The Oklahoma Sooners were waiting to join the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] since summer 2021. After officially becoming members on July 1, OU opens its first conference season on August 30 against Temple, with the first league game taking place on September 21 against Tennessee.
One of the main talking points surrounding Oklahoma this offseason was the difficult schedule the Sooners were given to open their time in the SEC. OU didn’t receive any favors when it came time to hand out schedules, but it may be something early fans will have to get used to.
This is because ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) ranked all 134 FBS teams according to the difficulty of their schedules. While FPI is known for having crazy results at times, this list illustrates just how tough OU’s new league is.
Oklahoma has the seventh-toughest schedule in all of college football, according to FPI. Additionally, of the 10 toughest schedules in 2024, nine of them are from the SEC. Only Georgia Tech, outside the [autotag]ACC[/autotag]has one of the 10 toughest schedules this year outside of the SEC.
For reference, the toughest times in the [autotag]12 big[/autotag] belong to West Virginia and Houston, ranked thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh in the country. They are right behind UMass. The hardest [autotag]Big Ten[/autotag] the schedule belongs to Purdue at No. 11. Notre Dame is ranked 55th, behind programs like Kent State, Colorado State, Louisiana-Monroe and Boise State. None [autotag]Pac-12[/autotag] the school surpassed the top 65. Florida has the toughest schedule in the country according to FPI, followed by Mississippi State and its new coach, former Oklahoma offensive coordinator [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag].
Again, the FPI is known to have some results that do not always align with what is typically believed to be accurate. For example, Texas They don’t have the 10th toughest schedule in the country this season, but that’s where the FPI has them. The Longhorns Avoid the SEC’s toughest enemiesin addition to Georgia, Texas A&M and the annual rivalry showdown with the Sooners.
Head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] hopes his team can take the next steps in 2024 and improve once again. Oklahoma will be inaugurating a new offensive line and a new starting quarterback in [autotag]jackson arnold[/autotag], along with new coordinators on both sides of the ball. However, Venables’ defense looks ready to make another leap forward and Arnold’s advantage is undeniable. He will have no shortage of weapons to carry the football as OU tries to make the [autotag]College Football Playoffs[/autotag] for the first time since 2019.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: How tough is Oklahoma’s schedule according to ESPN’s FPI?
