Ranking the difficulty of the top 3 Oklahoma football games on the 2024 schedule

Oklahoma football has quite a journey ahead of it. The Sooners will enter the SEC for conference play in 2024 after decades in the Big 12 Conference. Bitter rival Texas will join the Sooners in the new conference. The Sooners have their hands full if they want to win the SEC. Here’s a sneak peek and ranking of the three toughest games on the Oklahoma football schedule.

3. Alabama at home, November 23

The toughest home game on the Oklahoma football schedule is likely against the always tough Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide have a new coach in Kalen DeBoer, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be a cakewalk. The new head coach just led the Washington Huskies to the College Football Playoff, where they lost to Michigan in the national championship game.

DeBoer brought some great players to Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide has 16 players on the preseason media days All-SEC team, according to Sports Illustrated. That includes linebacker Deontae Lawson, who is first-team. Defensive back Malachi Moore is also first-team in the SEC, so this Crimson Tide defense is going to be formidable.

The good news for Oklahoma football is that this game is in Norman, so the Sooners will have a big home crowd behind them. The road game, however, will not be as kind to the Sooners. The team’s two toughest games on the schedule are both away games.

2. Missouri, gone on November 9

Oklahoma has a very tough game coming up against the Missouri Tigers. Missouri had a spectacular 2023 season, with double-digit wins. Missouri also had a very convincing late-season win against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. The impressive win set the tone for an SEC championship in 2024. Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz also got a contract extension after that great campaign.

The Tigers have a wide receiver on the preseason All-SEC First Team. This guy is going to give opponents nightmares all year long. Luther Burden III is one of the fastest, most explosive playmakers in college football. He finished the 2023 season with 86 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns. Burden should be a Heisman Trophy contender this season. Missouri’s success rests largely on his shoulders.

The November 9 game in Columbia will be a challenge for the Oklahoma American football team, but there is another game that will be even more difficult.

1. Ole Miss, away on October 26

The Sooners have several tough games coming up, but perhaps the toughest one is against the Ole Miss Rebels. The Rebels are led by Lane Kiffin, who nearly had the team in the CFP in 2023. The Rebels finished the season with a top-10 ranking and a Peach Bowl victory over Penn State. The team won 11 games, a program record.

Kiffin also has plenty of talent returning in 2024. Ole Miss has a veteran quarterback in Jaxson Dart, who should also be in the Heisman Trophy discussion. Dart threw for 3,364 yards in 2023, with 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He’s one of several explosive players on the Rebels’ roster.

“I don’t see any major weaknesses,” Associated Press sports reporter David Brandt said of Ole Miss, according to On3. “The offensive line, you wonder how that fits together, but they’re experienced on defense. They’ve got pretty good special teams. Running back, quarterback, receiver — there’s really nothing that should hold them back.”

These are just a few of the tough games that Oklahoma will face. Sooners fans are looking forward to these games, as well as matches against LSU, Texas and several other top programs.

Time will tell how the Sooners fare in their first SEC conference season. Oklahoma football opens its 2024 season on Aug. 30 against Temple. The team plays a non-conference schedule with games against Houston, Tulane and Maine.