College Football Expert Claims Historic Rivals Are Closer Than Anyone Realizes

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns joined the SEC on July 1, 2024. Texas' performance last season puts it in a better position.

In 2023, Texas won the Big 12 championship and participated in the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, Oklahoma had a strong comeback season in Brent Venables' second year as head coach, finishing with a 10-3 record, but not competing for the conference title. Oklahoma will replace its entire offensive line and quarterback, while Texas returns both units in 2024.

On a recent episode of The Paul Finebaum Show , 247Sports' Bud Elliott mentioned that although he believes Texas is in a better position than Oklahoma this season, the Sooners narrowly out-recruited the Longhorns, keeping the gap closer than some believe.

"For my personal power rankings, I do actually have Texas over Oklahoma," Elliott said. "But the past four years, Oklahoma has very narrowly recruited slightly better at the high school level than Texas has. I actually think the gap between these teams on the field is probably smaller than people think."

Elliott mentioned that the most significant difference between the two teams is their schedules. He pointed out that Oklahoma has a very tough schedule, whereas Texas does not.

According to Sports Illustrated , Texas has the 14th-ranked schedule in the SEC, while the Sooners have the 3rd toughest schedule. This could be the difference between how both teams' seasons play out.

Related: Paul Finebaum Debates Whether Oklahoma Or Texas Is More Prepared For The SEC