Projected Postseason Top 25: #10 Oklahoma

To be fair to the Oklahoma Sooners, they were almost in a no-win situation January 1 against Boise State. Nobody outside of the state of Oklahoma wanted them to win that and nobody in the country would’ve been impressed if they did. Still the Sooners would just like to forget the Fiesta Bowl ever happened and they have the sort of talent returning to do just that in 2007. If this team can get over Texas, whom has been an annual road block for them the past two years, it could be “Boise Who?” in Norman again.

Projected Record and Bowl Result: 11-2 Beat Arkansas in Cotton Bowl

Who they’ll beat (or who they’ll have to forfeit retroactively in three years): North Texas (Home), Miami (Home), Utah State (Home), Tulsa (Road), Colorado (Road), Missouri (Home), Iowa State (Road), Texas A&M (Home), Baylor (Home), Oklahoma State (Home)

Who’ll beat them: Texas (Dallas, TX), Texas Tech (Away)

When they Pass: Redshirt Freshman Sam Bradford takes over the quarterback position. As you can imagine this the Sooners’ biggest question mark. Malcolm Kelly has All-America potential. Manuel Johnson and Juaquin Iglesias are other big athletic receivers that will provide Bradford targets to throw to.

When they Run: Allen Patrick made Oklahoma fans feel a lot better about this season when he performed magnificently when Adrian Peterson went down, rushing for a 100 yards 4 times. He’ll be doing just about all the carrying this season unless Demarco Murray continues to emerge.

When their Opponents Run: While the linebackers are shaky, pending the return of middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds (not Van Wilder), Oklahoma continues to breed defensive linemen. Expect the Sooners to be strong against the run in 2007.

When their Opponents Pass: Four starters return to form perhaps the nation’s best secondary. Reggie Smith and Marcus Walker are the corners, Nic Harris and D.J. Wolfe are the safeties.

When they Kick: Garret Harrley is the Big XII’s best.

When they call Timeout: Only someone as charming and successful as Bob Stoops could survive the loss to Boise State last year and not be under some kind of scrutiny. Although the Fiesta Bowl was a microcosm of a few years now of underachievement. The spoiled again Boomer Sooners will be looking for a Big XII title or at least a top 10 finish. If not, some scrutiny could find its way to Bob Stoops.