The OU Turnaround

Via TigerNet.com on Flickr

The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a rough season under first year head coach Brent Venables. The Sooners finished with a 6-7 record, but may not be that far away from a playoff return in 2023.

The Oklahoma Sooners football program has been one of the most successful programs in college football history, consistently producing winning seasons and competing for championships. However, the 2022 season went off the rails and crashed to a ending that hasn’t been seen in Norman since the horrid 90’s before the Bob Stoops arrived. After quarterback Dillon Gabriel was knocked out on a illegal late hit during the loss to TCU the Sooners were destroyed the next game against Texas. Gabriel was forced to miss that game due to concussion protocol and the back up was lost the day before to illness. Relying on a 3rd string backup and a wildcat package was not enough to even put up any resemblance of a fight against their biggest rivals Texas getting a historic 49-0 beat down. Five of the Seven losses this season were by a touchdown or less and three of those five were by less than 3 points.

The 2023 season looks to be a complete turnaround for those that follow the program closely. The team is poised to return to form and finish with a spot in the Big 12 championship and, perhaps once again, a playoff birth.

Oklahoma is returning a number of key players on both sides of the ball and numerous underclassmen getting valuable experience and playing time and a top 5 recruiting class as well as transfer class have the Sooners optimistic as they go in to their final year of the Big 12. Besides returning Starter Dillon Gabriel the Sooners signed blue chip five star QB Jackson Arnold to shore up the depth.

Defensively the Sooners return a bevy of options and depth that they didn’t have the luxury of last season with the skeleton crew that they relied upon coming back as well as numerous transfers and a top defensive class as well as two five star blue chips on that side as well. Top tackler Danny Stutsman returns as well as the entire secondary including Billy Bowman. Add super freshman Adepoju “PJ” Adebawore and Peyton Bowen to the group and the excitement for the defense is once again something Oklahoma fans are exited about in the future.

The Sooners could easily see a 10-2 finish in Coach Venables second season and be poised to enter the SEC on a high note.