule, and I think if you look at the way they’re recruiting, it’s gonna take some time to be built because they have recruited at a high level but now you’re starting to see some of those guys get in,” Stoia said.

“I think you start looking at the 2025 season. 2026, we’ll see what that schedule looks like. I just think it’s gonna be tough if next year if OU goes 8-4 there will be people out there saying this is the demise of Brent Venables and the program’s heading in the wrong direction. I would view it as that’s almost a step in the right direction if you get eight or nine wins because of how tough the schedule is. So, I think no one is expecting OU to win a national championship next year.”

With this move from Oklahoma to the SEC, it’s another major change in the world of college football. Now, the SEC and Big Ten are deep and full of talented programs. The Playoff is expanding to 12 teams. So, what success looks like overall is changing too.

“It’s also one of those things that I think college football fans as a whole are gonna have to learn, especially as we get into this 12-Team Playoff and some of the bigger conferences, winning 11 or 12 games every single season, and obviously the expectation that Oklahoma fans have for the program, they’re gonna have to change a little bit. It’s not saying they shouldn’t have the expectation to play for an SEC Championship or get into a Playoff or go compete for a national championship,” Radosevich said.

“But I think the days of these undefeated teams all over the country and especially in the SEC or some of these power four conferences. That’s over to a certain extent. It’s just gonna be too competitive.”