Kirk Herbstreit Picks College Football Playoff Sleeper Team In The SEC

After adding the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners, the SEC saw some growth this offseason. The College Football Playoff is growing too, expanding from four teams to 12 for the first time since its introduction during the 2014 season.

Kirk Herbstreit, on a recent edition of " The Pat McAfee Show ", believed that too many people were "sleeping" on Oklahoma. Oklahoma last made the playoffs in 2020 with Jalen Hurts at quarterback.

"I'll say Oklahoma if you're talking like as a stretch," he said. "I think people are sleeping a little bit on Oklahoma because there's so much talk about them going, 'You'll see what it's like in the SEC, Oklahoma. Good luck.' They've got a really young quarterback that they're high on, playing in their bowl game last year. I like Coach V, and I think he creates toughness in a football team."

Brent Venables will try to take the Sooners to those heights again this season. The team is led at quarterback by Jackson Arnold. Arnold was a former five-star recruit and the No. 4 QB in the 2023 class, per the On3 Industry Rankings .

Arnold played in seven games for Oklahoma last season, with one start in the Alamo Bowl. Arnold had 361 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions in the bowl game.

The Sooners had a stretch where they regularly produced some of the top quarterbacks in college football under former head coach Lincoln Riley. Riley coached Heisman winners Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018) at Oklahoma.

Jalil Farooq, Billy Bowman Jr., Gavin Sawchuk, Andrel Anthony, Nic Anderson, and Danny Stutsman are just some of the stars back for Oklahoma in 2024.

The Sooners face the Temple Owls in their season opener on Aug. 30.

Related: Kirk Herbstreit Names Dark Horse For College Football Playoff