Oklahoma football: 3 takeaways from Sooners’ 2023 schedule

2. Weird conference

The new look Big 12 schedule is just flat-out weird looking for Sooners fans. Oklahoma will begin conference play on the road at Cincinnati, and their final road trip will be to Provo to take on BYU. The Sooners were not scheduled to face Houston, but will host UCF.

With these new additions, the Sooners will not face Texas Tech or Baylor. Barring a conference championship matchup, those matchups that have been a big part of the conference’s history, will be no more.

Things will obviously be a little weird or awkward with Texas and Oklahoma leaving, but this schedule is very jarring to look at.

3. Strong chance to bounce back 

Just because the schedule looks weird, doesn’t mean it’s bad. I believe this schedule helps reopen the door for Oklahoma to return to prominence. The Sooners should benefit from a manageable non-conference schedule, and be 3-0. Three games, with one being a road game, are great learning experiences for a program that will have over a dozen new players that need to mesh and learn to play together.

If business is taken care of, Oklahoma’s conference schedule is about as easy as you could ask for. The Sooners’ four road conference games (Cincinnati, Kansas, Oklahoma State, BYU) are all games that Oklahoma is expected to be favored to win. Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, and BYU are all in the midst of rebuilds, and while Kansas has improved, Oklahoma should beat them.

Home battles against Iowa State, UCF, West Virginia, and TCU is a pretty solid set of games that the home-field should hold up for the Sooners. TCU had a magical season last year, but they will have lost so much talent from the national runner-up squad. That does leave the annual battle against Texas, a matchup that did not go well last year, as the one neutral site matchup.

When I look at this schedule, I see that Texas Tech and Baylor are not on it, and that’s a win. Getting five games against teams that are down is a win. Getting arguably two of your tougher games at home is a win. This schedule is a win, and a huge opportunity for Brent Venables and company. I believe this season will come down to three games: Texas, UCF, and TCU.

If Oklahoma can sweep those games, we’re talking about potentially a perfect regular season in Norman, I truly feel that way. Go 2-1, and Oklahoma is definitely in the hunt to make it to Jerry World for the Big 12 championship, and the CFP may still be realistic. Go 1-2, and Oklahoma may still be looking at a big time bowl game.