Oklahoma has to bounce back against TCU, right? Not so fast

If Oklahoma thinks it can walk into Fort Worth and get a W over TCU, the Sooners are mistaken.

Overlooking Sonny Dykes’ TCU Horned Frogs on the road would be a terrible idea for Brent Venables’ Oklahoma Sooners program.

OU fell at home to Kansas State last Saturday. While K-State has historically given Oklahoma troubles, the Sooners have to be ready to play a strong four quarters vs. the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth. Unlike the Sooners, TCU has not dropped a game this season. While they have not begun Big 12 play just yet, Dykes is considerably more seasoned as a college head coach over Venables.

Not to say TCU will get to 4-0 and end OU’s playoff chances, but the Sooners are on upset alert.

Oklahoma is on upset alert at TCU entering Saturday’s sneaky-good road game

Are the Sooners more talented than the Horned Frogs? Of course, they are Oklahoma! However, we are quickly seeing Dykes’ metroplex blueprint come to life in Fort Worth. Prior to arriving at TCU, Dykes had tremendous success at nearby SMU in Dallas. He used being located in DFW to his advantage when leading the Mustangs. Now back in the Power Five, he hopes to win big at TCU.

Over the last decade-plus, Dykes has served as a college football head coach all over the place. From his humble beginnings at Louisiana Tech, to four-year runs at both Cal and SMU, Dykes has learned what works, and more importantly what doesn’t, over his 12 seasons being the main man of his program. Keep in mind this is Venables first time being a head coach at any level of football…

Venables may be a very intense guy, and may hate losing more than anything, but he cannot let emotions get the best of his team. Simply put, the expectations are not sky-high in Fort Worth for Dykes as they are for Venables in Norman this year. A multi-loss season would be a tough pill to swallow for OU, while getting to 8-4 would be a tremendous first year for Dykes at his program.

All the pressure is on Venables’ Sooners in this game. The same principle can be applied to Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel. This is his big opportunity after leaving UCF, a program Dykes is very familiar with from their time together in The American. In short, he and his staff probably have a better idea of how to slow him down than do most teams who play in the Big 12.

Ultimately, the combination of an early kick, a more seasoned head coach and playing at home against a quarterback he is very familiar with are all advantages in TCU’s favor. Of course, 60 minutes of ball will decide these two teams’ fate. However, TCU can play spoiler here vs. a pressing OU team that undeniably overlooked K-State last weekend. They are in a great spot.

Pressure may create diamonds, but too much pressure too early might having Oklahoma cracking.

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