Oklahoma Sooners 2024 football game by game predictions and roster discussion

today I'll be doing Oklahoma so uh every year so far that Brent venables has been head coach at Oklahoma they've had a top 10 recruiting class which has been three years so good news is he's getting Talent there and more good news is their defense improved a lot last year from how it was was in his first year there uh in his first year there they allowed 29.8 points per game and then that went down last year to 21.5 points per game so uh first I'll be going over the roster some and then I'll go through the schedule game by game and give you a predicted winner and loser for each game uh so starting on the offensive side Jackson Arnold will be taking over as the starting quarterback for Dylan Gabriel and I uh really don't see much of a chance of him being as good as Dylan Gabriel was last season uh in his first season as the starting quarterback there uh I know he's a festar quarterback and I do think that he'll at least be solid for them this year uh and uh he got the start in the bowl game last year and he had a lot of yards he threw for 361 in that game but uh his uh completion percentage wasn't very good in that game only 57.8 and he turned the ball over five times in that game three interceptions and two fumbles now uh I don't think that he'll be turning the ball over five times a game this season uh but I think he'll probably have some turnovers at least early on this season being inexperienced quarterback and he can also run some too he's not just a talented thrower so they are a little bit questionable at quarterback this year if Jackson Arnold can be an elite quarterback like uh he's supposed to be uh being a fight Star Quarterback I think Oklahoma could have a chance to get to the SEC Championship this year and even if not though I still think they can have a good team and at wide receiver they are loaded there so that will help him out having a bunch of good wide receivers to throw the ball to so they do lose their best wide receiver uh from last season Drake Stoops he became an elite wide receiver last season and uh Oklahoma has had an elite wide receiver on their team for the last so many years you can just go down the list of great receivers they've had Sterling Shephard DD Westbrook uh Hollywood Brown cidi lamb Marvin Ms and even Drake Stoops last season so uh I would expect uh one of these uh wide receivers that they've got to uh become that top wide receiver for them this season and be late so they've got four good wide receivers on their roster Nick Anderson as a freshman last year really came on he started the last six games and had 798 yard yards on 38 catches and 10 touchdowns and he averaged a really impressive 21 yards a catch I think he'll have a really big year this season and they get back Jalil Faro who was a starter all of last season and had 45 catches for 694 and two touchdowns averaging 15.4 uh yard yards per catch and they get back andell Anthony who got hurt in the Texas game last season but in the first six games had 27 catches for 429 and a touchdown averaging 15.9 a catch that was a season ending injury for him last season uh and then they bring in a a good wide receiver from Purdue Dion Burks who had their last year 47 catches for 629 and seven touchdowns averaging 13.4 a catch and he really looked good in the spring game uh having 174 yards on five catches and two touchdowns so he might be that receiver to become their top one this year uh and uh at running back Gavin Sawchuk will be the starter this year and I really like him he's a very good running back he really came on late last year uh he had a 744 on 120 carries averaging 6.2 a carry and the last five games he had over a hundred yards rushing in each game and they still have javante Barnes who was supposed to be the starting running back last season but got hurt he was the backup in 2022 to Eric gray who I'm sure you know was a really good running back he had that year 519 on 116 carries and five touchdown runs averaging 4.5 a carry and he had two games of 100 plus yards that season I would expect him to get quite a bit of playing time this year and they also brought in a transfer running back from a Tennessee Martin his name is the Sam Franklin uh I know Tennessee Martin is a little team but he did have there last year at 1378 yards averaging 6.2 a carry and 11 touchdown runs I would expect them him to help them out this year at running back so they're looking good at running back but the other question about Oklahoma's team is the offensive line they lose all five starters from last season and they're going to be depending on young players and transfers uh this year on the offensive line uh and I don't think the offensive line will be bad it should be at least okay but uh their offensive line last year was really good I wouldn't expect it to be as good and on the defensive side I'm high on Oklahoma's defense this year I think it could possibly be the best defense in the SEC at least one of the best defenses in the SEC and their defense isn't just about the stars the star ERS are all good but this is a very deep defense this year so uh on the defensive line they return Ethan DS who is a two-year starter for them and has in those two years combined 67 tackles nine sacks and three pass breakups and 25 total pressures and also a fumble recovery and interception and they bring in a really good defensive lineman from TCU uh Dominic Williams who will be a immediate starter this season he had last year there 33 tackles 19 total pressures and three sacks and they have uh Trace Ford coming back who was a fourstar recruit coming out of high school and he wasn't a starter last year uh but did have 13 uh pressures and three pass breakups and 18 tackles and an interception he played in every game last year and I think he'll be a starter this year and he was a a transfer from Oklahoma State he transferred to Oklahoma from there last season and he was a star on Oklahoma States defense before coming to Oklahoma and they've got back D John Harry who was a uh player for a Tennessee before coming to Oklahoma he came to Oklahoma last season he made four starts and played in every game last year and he's a 320 pounder and Lindy Sports magazine called them a rock in the middle of the defensive line and he had last year 18 tackles and a sack he'll probably do more for them this year and they've got a five-star defensive lineman uh PJ adab War who uh play played a little bit last year as a true freshman but didn't make any starts and I'd expect him to get more playing time this year even if he's not a starter and they've also got a five-star defensive lineman coming in this year David Stone who will of course be a true freshman so he probably won't be a starter this year but I saw that he might get immediate playing time this year uh so uh the defensive line uh is very deep and looks very good and they've got some other players too that could help them out on the defensive line and at linebacker they're loaded I think this is the strength well the biggest strength of Oklahoma's team this year uh and I think Oklahoma is the best linebacker unit in the country led by Danny stutzman who in 25 G GES that has 228 tackles 37 total pressures six sacks and uh eight pass breakups and three interceptions and two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery a lot of numbers he'll be a first round pick next year and then they've also got jiren kanet coming back who had 62 tackles seven total pressures and two sacks and two pass breakups and a force fumble last year and they've got Kip Lewis who didn't become a starter until the last five games the last season but really came on last season he had 66 tackles and a sack and a forced fumble I think he'll be a really good player this year for them at linebacker and they've also got deson mccy coming back who in 22 college games that has a made 11 starts and has 78 tackles four sacks six pass breakups and 25 total pressures he was a fourstar recruit and he started his college career at Indiana and transferred to Oklahoma last season uh and then at cornerback they're looking really good there they were turn one of the best cornerbacks in the country Woody Washington who in two years as a starter has 115 total tackles and 13 pass breakups and then uh they get uh back uh Gentry Williams who was a starter for the first 10 games last season but uh got hurt and missed the rest of the year year he had 30 tackles three interceptions and a fumble recovery in that time and he's a fourstar corner and they also have Kendall Dolby who made three starts last year but but played in every game and had 49 tackles and four pass breakups and two sacks and two interceptions and they're loaded at safe also they return a top five safety in the country Billy Bowman who has in two years 24 games uh 124 tackles nine interceptions nine pass breakups and he had three pick sixes last season and uh they've also got Payton Bowen who is a five-star safety who came on last year as a freshman only started two games but had 36 tackles and five pass breakups and a forced fumble and fumble recovery and they've also got a fourar uh Robert Spears Jennings who played in 12 games and made two starts last year and had 38 tackles so this secondary is deep and very talented this will be I think an elite secondary this year and an elite overall defense this year and then on special teams they get both Specialists back but their kicker did really struggle some last year with field goals that does need to get better uh and Jalil Faro will be doing all of the returns both kick returns and punt returns this season and he is a very good retiring specialist he's very fast so that's good so uh now uh moving on to the predictions they start the season against temple on Friday which will be a very easy win and then they play Houston after that a team that's pretty new still to the power four and is just not very good I think Oklahoma beats them easily I think it'll be a blowout and then they play two lane next two lane of course these past two years wouldn't have been a given win at all for Oklahoma but this year they lose their coach and their quarterback so I don't think they'll be as good and I think Oklahoma takes care of them pretty easily so this is a nice first three games for Oklahoma to have because they have a new quarterback and a new offensive line completely so that'll give them time to improve if uh they're bad at the beginning uh because they're not going to lose any of these I don't think no matter how bad the offensive line and quarterback are at the beginning and then that comes time for the first SEC game Tennessee at home so Tennessee uh I think it won't have as good of a defense is Oklahoma well uh and their quarterback is also a fstar and a new one two and I know Tennessee won their bowl game last year but they were playing Iowa who couldn't get a first down so uh it really didn't mean that much to me and the quarterback in that game is getting well he's getting so much hype because he scored up four touchdowns in that game but if you take a look at his numbers in that bowl game they weren't even very good so I think Tennessee is questionable just as much as Oklahoma is at the quarterback position and Tennessee is good at wide receiver but I think Oklahoma is better and I think Oklahoma's got a better running back unit now Tennessee I think is stronger on the offensive line but uh overall uh Oklahoma to me is the better team and playing at home I think they'll get the win in a a close one probably by like no more than a touchdown and then they play their first SEC Road game and they didn't get it good with that on the road at alurn of course I'm sure you know how tough of a place to play alurn is now alurn is going to be good at running the football again and uh their defense though I don't think will be as good as Oklahoma's and they're going to be better I think get wide receiver this year but not as good as Oklahoma is going to be and Auburn's quarterback is one of the worst in the country and I think for Hugh freze to be able to have success at alurn he's going to have to have a good quarterback so I think Oklahoma survives a close one in this one and then they play Texas in the Red River rivalry so I think this will be a really close game and I think Oklahoma defense is at least as good as Texas is and uh Texas though is much stronger on the offensive line and they're better at quarterback and uh wide receiver is pretty even and running back so uh I think Texas is the better team so I am going to pick Texas in this game but it wouldn't shock me if Oklahoma won this game uh it's really because of of Dylan Gabriel leaving because it wasn't just Oklahoma's defense that won them that game Gabriel had a huge game in that game and I'm just not confident that Jackson Arnold is going to be able to do that this year against Texas and then they play South Carolina so South Carolina is even more questionable at quarterbacking offensive line than Oklahoma is and their defense is nowhere near as good as Oklahoma's or wide receiver and I don't think they're as good at running back either as Oklahoma Oklahoma is just a much better team and but playing at home there's really no reason to expect this one to be close I think Oklahoma wins by at least two touchdowns and then they play Old Miss on the road I think it'll be close I think it their defenses match up pretty evenly but I think Miss has a better quarterback and offensive line and wide receivers pretty even and Miss though I do think is a little bit better at running back also uh so I think Miss WIS was they just have more offense and uh then they play Main which of course will be a very easy win they'll destroy them by like 50 points it's pretty much like a by week and then they play on the road at Missouri so Missouri uh is not really a tough place to play uh it it's a place where you would think that if Oklahoma is actually the better team than Missouri that they could get the win uh even on the road so Oklahoma has a much better defense I think than Missouri does and Missouri does have a experienced quarterback who actually got good last year and Missouri looks better on the offensive line uh but uh I've heard that Missouri is loaded at wide receiver but I think Oklahoma is even more loaded there and I think Oklahoma's a little bit better at running back so uh I think Oklahoma gets a really close win of over Missouri and uh then they take a week off before a big game at home against Alabama so uh Oklahoma I actually think probably has a better overall defense than Alabama does I do think Alabama's better at the line of scrimmage than Oklahoma and right now I would have to say they have a better quarterback because from what I've seen of Jaylen mro and Jackson Arnold milr has look better and Oklahoma though I think is quite a bit better at wide receiver and running back is probably close to being even uh and if this was that Alabama I would take Alabama but it being at home I think Oklahoma is good enough to get the win and if they didn't have a week off in between Missouri and Alabama I don't think they'd be able to beat Alabama but I think that week off will help them and then they play after that in the season on the road at LSU so Oklahoma I think has a better defense than LSU also but LSU is much better at the offensive line uh and uh Oklahoma I think's better at running back and uh at quarterback course LSU has a new one too nus Meyer and he looked better in the bowl game than Jackson Arnold dead um and if this was at Oklahoma I would pick them no doubt but uh LSU is such a tough place to play that I think that will get to Oklahoma and they'll lose a really close one so my final prediction for Oklahoma is 9 and three over overall and five and three in the conference uh I think it's possible they could do better than that and go to the college football play off but there are a couple of questions about the team which is why I don't have them making it there uh this year uh but uh if you're an Oklahoma fan you should probably like that the questions are on the offensive side now and not the defensive side because it's shown in the past that you can win a championship with a a late defense and an average offense uh but if you don't have a good defense even if you have a really good offense you can't really win a championship but uh that will be it with this video thanks for watching and please subscribe and I'll be back very soon