Sam Avellone
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The Lincoln Riley era is officially over in Oklahoma, and the Brent Venables era is underway. After 10 seasons at Clemson, Venables returns to Oklahoma, where he spent 13 seasons from 1999-2011, to lead a program as a head coach for the first time in his career.
What will Oklahoma football look like in 2022 with Venables at the helm? With the season just a few weeks away, it is time to break down the Sooners.
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Oklahoma Sooners 2022 college football season odds
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Oklahoma National Championship odds
The Sooners are currently listed at 40/1 to win the National Championship. They have the same odds as Michigan and sit behind just Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, USC, and Texas A&M.
Oklahoma Sooners Big 12 Championship odds
Oklahoma is listed as a +200 favorite to win the Big 12 title. Texas is the only other team with odds under +500.
Oklahoma Sooners odds to reach the College Football Playoff
The Sooners are +450 to make the College Football Playoff. “No” is listed at -650.
Oklahoma Sooners 2021 season recap
The Sooners were a very good football team in 2021, much like each of the 4 prior seasons of Riley’s tenure. They finished 11-2, including a win in the Alamo Bowl over Oregon. However, the Sooners did not appear in the Big 12 championship for the first time since its return in 2017. Spencer Rattler began the season as the starting quarterback but was replaced by freshman Caleb Williams during the Texas game despite throwing for 1,260 yards and 10 touchdowns while leading the Sooners to a 5-0 record. In his 8 starts, Williams threw for 1,828 yards and 21 touchdowns but struggled against the stronger opposing defenses on the schedule such as Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State. Defensively, the Sooners were below average, as they ranked 70th in opponent points per game and 82nd opponent yards per game.
Jared Smith has a HUGE 3-unit futures play for the upcoming college football season
Oklahoma Sooners 2022 college football season predictions
The Sooners are going to look very different with Venables at the helm, as 14 starters left the program when Riley bolted for USC in the offseason. The team will likely have a much different identity under Venables, as he is a defensive-minded coach with a complex yet proven defensive system. The Sooners will be without their top two tacklers from last season in Patrick Fields and Brian Asamoah, but there is still reason to be excited about the defensive pieces in Norman. DaShaun White is expected to lead the defense after accumulating 60 tackles last season while returning contributors Justin Broiles and Key Lawrence and transfers Jeffery Johnson (Tulane), Trey Morrison (UNC), and Jonah Laulu (Hawaii) are all expected to have significant roles on what should be an improved defense. Offensively, the Sooners will replace Rattler and Williams with UCF-transfer quarterback Dillion Gabriel to lead what will be an up-tempo offense. Gabriel has experience with new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, as they worked together in 2019 at UCF. He will be throwing to a group of inexperienced but talented wide receivers, headlined by Marvin Mims and former five-star recruit Theo Wease – who missed all of last season with an injury. There will likely be regression on the offensive side of the ball considering how strong the Sooners were offensively under Riley, but with an experienced quarterback like Gabriel at the helm, the transition to a new quarterback should be much easier than normal.
Best Bet: Oklahoma Sooners to make the Big 12 Conference Title Game (-120)
Despite all the turnover on the coaching staff as well as the roster, Oklahoma should still be a very strong team in the Big 12 – a conference going through ample change as a whole. The Sooners will have a veteran college quarterback at the helm, who has experience with the new offensive coordinator, to go along with a defensive system that proved to be very successful during Venables’ tenure at Clemson. The conference schedule is favorable for the Sooners, as they will face their toughest conference opponents – Texas, Baylor, and Oklahoma State – at home. Furthermore, the Sooners will not have any back-to-back road games in conference. With Texas working on a young and experienced quarterback and Oklahoma State replacing its highly-regarded defensive coordinator, the Oklahoma Sooners have a great opportunity to make it back to the conference championship after a 1-year hiatus.
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