Oklahoma football: 5 bold predictions for 2020

Oklahoma football bold prediction No. 1: Sooners go 10-0, win Big 12, lose in College Football Playoff

So how good will the Sooners be and, more importantly, will they get over the College Football Playoff hump and into the National Championship Game? That’s a loaded question, obviously.

The difficult part in all of this right now is the simple fact that the Big 12 has not come up with a schedule. While the ACC, SEC and Pac-12 have all revealed their plans — the Big Ten is apparently close as well — the conference has yet to decide on the model they want. However, the most likely route is that they go with a nine-game conference slate plus one extra game, whatever the stipulations may be for that extra contest. Thus, we’ll operate with that assumption.

Though there are unknowns in terms of Rattler and the defense right now, in terms of the talent on paper, there isn’t a team in the Big 12 that can truly match up with Oklahoma. And assuming they use their extra game as a tune-up for conference play or a week to rest some starters, that should pave the way for the Sooners to end up going 10-0 in the regular season, which should punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff.

Unfortunately, the same narrative that has existed over the past three years and Riley’s three trips to the CFP is likely to persist. I don’t think the Sooners have the defense to hang with the likes of Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State, the three favorites as of right now. So though Oklahoma will make it to the final four again, a semifinal exit seems likely once again.

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