The Oklahoma Sooners will begin the 2011 season as heavy favorites to win the BCS National Championship, appearing #1 in both the USA Today and Associated Press polls. The USA Today/Coaches Poll was released on August 4th, with the Sooners debuting at #1 with 42 first-place votes. In second is Alabama, receiving 13 first-place votes. The AP Poll was just released on August 20th, and features a similar look at the top of the rankings with the Sooners receiving 42 first-place votes, while #2 Alabama received just 13 first-place votes.
It comes as no major surprise that Oklahoma enters the 2011 season ranked #1. Quarterback Landry Jones returns for his Junior season with a solid resume. According to Yahoo! Sports statistics, Jones is sporting a career total of 64 TDs and 26 INTs over two seasons. Jones was thrust into action early in the 2009 season following the injury of Sam Bradford, and can not be faulted for having a rocky start. After finishing the 2009 season 8-5, Landry Jones helped the Sooners bounce back to a 12-2 record, including a win over Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl. Joining Landry Jones for another season is standout receiver Ryan Broyles. According to Yahoo! Sports, Broyles tallied up an astounding 1622 receiving yards and 14 scores in 2010, and boasts a career total of over 3400 yards in three seasons. Broyles, who likely has a promising career at the next level, looks to contribute similar numbers to the high-powered Sooners’ offense that averaged about 480 yards/game last season.
Now, the Sooners enter the 2011 season in familiar territory: lofty expectations of hoisting the most prized trophy in college football over their heads at the end of the season. But despite being the preseason #1 in the USA Today poll, are odds truly in their favor?
The unfortunate fact for the Sooners is that their schedule is anything but a cakewalk. Opening the season at home against Tulsa will probably not induce any major heartburn, but two weeks later the Sooners will travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida State, who enter the season ranked #5 in the USA Today poll. While the Sooners will have two weeks to prepare for this game (their second week is a bye), this game could be the make-or-break moment for their championship aspirations. Of course, if the Sooners lose this game, it is early enough in the season for them to try to make up for it. But they’d have to finish 11-1, and hope no more than one other “Big 6″ conference team finishes undefeated, for them to still have a shot at the national championship race.
Florida State resembles the only true non-conference challenge to Oklahoma. But many hurdles remain in Big 12 play. Oklahoma plays Texas on October 8th at the Cotton Bowl. Texas, ranked #24 in the pre-season USA Today poll, obviously has their own issues to work out following last season. But while most people will write this game off based on Texas’ disastrous season last year, the Red River Rivalry game often has a life of its own where the odds entering the game seem to have no effect on the outcome. Later in the season, Oklahoma will have to take on #9 Texas A&M at home, and fight off an Aggies squad that has been getting closer each year to a conference title. For the last game of the season, the Sooners must travel to Stillwater to take on #8 Oklahoma State. This last game is very important, because it is possible the Sooners land into the final week as an undefeated team, and the Oklahoma State Cowboys will have every intention of derailing the Sooner freight train.
Between the match at Florida State, and conference play against Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State, the Sooners would need a lot to fall their way in order to reach the national championship game. If I was a betting man, I’d be stacking my money against it.
References:
– Oklahoma News, Scores, Schedule, Stats; http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/teams/ooc
– College Football – Rankings; http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/polls