Five Takeaways From Oklahoma’s 2023 Football Schedule Release

Finally, Oklahoma’s 2023 schedule is about.

After pushing again the announcement a number of occasions, the Big 12 released the league’s first full conference schedule together with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF.

This 12 months will mark the primary season in over a decade that the Sooners aren’t assured to play each member of the Big 12, creating some attention-grabbing matchups for Brent Venables’ second 12 months in Norman.

Here are a some takeaways from the schedule launch:

The Four Left Off

Unless Oklahoma makes it again to the Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington to fulfill certainly one of these groups, the Sooners received’t see Kansas State, Baylor, Texas Tech or Houston in 2023.

Immediately, three of OU’s seven losses from 2022 can be wiped off the schedule as each the Wildcats and Bears beat the Sooners in Norman, and the Red Raiders outlasted Oklahoma in additional time within the common season finale final 12 months.

Chris Klieman has had OU’s quantity, posting a 3-1 report towards Oklahoma since arriving at Kansas State in 2019. The defending Big 12 Champions are returning loads of items from the 2022 squad as nicely. Under the traditional scheduling mannequin, Venables would have returned to Manhattan in 2023, however as a substitute the Sooners will keep away from the Wildcats fully.

Dave Aranda has additionally had success over the previous two years, profitable two straight contests over Oklahoma. Though the Bears had been unable to return to Arlington final 12 months to defend their 2021 Big 12 Championship, the Sooners additionally averted a return journey to Waco in 2023.

The Red Raiders received’t get an opportunity to go back-to-back towards OU within the common season underneath Joey McGuire, and the Sooners received’t should take care of Houston after latest matchups in 2016 and 2019.

Avoiding the Lone Star State

Intentional or not, the Big 12 handed Oklahoma an attention-grabbing slate of street video games.

OU will make journeys to play BYU, Kansas, Oklahoma State and BYU together with the yearly journey to play Texas on the Cotton Bowl.

It implies that the Sooners, who rely closely on a regional presence in Texas for recruiting, will make only one journey down I-35 South within the 2023 common season.

Had the convention remained on the outdated scheduling mannequin, OU would have added one other journey to play in Waco this 12 months.

The schedule received’t drastically hamper Oklahoma’s recruiting efforts with the 2024 class, however it’s an odd quirk for the Sooners to be locked out of the Lone Star State outdoors of the Red River Shootout.

New Stomping Grounds

Of the brand new Big 12 members, the Sooners will hit the street to play BYU and Cincinnati.

Should Cincinnati host the competition at Nippert Stadium, it should mark the primary ever go to by Oklahoma to both Provo, UT, or Cincinnati’s house stadium.

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OU performed towards the Bearcats in Cincinnati again in 2010, however that contest was moved to the house of the Bengals, previously Paul Brown Stadium. The solely different assembly between the 2 faculties was a 52-26 Oklahoma victory in Norman in 2008.

The two conferences all-time between OU and BYU have each been impartial website contests.

Most lately, BYU’s 14-13 upset over the Sooners in 2009, was the primary American soccer sport ever performed in AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The solely prior assembly between the packages got here within the 1994 Copper Bowl in Tucson, AZ.

Bedlam Finale?

Much has been made concerning the future, or lack thereof, of the Bedlam Series over the previous 12 months.

The Sooners and the Cowboys have each indicated that the sport is not going to proceed in soccer after OU departs for the SEC.

If that transfer comes forward of the 2024 season, then the ultimate Bedlam contest will play on Nov. 4 in Stillwater.

Mike Gundy’s Cowboys outlasted Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams in OU’s final journey to Stillwater in 2021, however the lasting picture of the Oklahoma State followers flooding the sector in celebration might not stand as the ultimate Bedlam reminiscence in Stillwater for fairly some time.

Year 2 Bump

With SMU having to exchange Georgia on the house schedule in 2023, Oklahoma’s street forward seems to be removed from treacherous on paper.

The Sooners will welcome in Arkansas State, SMU, Iowa State, UCF, West Virginia and TCU.

Outside of the Horned Frogs, who turned the Big 12’s first group to win a College Football Playoff sport final season, the remainder of OU’s house opponents posted a mixed report of 28-35.

Away journeys to Tulsa, Cincinnati, Kansas, Oklahoma State and BYU look to be manageable as nicely. The 5 faculties mixed to go 35-29.

Cincinnati, who completed with one of the best report of OU’s 2023 street opponents final 12 months at 9-4, employed Scott Satterfield to exchange Luke Fickell on the helm of this system after he took the Wisconsin job this offseason.

Oklahoma can have its fingers full with Texas after the Longhorns embarrassed the Sooners 49-0 final 12 months, however in any other case OU’s 2023 schedule units up properly on paper for a group making an attempt to make tangible progress on the sector after a disappointing 6-7 season in Brent Venables’ first 12 months as a head coach. 

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