The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns are embarking on their first year in the SEC after officially transitioning from the Big 12 this summer. According to the preseason media poll, the Sooners will face a significantly tougher road to the conference championship compared to the Longhorns.
Following last week’s SEC media day event, which concluded with the preseason league standings vote for 2024, the Longhorns are projected to have an easier path compared to their Red River rivals.
College football writers and reporters have weighed in on the upcoming season, with both teams receiving acknowledgment within their new conference.
Texas, coming off a College Football Playoff appearance, is forecasted to finish second, while Oklahoma is projected to place in the top half of the conference at No. 8.
Despite being ranked ahead of eight other SEC teams, many in Norman feel discontented, believing the conference is favoring the Longhorns.
Texas will play six teams ranked in the lower half of the media poll, whereas Oklahoma faces a much tougher schedule.
While early predictions don’t always align with the actual outcomes, they provide a general sense of what to expect based on current knowledge.
From what we know, Texas appears to have several programs with uncertainties entering the season, while the Sooners are scheduled to play against the projected top teams.
Texas will face Georgia, the expected SEC champion, but the Sooners are the only other Top 8 team on Texas’s schedule. The Longhorns will also play teams ranked ninth, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, and 16th, making them favorites in those games.
Conversely, Oklahoma has a challenging slate against teams ranked 2-7 (Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Missouri, and Tennessee) and also faces South Carolina and Auburn, with no guaranteed wins.
Clearly, one schedule is more daunting than the other at this point.
In the past, many in the Big 12 felt Texas received excessive favoritism, a sentiment that contributed to Texas A&M’s departure from the conference over a decade ago. Despite recent assurances from the SEC that Texas wouldn’t receive preferential treatment, it’s Oklahoma that seems to be at a disadvantage in Year 1 scheduling.
