No. 20 Georgia Tech | No. 22 Arkansas | Top 25
No. 21: Oklahoma
Last Season: 8-5 (5-4 Big 12)
Oklahoma looks to turn things around
The Sooners have been stuck in a fade. No, not a pass route to the corner of the end zone, but rather a slow, painful breakdown of everything that had made OU an annual contender throughout the latter half of the BCS era. That decline was illustrated perfectly one year ago, when a team that started the season ranked among everyone's preseason top five ended with an 8-5 record and an embarrassing postseason beatdown at the paws of Clemson. Bob Stoops begins his 17th season by admittedly trying to correct another fade, the Sooners' slow walk-away from the Air Raid offense that was so effective during his best seasons in Norman, all while the rest of the Big 12, even TCU, have become offensive machines. To get back to picking up the pace, he hired 31-year old hurry-up prodigy Lincoln Riley to head up the offense. Last season he coached East Carolina's O to produce 533 yards per game, nearly 70 more than the Sooners. "Little by little around here we drifted away from that mindset," Stoops says of hiring Riley. "He's already gotten us cranked back up in a short period of time." -- Ryan McGee
Oklahoma tends to play its best football when expectations are low, which is where the Sooners find themselves this year -- rare under Bob Stoops. Stoops brought in highly regarded O-coordinator Lincoln Riley (a former QB and assistant at Texas Tech) to run the Air Raid offense. He has the perfect trigger man in Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield (12 TDs in eight games in 2013), who will have RB Samaje Perine -- last year's Big 12 offensive freshman of the year -- and an array of skill-position weapons at his disposal. Oklahoma could jump out to a 9-0 start, but its Big 12 title hopes will be decided by late road games against Oklahoma State and Baylor and a home matchup with TCU.
OU's chances to win each game
09.05 vs. Akron: 98.5%
09.12 @ Tennessee: 41.1%
09.19 vs. Tulsa: 96.2%
10.03 vs. West Virginia: 74%
10.10 vs. Texas: 68.1%
10.17 @ Kansas State: 65.6%
10.24 vs. Texas Tech: 82.5%
11.07 vs. Iowa State: 94.8%
11.14 @ Baylor: 31.5%*
11.21 vs. TCU: 46.5%
11.28 @ Oklahoma State: 61.2%
*BROCK HUARD, ESPN analyst: The Sooners have had trouble with Baylor in recent years, and that won't change in November, when the Bears could be undefeated and No. 2 in the polls. This feels like Baylor should be even more than a 68 percent favorite, as remarkable as that sounds.
SHARON KATZ, ESPN Stats & Info: No wonder FPI doesn't trust the OU defense: It allowed a TD on nearly half of Baylor's drives in the Bears' 48-14 win last season. Although the results might not be that ugly again, Oklahoma will have trouble slowing Baylor, FPI's top-rated offense.
The quarterback position will continue to be a problem in Norman, as turnovers and mistakes mar Lincoln Riley's first season as offensive coordinator and doom OU to a 9-3 regular season. -- Brandon Chatmon
The Sooners have the firepower to win big but lack the consistency required to steal the Big 12 crown. Still, they show promising progress in a 9-3 season. -- Max Olson
The Sooners will be electric in Lincoln Riley's Air Raid offense, but it won't be enough to close the gap with TCU and Baylor, as OU will repeat another 8-4 campaign. -- Jake Trotter
No. 20 Georgia Tech | No. 22 Arkansas | Top 25
