Let’s take a closer look at Oklahoma’s current status and break down their chances at hitting the 12-win mark this season. 

All things considered, the Sooners had a pretty solid season in 2019, though it finished in blowout disappointment. Oklahoma had just the one upset road loss to Kansas State and had some nail-biter moments in the Baylor games, but in the end put together a nice campaign. The Sooners went 8-1 in a pretty talented Big 12; only two teams went more than 5-4 in that conference. 

This year Oklahoma will once again be under the guidance of head coach Lincoln Riley, now in his fourth season. Riley will have to deal with some pretty big gaps this season in turnover. Notable absences in 2020 include WR CeeDee Lamb, LB Kenneth Murray, QB Jalen Hurts and DL Neville Gallimore, all of whom were selections in the NFL Draft. Oklahoma will have a new starting quarterback this season for the fourth time in a row, with redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler favored to win the job. The Sooners will also have to coach up a crew of young receivers to open up some options and attempt to fill the void left by Lamb. 

Looking at the schedule, there’s a path to 12 wins here (basically just win every game), but the Sooners will have to be on point for most of the season. The first game that sticks out is Tennessee, then an early bye week before dealing with the Army option offense on the road. The good news is the Baylor game this year is at home, but then a little further down there’s a stretch of three road games in four weeks. Provided Oklahoma can power through all of that the back end of the schedule isn’t terribly daunting on paper. 

Pick: It’s just such a high number; I have to go under here. There’s not a lot of room for error when it comes to Oklahoma this season, and though the team is good at restocking talent and minimizing talent deficits from year to year, 12 wins is a lot to ask. The Sooners have some tough matchups in their first several games, and a team still learning its rhythm, roles and identity may be prone to getting tripped up. Even though hopes are high, double-digit wins in 2020 should be considered a big success for Oklahoma. 

2020 Oklahoma Sooners Football Schedule 

Day, Date                                        Opponent 

Saturday, September 5                     Missouri State 

Saturday, September 12                   Tennessee

Saturday, September 19                   OPEN

Saturday, September 26                   At Army

Saturday, October 3                         Baylor  

Saturday, October 10                       Texas  

Saturday, October 17                       At Iowa State   

Saturday, October 24                       Oklahoma State

Saturday, October 31                       At TCU 

Saturday, November 7                     At West Virginia  

Saturday, November 14                   Kansas State 

Saturday, November 21                   Kansas 

Saturday, November 28                   At Texas Tech 

Saturday, December 5                     Big 12 Championship