Oklahoma Football: Sooners moving on from Baker Mayfield

2018 Oklahoma Schedule and Predictions

Oklahoma opens the year with a tricky Group of Five test at home against Florida Atlantic. Then Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins come to Norman. How well the Sooners fare in those two contests will be the litmus test for whether they are ready to contend for national honors this year.

Big 12 play begins at Iowa State. Then Army comes to Oklahoma for the final non-conference game, and Baylor visits Norman at the end of September. That precedes the Red River Shootout against Texas, held as per usual at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Out of the bye week is when things really heat up for Oklahoma. They play at TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia. They also have home dates against Kansas State and Oklahoma State. Only the mismatch against Kansas is a guaranteed victory.

Though the road will be tough, though, Oklahoma will probably be favored in pretty much every game they play this year. There is no marquee non-conference showdown like there was against Ohio State the past two years. The biggest tests will come in conference play.

What’s next for Oklahoma?

That said, the Sooners cannot overlook Lane Kiffin’s Owls. The defending Conference USA champions have their sights set on competing against Boise State and UCF and potentially crashing into the New Year’s Six as the top Group of Five team in the country. If Oklahoma gets caught looking ahead to UCLA or Iowa State, they could get burned on their home field by Florida Atlantic.

Prediction: 11-2 (8-1 Big 12)

Oklahoma is probably going to drop one or two games that they have no business losing. In the end, though, the Sooners will still emerge as the Big 12 champions for the fourth consecutive year.

Those two losses will probably be at least one too many to get Oklahoma back to the College Football Playoff. They will still feature in a New Year’s Six bowl as one of the Power Five champions, but this year the Sooners will be the odd team out from those leagues.