Sooners out of RJ Young’s top 10 Power Rankings

The Oklahoma football team has begun preparing to face the Houston Cougars, who will come to town this Saturday night for the Sooners’ second straight primetime game. It’s another chance to show the college football world what this team is all about in 2024.

The Sooners came in at No. 13 in the latest LBM USA Coaches Poll and moved up just one spot in the AP Top 25, but one college football expert has an even higher opinion of the Oklahoma Sooners after Week 1.

In his latest power rankings for Fox Sports, college football analyst RJ Young has the Oklahoma Sooners at No. 11 and one spot behind former Big 8/12 rival turned SEC rival Missouri.

Oklahoma beat an FBS opponent 51-3. Missouri beat an FCS opponent 51-0. Still, people treat OU like they would normally treat Mizzou and Mizzou like they would normally treat OU without regard to history. The Sooners won 10 games last year, while the Tigers won 11. Hence the ranking here. – Young, Fox Sports

Missouri is a good team. There’s no doubt about that. But are they better than the Oklahoma Sooners? We’ll find out later in the season. But the Tigers could be a playoff team because they have a schedule that will allow them to contend for 10 or 11 wins.

Like the Texas Longhorns, they have a chance to have a big season because of their light schedule. Both teams will play Texas A&M, and that game doesn’t seem all that difficult after the way Notre Dame handled the Aggies in College Station in Week 1.

On the other hand, the Oklahoma Sooners are talked about as if they are a Group of Five program moving to the SEC and not as one of the winningest programs in college football history.

Oklahoma’s success over the past decade has meant it faces a more demanding schedule than Texas or Missouri. But that’s the price you pay for doing business when you’re a top-tier team, and the Oklahoma Sooners are up for the challenge.

ESPN’s matchup predictor has Oklahoma at 8-4 after Week 1. If that happens, it won’t be because Oklahoma isn’t good, but because the teams on its schedule are so good. Because it’s going to take some very good teams to keep the Sooners out of the College Football Playoff, because they’re a very good football team themselves.

Further: SEC Power Rankings After Week 1

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