Where does Oklahoma land in the 'JP Poll' before Week 1?

The Oklahoma Sooners have almost made it through another long offseason. They’ll kick off the regular season on Friday night against Temple, when the Owls come to Norman for a 6 p.m. game on ESPN.

OU is ranked No. 16 in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 to begin the 2024 season. The Sooners were picked to finish eighth in the SEC by the SEC media. However, one college football expert has Brent Venables’ team a bit higher in his power ratings.

247Sports’ Josh Pate, the host of “Josh Pate’s College Football Show” unveiled his “JP Poll” power ratings as we head into Week 1 of the college football season, which begins Thursday evening. The Sooners ranked No. 12, the seventh-highest mark in the SEC.

Pate clarifies that his model is not a ranking, rather that it is a power rating as to which teams would win on a neutral field right now. The JP Poll always has some curious inclusions and omissions, but clearly his model is high on OU.

The Sooners return a bevy of talent and production on defense, led by Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman. Offensively, new starting quarterback Jackson Arnold will have plenty of weapons at his disposal, led by running back Gavin Sawchuk and wide receivers Deion Burks and Jalil Farooq.

As the Sooners enter the SEC, head coach Brent Venables has done an excellent job of building up the roster, but this season will be telling in Norman, as OU faces a brutal season in their inguaral season in the conference.

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