When the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns joined the SEC, there was a wave of excitement that spread throughout both programs, fanbases, the league itself and college football as a whole.
One season into life in the SEC, the Sooners and Longhorns have had very different experiences. Oklahoma went 6-7 in 2024 and barely made a bowl game. Texas played in the SEC Championship game (losing to Georgia) and went to the College Football Playoff.
They got an extremely easy draw as a five-seed in the CFP, facing Clemson and Arizona State before running into a wall in the semifinals against Ohio State, the eventual national champion. As it turns out, easy scheduling has been a perk the Horns enjoyed last year and will enjoy again in 2025. The argument could be made that Texas went 0-3 against the only elite competition they faced in 2024, losing to Georgia (twice) and Ohio State.
Look, it’s no secret that Texas was miles ahead of OU in 2024. The rivals faced off in October, as they do every year, and the Longhorns walked out of Dallas with a convincing 34-3 win. Clearly, they are in a much better position than the Sooners are right now.
However, the way the SEC sets its conference schedules is playing a big part in the divide between the two programs.
The conference plays an eight-game league schedule, though it could be shifting to nine games (like the other elite conference, the Big Ten, already has) as soon as 2026. The SEC set things up in such a way that, starting in 2024 when OU and Texas entered the league and the member count became 16 programs, each team would have one permanent rival that they played every year. The Red River Rivalry is that permanent matchup for the two new programs. Then, you played seven teams in home-and-home fashion in 2024 and 2025 and the other seven teams in home-and-home fashion in 2026…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/josh-pate-criticizes-sec-schedule-100956568.html
Author : Sooners Wire
Publish date : 2025-03-13 10:09:00
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