The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a picture-perfect ending to the 2013 season and look to ride a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama into the 2014 season. Quarterback Trevor Knight had a coming-out party against the Crimson Tide and if he plays like he did against Alabama, he could lead an unstoppable offense. As for the defense, the Sooners will have the best in the Big 12 with so much talent coming back in 2014. The Sooners have the talent to run the table during the regular season and compete in the inaugural college football playoffs. Between the talent on the field and the very easy schedule, it could be a magical season in Norman. The first half of the season sets up very well for Oklahoma to start 6-0. They start 2014 with a home game against Louisiana Tech and follow that up with an away game at Tulsa, and a home game against Tennessee. After those three games the Sooners go to West Virginia and TCU and end the first half of the season with a neutral site game against Texas. Let’s take a look at how the Sooners first half turns out.
Oklahoma Sooners Schedule (Games 1-6)
Saturday, August 30th: vs. Louisiana Tech 6:00 p.m. C.T.
A nice and easy game to start the season that will allow the Sooners to shake off the rust of the offseason. This game might be close at halftime, but Sooner fans should see a lot of backups in this one.
Prediction: 3+ touchdown win in this one for Oklahoma as the talent level between the two teams is just way too much for La Tech to compete.
Record: 1-0
Saturday, September 6th: at Tulsa 11:00 a.m. C.T.
The first road game of the year is a trip to in-state Tulsa to face a Golden Hurricane squad coming off of a three-win season. Once again, the talent disparity in this one is so much that the backups will be getting some nice playing time for the second consecutive week.
Prediction: Oklahoma won this game last season 51-20 and it could be a similar fate for Tulsa in 2014. Easy win here for the Sooners.
Record: 2-0
Saturday, September 13th: vs Tennessee 7:00 p.m. C.T.
An early season showdown between the SEC and Big 12 is usually a good matchup, but Tennessee vs Oklahoma will be different. If this game was played later in the season it might be a little closer, but either way Tennessee is not going to be that good this year and they cannot compete with the Sooners.
Prediction: Close through the first half, but the Sooners pull away in the second half for a double-digit win.
Record: 3-0
Saturday, September 20th: at West Virginia (Time TBD)
West Virginia gave the Sooners all they could handle last year in a 16-7 defeat, but this year should be different. WVU gathers some really good crowds, especially with a team like Oklahoma coming to town, so they will definitely help the Mountaineers in this one.
Prediction: Too much Trevor Knight and Sooner offense in this one. Close for a half then Oklahoma pulls away.
Record: 4-0 (1-0 in Big 12)
Saturday, October 4th: at TCU (Time TBD)
TCU did not fare well in their second season in the Big 12, as they won only four games during the entire season. However, they only lost 20-17 last season to the Sooners. The Horned Frogs do have a very good defense, though, and that could pose some problems for the Sooner offense. However, the TCU offense is not good enough to compete for a full 60 minutes with the Sooners.
Prediction: This will probably be a relatively low-scoring game, but the Sooner offense will be too much late and Oklahoma will win by 2+ touchdowns.
Record: 5-0 (2-0 in Big 12)
Saturday, October 11th: vs Texas (Dallas, TX) (Time TBD)
The first installment of the newly named AT&T Red River Showdown for new Texas coach Charlie Strong should be a quality Big 12 Texas vs Oklahoma barn burner. Strong will do big things with the Longhorns in the future, but the question for this game is if his team, and system, will be ready to face the powerhouse Sooners.
Prediction: This will be the closest game of the first half of the season for the Sooners, but they still win with relative ease over Charlie Strong’s Longhorns.
Record: 6-0 (3-0 in Big 12)
For a team loaded with talent at every position and a schedule as soft as this to begin the season, it is no surprise that the Sooners are 6-0 and 3-0 in the Big 12. The offense and defense should be two of the top units in the country and Sooner fans will be getting excited for the meat of the schedule coming up during the second half. With games against Baylor, Iowa St., and rival Oklahoma St., the Sooners will have to be on top of their game to remain undefeated during the rest of 2014. Come back tomorrow for the second half of the Sooners 2014 season schedule analysis.
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