Can't Wait For Saturday | Defense will determine if Sooners are ready for the SEC

Greetings from "Can't Wait For Saturday," your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He'll give you his views each day on the game he loves

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Are you ready for the most college football ever? Twelve teams in the playoffs means eight more postseason games than before. What used to be three is now 11 to decide who is best,

The favorites might dominate in the first two rounds. Or the semifinals will be filled with bottom seeds. We can only hope.

Kick back, relax and enjoy every moment of it. As a primer, I will use this space over the next month and half to count down my preseason Top 50. I welcome complaints and disagreements I might even include them in future stories.

And away we go ...

17. Oklahoma SEC

What's to like?

After a rocky first season for coach Brent Venables, the team won 10 games in 2023, including a victory against despised Texas. ... The defense welcomes back six starters, none better than linebacker Danny Stutsman. ... Safety Billy Bowman Jr. ranked among the national leaders with six interceptions. ... Jackson Arnold started the bowl game for the Sooners after Dillon Gabriel entered the transfer portal. He also got time last season when the starter was banged up. Arnold threw for 361 yards in the Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona. ... Both the starting kicker and punter are back on what have been oustanding special teams at Oklahoma in recent years. ... SEC favorite Georgia isn't on the schedule. And the nonconference slate is soft.

Reasons to worry

Yes, Arnold threw for a lot of yards in San Antonio. But he also had four turnovers in a close loss. ... This is not the Big 12. There are no weeks off. ... Only two starters return on offense, none on the line. Recipe for disaster in a league that knows how to play defense. ... Venables has a new offensive coordinator. So that makes a lot of changes on the side of the ball opposite the expertise of the head coach. ... Top 5 Texas is on the schedule in Dallas. Oklahoma travels to Mississippi, Missouri and LSU and hosts Alabama. Good luck with that.

Previous

50. Maryland Big Ten

49. Colorado Big 12

48. Georgia Tech ACC

47. Tulane American

46. UCF Big 12

45. South Florida American

44. Appalachian State Sun Belt

43. Rutgers Big Ten

42. Virginia Tech ACC

41. Texas Tech Big 12

40. Liberty Conference USA

39. South Carolina SEC

38. Washington Big Ten

37. North Carolina ACC

36. Boise State Mountain West

35. Memphis American

34. Kentucky SEC

33. Nebraska Big Ten

32. Florida SEC

31. Auburn SEC

30. SMU ACC

29. Wisconsin Big Ten

28. West Virginia Big 12

27. Iowa State Big 12

26. NC State ACC

25. Iowa Big Ten

24. Arizona Big 12

23. Louisville ACC--July 13

22. Southern California Big Ten

21. Kansas State Big 12

20. Texas A&M SEC--July 16

19. Kansas Big 12--July 17

18. Miami ACC