Oklahoma Sooners' insane SEC schedule is turning heads

Jeff Hauser

Oklahoma Sooners' insane SEC schedule is turning heads image

The Oklahoma Sooners pulled out a huge 24-13 win over No. 15 Michigan on Saturday night. While the upset win put a nice touch on the non-conference schedule, there will be tons of fireworks after this weekend against Temple. 

According to On3's Brett McMurphy, Oklahoma's SEC slate is packed full of ranked teams. There's not a single opponent who falls outside the current AP Top 25 poll.

That's an absolute murderer's row of games. They'll likely face seven straight ranked opponents to finish the season. This is where we'll find out what the Sooners are made of. They'll need to suffer no more than two losses to try and make the College Football Playoff under the new 12-team format. That seems like a tall order. Not to say it's not possible, but they'll have to shut down teams week after week. 

One factor is certain John Mateer is an improvement at quarterback. He led Oklahoma to the victory and didn't show any sign of slowing down. This is mostly due to Brent Venables and Ben Arbuckle’s working relationship, which is off to a perfect start. 

Mateer carried the ball 19 times for 74 yards, including a pair of rushing touchdowns. He was the answer the Sooners offense needed at many times during the game. They'll hope that he stays consistent down the stretch. 

But it's clear Venables wants his team to soak up every victory. “What we do is too hard, man," he said after the game. "You only get 12 opportunities guaranteed at the beginning of the year, so, not apologizing for celebrating with the guys. They need to celebrate.”

A daunting schedule lies ahead with a trip to Philly before the SEC opener against former OU QB Jackson Arnold and Auburn. “Our destination isn’t to be 2-0 and beat Michigan,” Venables said. “We feel like we have a heck of a team and have an opportunity with a lot of big-time challenges in front of us to have a really good season, so I’m really excited about what this team can become.”

MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS: 

Jeff Hauser

Jeff Hauser is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He has over twenty years of experience and is a two-time Emmy Award winner, Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Award voter. Among the events he has covered are the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff, World Series, World Cup, and WBC Boxing. Hauser is a regular guest on FOX Sports and ESPN Radio. He previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, SB Nation and Athlon Sports.