Looking for Land Mines: Ranking Oklahoma’s 2010 Schedule

One of the great things about college football is that each week is as important as the next.

One loss can take a team from playing in the title game to playing in the Holiday Bowl—and thanks to polls and the BCS, it is much better to lose early than late. 

Because each week is so important, part of projecting how a team’s season will go is breaking down its schedule.

This involves not only figuring out who their tough opponents are, but what games could give them difficulty by when they are played and which are most important. 

Oklahoma’s 2010 schedule looks like this:

Sat, Sept. 4 Utah State

Sat, Sept. 11 Florida State

Sat, Sept. 18 Air Force

Sat, Sept. 25 at Cincinnati

Sat, Oct. 2 Texas (in Dallas)

Sat, Oct. 16 Iowa State

Sat, Oct. 23 at Missouri

Sat, Oct. 30 Colorado

Sat, Nov. 6 at Texas A&M

Sat, Nov. 13 Texas Tech

Sat, Nov. 20 at Baylor

Sat, Nov. 27 at Oklahoma State

Although one of the toughest on paper, the Oklahoma Sooners’ schedule may be one of the best in the nation when it comes to setting a team up for success.

After the first week in October, Oklahoma does not play a team that is ranked in the top 25 entering the season. If OU can avoid stumbling in one of the trap games near the end of the season, a good run early in the year could have the Sooners poised to play for a BCS title. 

With that said, let’s take a look at Oklahoma’s schedule and break down just where they may stumble. The games are ranked from what should be the Sooners’ easiest game to their hardest.

12. Oct. 16: Home against Iowa State

Iowa State’s all-time record against Oklahoma is 5-67-2. They haven’t beaten the Sooners since 1990 and have only come close a handful of times.

The Cyclones offense finished 103rd in 2009, and despite returning eight starters, they show little improvement.

With the Sooners coming into this game off a bye week, they will be fresh from a week of rest after the Texas game and should have no trouble routing the Cyclones in Norman.

11. Sept. 4: Home against Utah State

The Sooners open the season against a Utah State team that finished 4-8 in 2009, including a 0-3 record against top-25 teams. They ranked 107th in the country defensively, giving up 34 points per game.

Oklahoma sputtered out of the gate last season with the Sam Bradford injury and loss to BYU. Look for Landry Jones and the Sooners to come out against the Aggies with their best and put on a show to show the nation they are a legitimate contender in 2010.

10. Nov. 20: @ Baylor

Each year Baylor is predicted to finally get over the hump and have a good season. Last year they seemed poised to do just that, but it all went out the window with Robert Griffin’s ACL tear. 

With Griffin coming off that injury, odds are long that he will be 100 percent of his old form, and Baylor will likely struggle again. The Bears finished 2009 101st offensively and 72nd in points allowed, meaning they have holes to fill on both sides of the ball.

Expect Oklahoma to use this as a tune-up for the Bedlam game and win easily in Waco.

9. Nov. 13: Home against Texas Tech

Mike Leach is out, Tommy Tuberville is in. This means a new offensive scheme and a new staff that will lead the Red Raiders into Norman. All of this could spell trouble for Texas Tech when they square off with the Sooners.

New offensive coordinator Neal Brown says the days of 500 yards passing and 50 points are gone, meaning the Red Raiders will no longer beat teams simply by outscoring them. They will have to combine solid defense with ball control offense, which creates a terrible matchup for them when playing Oklahoma.

Add this to what I believe are still hard feelings for the heartbreaking loss the Sooners suffered in Lubbock in 2007, and this game should end in an Oklahoma romp.

8. Oct. 30: Home against Colorado

The Buffs should be improved from their 3-9 record in 2009. However, they would have to be incredibly improved to beat Oklahoma.

The largest saving grace for Colorado in this game is that it could potentially be a bit of a trap game for the Sooners. They come into Norman right in between two tough road games for Oklahoma against Missouri and Texas A&M.

With that said, unless OU has an absolute letdown and looks past Colorado to A&M, they should be able to give Colorado another reason to look forward to joining the Pac-10.

7. Sept. 18: Home against Air Force

Surprisingly, the Falcons could present Oklahoma with a bit of a problem. Air Force boasts a rushing attack that ranked third in the nation last year and combines it with a top-10 scoring defense. 

If the Sooner offense struggles out of the gate against Air Force, the Falcons’ ball-control run offense could begin to wear on Oklahoma’s defense. If Air Force gets out to an early lead and Jones is forced to make plays against a good defense, Oklahoma could find itself in a great deal of trouble.

The Air Force scheme could present Oklahoma with some problems if they are not on top of their game in this early season matchup. 

6. Sept. 25: @ Cincinnati

Brian Kelly is gone, but the tremendous athletes he had flocking to Cincinnati are still there. The Bearcats will still boast a high-powered offense and be tough to beat in 2010.

It is safe to assume Cincinnati will be ranked by the time they face the Sooners. They finished one spot out of the preseason top 25, thus making them the second ranked team Oklahoma will have played in three weeks and the opponent they face right before the all-important Red River Rivalry in Dallas.

The Bearcats are 99.9 percent likely to take a step back from their 12-1 season last year, but they are still a tough team and will have a couple games under their belt headed into the matchup with Oklahoma. This has an outside shot to be one of the Sooners’ most exciting games of the season.

5. Nov. 27: @ Oklahoma State

The Bedlam Game in Stillwater will be a tough one as always. The Cowboys would love nothing more than to spoil Oklahoma’s hopes of a Big 12 crown or even a national title.

With this game taking place on the last week of the season, other than a potential Big 12 Championship appearance, everything will have played out, and Oklahoma will know its destiny and if it falls on this game.

With Zac Robinson gone, OSU will be down offensively in 2010. Kendall Hunter is the Cowboys’ X-factor in this game, but the Sooners’ front seven should be up to the challenge.

Whether or not Oklahoma State has a good 2010, they cannot be counted out of this game and will be jacked up for it like it was the national championship.

4. Sept. 11: Home against Florida State

Any coach will tell you the biggest jump in improvement comes between weeks one and two. That second week of the season will prove to be dangerous for the Sooners as they face a ranked Florida State team.

The Seminoles are in their first year under Jimbo Fisher and are poised to come out of the gate hot.

Don’t be fooled by last season’s 7-6 finish. Florida State faced numerous distractions in 2009 and is quarterbacked by a budding superstar in Christian Ponder. The senior will take an improved offense onto the field this season.

Now that Fisher has sole control over the team, look for them to head in the right direction and contend for the ACC title. This game will be a true gauge for what the 2010 version of the Oklahoma Sooners will look like and if they are the real deal.

3. Oct. 23: @ Missouri

The Tigers will hardly be tested until the week before facing the Sooners, when they play A&M. If Missouri puts together an early string of W’s like they should, then they will be a top-25 team when Oklahoma comes knocking in Columbia.

Junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert will be even better than his 3,500-plus yards and 24 touchdowns from last season, and Oklahoma will be coming into the game fresh off what should be a drubbing of Iowa State.

This game is dangerous for Oklahoma because it will be their first real test after the Texas game. If Oklahoma becomes complacent or suffers a disappointing loss to the Longhorns, the Tigers will be in prime position to hang an L on the Sooners.

2. Nov. 6: @ Texas A&M

Perhaps the most intriguing matchup of all for Oklahoma. Texas A&M has improved drastically under Mike Sherman. With Heisman Trophy dark horse candidate Jerrod Johnson at quarterback, the Aggies have the potential to beat any team in the nation on the right Saturday.

If the Aggies can beat Arkansas and play solidly up to their face-off with OU, they will likely be ranked when the Sooners arrive at Kyle Field. A trip to College Station is never easy, and this one will be no exception.

Oklahoma fans still remember the blown call at the goal line that cost the Sooners in 2002 (a loss they rectified with a 77-0 win the next season). A&M fans remember it as well, and the 12th Man is unlikely to let the Sooner fans forget about it in Kyle Field this November.

If the Aggies’ defense improves to match their offense, this game could potentially have Big 12 title implications and promises to be interesting.

1. Oct. 2: Red River Rivalry vs. Texas in Dallas

Shocking, right?

As obvious as this may be, this game is clearly the most difficult/biggest for the Sooners in 2010. We got a good peek at Garrett Gilbert in the national championship, and by the time these two teams meet, he should have plenty of game experience.

Like every year, Oklahoma and Texas stand out above the rest of the Big 12 and are very similar to each other as far as depth and talent.

The saving grace for the losing team in this game is that by playing the first week of October, they will have plenty of time to make voters forget about the loss. A slip-up by the winner in a later game and the national championship picture could change drastically.

This game will likely be the only game Oklahoma enters as an underdog, and rightfully so, as Texas has won the last two and four out of the last five matchups. Though many of the big names have left, the game has not lost any luster, as it will pit two top-10 teams and potential national championship contenders in what will be a modified version of the Big 12 Championship.

If the Sooners can emerge from Dallas victorious and still undefeated, they will still have a long way to go to a perfect season, but the speed bumps in the road should be minimal. Oklahoma’s schedule aligns in a way that allows them a tremendous opportunity to make a run if they bring their A-game each week.

However, anything can happen. That my friends, is why they play the game.