Shane Beamer explains why Oklahoma is ready for the SEC, how Sooners will adjust

Many across the SEC are ready for the additions of Oklahoma and Texas for the conference’s next college football season. That includes South Carolina’s Shane Beamer considering his previous history with the Sooners.

Beamer spoke positively of OU’s program and their ability to compete in the Southeastern Conference while at SEC Media Days today. As part of the Sooners’ offensive staff a few years back, he knows as well as anyone how prepared that program is to play well right away in their next league.

“I think they’re certainly ready,” said Beamer. “This is a team that, prior to last season, had won five straight conference championships in the Big 12 going into 2021. And then, in 2021, they won I think, what, 10 games, 11 games? Something like that. So they had a heck of a season in ’21 with Lincoln (Riley). They’re not very far off. That’s for sure.”

With that said, Beamer did add that both Oklahoma and Texas will have to adjust to the environments of the SEC. The games are already different but, considering the venues that they’ll be playing in, he thinks both teams will have to buckle up once they hit the road.

“Certainly, this league is different. The line of scrimmages are different,” Beamer said. “Beyond the field, just the stadiums? One thing I love about this conference is the stadiums that you get to go into every single Saturday. I saw a stat the other day where the SEC led the country in average attendance per game. And it wasn’t even close compared to the rest of the conferences.

“Realizing that, every single Saturday, you’re going into a stadium that’s got 70, 80, 90, 100,000 fans in it? That’ll be different for those teams coming in,” Beamer added.

Even so, Oklahoma, along with the Longhorns, should fit in nicely. With nearly 50 conference titles and seven national championships, they’re very used to the expectation of winning that the SEC requires.

That’s why, paired with their tradition and trajectory, Beamer believes the Sooners will be comfortably acclimated for kickoff come next season.

“I certainly feel like they’re ready. They’ve got great tradition at that place,” Beamer said. “I’m excited about going back to Norman in ’24. We’ve got a lot of football to play before then. But that’s a proud program with great leadership. We’re excited about having OU and Texas in this awesome conference.”