When Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma as the Sooners’ head coach to become the new sheriff of the USC Trojans, there was a belief among many that Riley was running away from the SEC. Whether you are a believer in current head coach Brent Venables or not, you can’t deny the fact that he is embracing the challenge of competing in the Southeastern Conference.

In his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Venables was asked about hosting a top-10 SEC team for the third time in two years, and he didn’t shy away from the competition saying, “That was one of the attractive qualities of the decision to go to the SEC...It gets guys really fired up, our players. That's what I notice. The energy, the buzz, the anticipation is real.”

The Sooners’ matchup this Saturday against Ole Miss is only the beginning of a brutal stretch. Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff dreams hinge on facing the toughest schedule remaining in the country, which includes five ranked matchups in their final five games.

Besides the rankings, just the ESPN analytics also show a very difficult road ahead for the Sooners. While Oklahoma enters Saturday as a 4.5 point favorite against No. 8 Ole Miss, ESPN’s FPI gives the Sooners a 55.2% chance at claiming victory.

The following week when OU travels to Knoxville to face No. 17 Tennessee, the ESPN matchup predictor gives the Sooners just a 41.7% chance of defeating the Volunteers. The challenges continue, as Oklahoma heads to Tuscaloosa on November 15, the ESPN analytics give them just a 27.5% chance of upsetting the No. 4 Crimson Tide.

The final two regular season games won’t be easy, but they do appear to be promising for OU, with both contests at home. The ESPN matchup predictor gives the Sooners a 57.8% chance of knocking off No. 15 Missouri, and that is followed up by a 62.2% chance of beating No. 20 LSU in the regular season finale.

If Oklahoma finishes the regular season based on ESPN’s analytics, it would give them a 9-3 record, which would put them right in the thick of the College Football Playoff bubble. 

While Venables’ predecessor ran off to the PAC-12, and later the Big Ten, the Sooners’ current head coach has used the rigorous SEC schedule to his benefit. With the ability to host more big-time matchups in the nation’s top conference, Venables has used that advantage to his benefit, hauling in the top recruiting class in the country so far for the class of 2027 according to most industry insiders.