Friday, March 29, 2024

Where could you see the Sooners playing during bowl season?


NORMAN, Okla. — Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners defeated their bitter in-state rival in Oklahoma State to change into bowl eligible for the twenty fourth consecutive season. The final time Oklahoma missed a bowl recreation got here in the 1998 marketing campaign, the place the Sooners completed 5-6 in what can be the last season of the John Blake period in Norman. Following a 23-20 loss to West Virginia on November twelfth that put the Sooners at 5-5 on the season, it was beginning to look a bit of dicey as as to whether Brent Venables would go to a bowl in his first season as a head coach. However, Oklahoma would get that much-needed sixth win in opposition to Oklahoma State on the heels of a powerful begin that noticed the Sooners leap out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter earlier than surrendering the last 13 factors of the recreation to make it a 28-13 victory in favor of the Sooners for his or her 91st victory in the Bedlam rivalry.


Even sitting at 6-5, that is nonetheless unfamiliar territory for Oklahoma followers. After Saturday’s Bedlam victory in opposition to Oklahoma State, I began to provide you with my very own opinion on the potential bowl video games that the Sooners could be despatched to, which I’ll dive into down under.

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DISCLAIMER: I’m not together with the Cheez-It Bowl in anticipation of TCU being despatched to the College Football Playoff. This would probably imply that Kansas State can be headed to the Sugar Bowl, Texas to the Alamo Bowl, and Oklahoma State or presumably Baylor to the Cheez-It Bowl.


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Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Big 12 vs. Big Ten)

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With the latest 40 and 50-degree highs in the OKC metro, the latest 60 and 70-degree highs in stunning Phoenix, Arizona need to sound very interesting for the gamers and coaches who’ve been by way of a protracted and difficult 2022 marketing campaign.


The Guaranteed Rate Bowl can be performed on Tuesday, December twenty seventh in opposition to a Big Ten opponent ought to the Sooners be chosen for it. Unfortunately for Sooner followers that aren’t of the “night owl” selection, the recreation is ready to kick off at 9:15 PM CT which might be lower than superb for these having work or different obligations the subsequent morning.


With the Big Ten having the different tie to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, Oklahoma could doubtlessly face Maryland, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, Iowa, and even Michigan State, who must upset #11 Penn State on the highway to change into bowl eligible.


AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Big 12 vs. SEC)


The subsequent potential vacation spot additional up the pecking order would ship the Sooners to the Volunteer State to play in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee. Should Oklahoma be chosen, they’d play on Wednesday, December twenty eighth at 4:30 PM CT.

(Photo: Jared Thomas , 247Sports)


Several of the potential matchups for this bowl recreation would function some attention-grabbing storylines that might have Oklahoma followers excited for this bowl. Who wouldn’t need a matchup in opposition to 7-4 Mississippi State led by none aside from Mike Leach, the former Oklahoma offensive coordinator and later in-conference foe who had many showdowns with Bob Stoops during his time in Lubbock as the HC at Texas Tech? How about 6-5 Kentucky which is led by Mark Stoops, the brother of legendary retired Oklahoma HC Bob Stoops and uncle of present Oklahoma WR Drake Stoops? Another potential enjoyable matchup could be 6-5 Arkansas, which is just a few hours up the highway from Norman and options a variety of divided households in Oklahoma and Arkansas that cheer for the Sooners and Razorbacks. Other bowl-eligible groups in the SEC would additionally embody Florida and South Carolina together with Auburn, Missouri, and Vanderbilt who’re combating to change into bowl eligible this weekend.


To add one other attention-grabbing spin, a recreation performed in Memphis, Tennessee would function a homecoming recreation for Eric Gray and Woodi Washington, each of whom could be doubtlessly headed to the NFL Draft after this season.


TaxAct Texas Bowl (Big 12 vs. SEC)


Lastly, Oklahoma could doubtlessly be taking a look at playing their fourth recreation this season in the Lone Star State if they’re chosen to play in the TaxAct Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The recreation can be performed on Wednesday, December twenty eighth at 8 PM CT. Yes, this might be the similar day as the Liberty Bowl, so it’s wanting more and more probably that you can circle December twenty eighth as the date of the last recreation of the season.

(Photo: Parker Thune, 247Sports)


Given that the different convention tie-in for the TaxAct Texas Bowl would as soon as once more be the SEC, the potential matchups for Oklahoma in the Texas Bowl can be just about the similar as the Liberty Bowl. However, I consider that the Texas Bowl can be extra helpful for OU for a mess of causes. OU has an enormous alumni base and fan base in Texas, particularly in the DFW and Houston metropolitan areas. Thus, I consider that the Texas Bowl would offer OU with the finest probability to have the most followers in attendance. Houston can also be a recruiting hotbed that the OU employees is trying to prioritize in the future, and a bowl recreation in the Houston metro space would permit Oklahoma the probability to achieve a foothold in a area that has been closely dominated by Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, Alabama, and others in latest historical past.


Oklahoma additionally has a number of gamers on the roster which are initially from the Houston metropolitan space, so that might additionally present a singular alternative for a number of gamers to have a homecoming recreation in a area that the Sooners wouldn’t usually play in.


Want much more Oklahoma coverage, featuring exclusive recruiting intel and notes, from 247Sports’ industry-leading team of insiders? Try one month of OUInsider VIP membership today for just $1! Click here to get started!





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