Both major college football polls were released this week, and the Oklahoma Sooners will spend their season with a target on their backs of being the No. 1 team in both polls.
Or will they?
With a tough test at Florida State in just their second game of the season, it’s not fair to the Seminoles to just assume the Sooners walk away with a victory.
However, with so many returning starters (17) and two Heisman candidates (Landry Jones, Ryan Broyles), it’s not hard to see why the Sooners came out on top in both polls.
According to the Associated Press, this is the 10th time OU has started the season as the preseason No. 1 overall, the most of any program.
So it’s not like they haven’t been there before, and this current slate of Sooners are not new to the hype. They were ranked 8th and 7th in the polls last year, and consensus 3rd in 2009.
The difference is, this season they expect to win a championship. Maybe they did last year as well, but this is the most talented team they’ve had in a few years.
They took a big blow when they lost senior starting outside linebacker Travis Lewis for eight weeks with a broken foot. A projected first round pick in the 2011 NFL draft, Lewis turned down fame and fortune to win a championship with the Sooners.
It’s not like they don’t have talent behind him. Corey Nelson is a sophomore four star recruit the Sooners stole from Texas A&M on recruiting day a year and a half ago, and he will have to step up until Lewis returns.
Nelson played in all 14 games last year as a true freshman, so it’s not like they are inserting someone with no experience.
If Lewis comes back on schedule, he’s set to return to action on October 8, when Oklahoma and Texas face off in the Red River Rivalry.
Needless to say he’ll be amped up for that one.
As the end of the season approaches, if the Sooners are still undefeated, the pressure will mount on Bob Stoops, whose less than stellar bowl game record will be talked about once again.
Though I’m not sure it will matter, in the end the players play the game, and this is the most talented Oklahoma team we’ve seen in a while.
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