Apr 20, 2024; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners take a team photo after the Oklahoma Sooners spring game at Gaylord Family OK Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Oklahoma Sooners have been waiting to join the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] since the summer of 2021. After officially becoming members on July 1, OU opens up their first season in the conference on August 30 against Temple, with the first league game occurring on September 21 against Tennessee.
One of the major talking points surrounding Oklahoma this offseason has been the difficult schedule that the Sooners were given to open up their time in the SEC. OU was done no favors when it came time to handing out the schedules, but it may be something Sooner fans have to get used to.
That’s because ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) has ranked all 134 FBS teams by how difficult their schedules are. While FPI has been known to have some wacky outputs 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 the FPI. Furthermore, out of the top 10 toughest schedules in 2024, nine of them are from the SEC. Only Georgia Tech, out of the [autotag]ACC[/autotag], has a one of the 10 most difficult schedules this year that is outside of the SEC.
For reference, the hardest schedules in the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] belong to West Virginia and Houston, ranked thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh in the country. They slot in right behind UMass. The toughest [autotag]Big Ten[/autotag] schedule belongs to Purdue at No. 11. Notre Dame is all the way down at No. 55, behind programs like Kent State, Colorado State, Louisiana-Monroe, and Boise State. Neither [autotag]Pac-12[/autotag] school cracked the top 65. Florida has the country’s toughest schedule per the FPI, followed by Mississippi State and their new head coach, former Oklahoma offensive coordinator [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag].
Again, the FPI has been known to have some outputs that don’t always line up with what is commonly believed to be accurate. For example, Texas doesn’t have the tenth-hardest schedule in the nation this season, but that’s where FPI has them slotted. The Longhorns dodge the toughest foes in the SEC, aside from Georgia, Texas A&M and the annual rivalry matchup 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 breaking in 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 take another leap forward and Arnold’s upside is undeniable. He’ll have no shortage of weapons to get the football to, as OU looks to make the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] for the first time since 2019.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: How difficult is Oklahoma’s schedule according to ESPN’s FPI?
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Publish date : 2024-08-07 10:59:00
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