All Sooners

SEC Media Projects Oklahoma to Finish Eighth

During media days this week, the league's media cast their preseason ballots, and apparently think the Sooners could struggle against one of this year's toughest schedules.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold
Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY
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During their first SEC Media Days event this week, the Oklahoma contingent apparently didn’t make a strong impression on the league’s media.

OU was picked to finish eighth in the SEC standings in a poll released Friday by the conference office.

Of the 1,200 or so media who attended the four-day event at the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas, 213 cast a vote.

2024 Preseason SEC Poll

Georgia received 165 votes to win the league, while fellow newcomer Texas was next with 27 votes. Alabama received 12 first-place votes, while Ole Miss (4), Vanderbilt (2), LSU (2) and South Carolina (1) each received votes as well.

Nobody voted for Oklahoma to win the conference.

Instead, the Sooners were projected to finish eighth — behind Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Missouri and Tennessee, but ahead of Texas A&M, Auburn and the rest of the SEC.

The Sooners play six games against teams that are projected to finish ahead of them in the league standings: Texas, Alabama, at Ole Miss, at LSU, at Missouri, and Tennessee.

“Everything’s hard,” said third-year head coach Brent Venables. “The windows that you throw through are hard, the gaps that you run through are small. There’s length, there’s physicality, there’s depth, there’s speed, there’s precision and then you go experience what a road game brings to you. Again, you’re not looking at half-filled stadiums, you’re looking at the best of the best. They’re bringing it, and they understand the value of creating an intimidating, loud, difficult environment to operate in.” 

OU landed three players on the preseason All-SEC team, including two as first-team defenders in linebacker Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman. Transfer wideout Deion Burks also was voted to the third-team offense.

OU, which is celebrating the 100th season of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, opens the 2024 campaign on Friday, Aug. 30, against Temple at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN. The Sooners play their first-ever SEC game on Sept. 21 against Tennessee in Norman.

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John E. Hoover

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.