By The Oklahoma Sooners are just over a month away from making their SEC move official. Despite some of the questions Oklahoma needs to answer, they have a roster stockpiled with talent and ready to make their first season in the league a memorable one.
It’s going to be a tough league, but not just for Oklahoma. Teams in the SEC will now have to contend with the Sooners both on the field and on the recruiting trail. And as Brent Venables and his staff have shown, OU is going to be a top 5-10 recruiting program. Now all they have to do is prove they can compete on the field. And with the talent they’ve added over the last few years on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal, there’s little reason to believe Oklahoma won’t be competitive in the SEC.
Paul Myerburg, over at USA TODAY Sports likes where the Sooners are at after spring ball and has the Sooners inside the top 15 in his latest 1-134 re-rank of the entire football bowl subdivision. So let’s see how they stack up against the rest of the SEC.
More: Which SEC team has the best helmet?
More: Post-spring SEC Power Rankings
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 118
Coming off of a 2-10 season, there isn’t a Power 4 team ranked lower than the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 81
Jeff Lebby’s offense is going to give the Bulldogs a chance to cause some problems in the SEC, but Mississippi State will be battling for bowl eligibility.
Eakin Howard/Getty Images
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 75
The Gamecocks don’t get much of an opportunity to ease into the season with just one nonconference game ahead of their week two and three matchups against Kentucky and LSU. They’ll get a couple of weeks to regroup after that, but then face Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma in consecutive weeks in between their byes. Could be a rough first half of the season for Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks.
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 73
The Arkansas Razorbacks have a tough schedule in 2024. In addition to playing Oklahoma State in nonconference play, they have to go on the road to play Texas A&M and Missouri. They’ll get Tennessee and Texas at home, but those look like mismatches on paper.
Get more Arkansas Razorbacks news, analysis and opinions on Razorbacks Wire.
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 44
Things are trending in a positive direction for Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers. The addition of five-star wide receiver Cam Coleman gives Payton Thorne a bonafide wide receiver to work with in 2024.
Get more Auburn Tigers news, analysis and opinions on Auburn Wire.
Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 39
Armed with a former five-star quarterback in Brock Vandergriff, could this be the year Mark Stoops hits the double-digit win mark?
Get more Kentucky Wildcats news, analysis and opinions on UK Wildcats Wire
Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 33
Coming off another disappointing season in Gainesville, Billy Napier was hoping to turn things around. But the Jaden Rashada situation is going to linger all season and could provide a distraction to the Gators season.
Get more Florida Gators news, analysis and opinions on Gators Wire.
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 26
How the Aggies perform in year one under Mike Elko will be one of the more intriguing storylines in the SEC this year. They’ve got a talented quarterback in Connor Weigman, he just needs to stay healthy.
Get more Texas A&M Aggies news, analysis and opinions on Aggies Wire
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 21
Missouri made a big jump in wins from 2022 to 2023. With big portal additions and another year of Brady Cook and Luther Burden, the Tigers have a chance to recreate their double-digit wins and reach the College Football Playoff.
Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 13
Like the Sooners, Tennessee is breaking in a new starting quarterback in Nico Iamaleava. He’s a talented player with high upside. Iamaleava vs. Arnold in week one of SEC play will be must-see TV.
Get more Tennessee Volunteers news, analysis and opinions on Vols Wire
Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 12
Brent Venables and his staff have done a fantastic job on the recruiting trail to get the Sooners “SEC Ready.” How many wins it leads to in 2024 is anyone’s guess. But they’re going to give SEC programs fits in year one and be in contention when November comes.
Get more Oklahoma Sooners news, analysis and opinions on Sooners Wire
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 11
If I had to pick someone other than Georgia or Oklahoma to win the SEC, Ole Miss would probably be the pick. Jaxson Dart gets better each year and they’ve done a great job in the portal. Now it just needs to come together.
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 7
The Alabama Crimson Tide underwent the biggest coaching change of the offseason with Nick Saban retiring and the hiring of Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer has had success everywhere he’s been. No reason to think he won’t be at Alabama. Really intrigued to see what DeBoer does with Jalen Milroe.
Get more Alabama news, analysis and opinions on Roll Tide Wire.
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 6
The LSU Tigers lost a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and first round draft pick at wide receiver. The defense wasn’t any good last fall. If the defense is better, the Tigers will be a playoff team.
Get more LSU Tigers news, analysis and opinions on LSU Tigers Wire.
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 3
Despite the loss of 11 players to the NFL draft, the expectations remain sky high for Steve Sarkisian, Quinn Ewers, and the Longhorns. Can they meet them?
Get more Texas Longhorns news, analysis and opinions on Longhorns Wire.
Alex Martin/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank: 1
2023 might have shown signs that the Bulldogs aren’t nearly the dominant team they proved to be during their back-to-back title run. However, Georgia is going to come back with a chip on their shoulder for 2024 armed with arguably the best quarterback in college football, Carson Beck.
Get more Georgia Bulldogs news, analysis and opinions on UGA Wire.
