Predicting order of finish for each Big 12 football team in 2023 season

3. Oklahoma

An up-and-down season for Oklahoma and first-year head coach Brett Venables did not live up to the preseason hype. It was the worst finish that a Sooner team had in 25 years. They are in dire need of a bounce-back campaign after winning just three conference games last year (and getting shut out 49-0 versus Texas at home).

Despite the disaster in 2022, there is reason to think that this upcoming season will be better for OU. Dillon Gabriel returns, arguably the best quarterback in the Big 12, and Venables is a former defensive coordinator. Oklahoma has enough offensive talent to beat opposing teams in shootouts, but if he can work some of his magic on the Sooner defense, we can expect some improvements.

As much as I’d love to place the Sooners around the middle of this list — their floor could be quite low if the defense continues to stink — the roster is too qualified for me to do it. Let’s chalk it up to a down year and a new coach getting used to his new system. Maybe Oklahoma’s days of bad football are (mostly) behind them.