TCU Football Week 5 Opponent Lookahead: Oklahoma Sooners

TCU thrown to the fire to begin Big 12 Conference play against the Oklahoma Sooners.

© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The TCU Horned Frogs (3-0, 0-0) host the Oklahoma Sooners (3-1, 0-1) to begin their Big 12 Conference slate on Saturday, October 1. Kickoff is at 11:00 a.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

With so much turnover in the player and coaching ranks for the Sooners this past offseason, let's dive into TCU's Week 5 opponent.

Oklahoma Vs. TCU: Series History

TCU and Oklahoma first met on the gridiron in 1944 in Oklahoma City, where the Sooners won 34-19. It was one of just two regular season losses for the '44 Horned Frogs. They played in the Cotton Bowl Classic against Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) to cap the season.

Oklahoma would go on to finish unbeaten conference play in the Big Six (an early precursor to the Big 12), but they did drop their opening game to– *checks notes*– the Norman Naval Air Station Zoomers in their only year as a team.

Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, this series has been one-sided. Oklahoma leads he all-time series 17-5, including the last eight in a row. TCU's last win came in 2014 at home, where they upended Oklahoma 37-33, but it's been all Sooners since then.

While a few of the last eight losses have been close, Oklahoma as a +14.75 point margin during their streak.

TCU's five all-time wins came in 1945, 1947, 1996, 2005, and 2014.

Oklahoma Players To Note

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel is someone we've covered extensively this offseason. Gabriel transferred in from UCF after breaking his collarbone and missing most of the 2021 season. In his time in Orlando, he threw for over 8,000 yards and 70 touchdowns (two seasons and three games).

This year, Gabriel's already amassed 11 TD passes and over 1,000 yards in four games (note: he didn't play in a fourth quarter until last week).

The Sooners' receiving corps is led by All Conference selection Marvin Mims, who has 18 receptions for almost 400 yards and a trio of TDs (22.1 yards per reception!). Mims is the clear No. 1, but Gabriel likes to spread the ball around with three other players having 11 receptions on the season.

There's also a pair of offensive linemen expected to be coveted NFL Draft prospects: tackle Anton Harrison and center Andrew Raym. Both players land in The Draft Network's top-100 prospects for 2023.

The defense is led by junior pass rusher Reggie Grimes, who has the co-lead in the Big 12 with four sacks on the year. Sophomore linebacker Danny Stutsman has the team lead with 35 total tackles (23 solo).

Unprecedented Turnover

Never before has a head football coach left the University of Oklahoma to take another college head coaching job. The last to take another job was Chuck Fairbanks in 1973, who left to be the head coach of the New England Patriots.

And yet, Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma to coach USC this past year.

Taking his place is a not-so-unfamiliar face, Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables. Venables was a longtime Oklahoma assistant and DC from 1999 to 2011, before he was made the highest-paid coordinator in college football.

But his first reign at OU ended with what was spun as "not ideal circumstances" after Bob Stoops hired his brother Mike Stoops (now Kentucky head coach) to share defensive play calling with Venables. Venables has since spoken on the matter saying there was never any animosity with the situation.

Venables hired away Ole Miss offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who was Gabriel's OC at UCF before landing in Oxford. The move is what nailed down Gabriel transferring to Oklahoma over UCLA, where he had briefly announced a transfer to.

Lebby is an offensive mastermind and was one of the highest-sought after OCs in the country. He led Matt Corral to a Heisman-contending season and looks to be doing the same this year with Gabriel. The offense never missed a beat from under Riley.

Sizing Up The Sooners

There's not much discernible difference between the Oklahoma offense under Riley and under Lebby. Even though they lost the game, OU put up 34 on a Kansas State defense that's 28th in points per drive allowed on the year. Gabriel has a nose for the end zone and Mims is a very dangerous go-to receiver.

Defensively, the team has improved under Venables. After all, it's what he's made tens of millions of dollars doing throughout his multi-decade career. But "improved" doesn't mean "outstanding."

Just looking at their points per game doesn't quite tell the story– before Kansas State, OU played the likes of UTEP (101st in points per drive scored), Kent State (103rd), and Nebraska (71st). The Sooners were diced by Kansas State QB Adrian Martinez for over 400 combined yards and four rushing TDs last week.

Their defensive front was pushed around by K-State all afternoon. However, take that with a grain of salt considering K-State has won three of the last four against Oklahoma.

To beat the Sooners, you're going to have to outscore them. TCU's offense has played very well through three games, but OU isn't Colorado, and they aren't Tarleton State.

Buckle up, Frogs, you're being thrown to the fire this week.

Opponent Rundown

Team: Oklahoma Sooners

Record: 3-1 (0-1 Big 12)

Coach: Brent Venables (1st year, 3-1 career record)

Previous Outcome: L, 41-34 vs. Kansas State

Scoring Offense: 40.3 points per game (16th)

Scoring Defense: 17.8 points allowed per game (24th)

OU 2022 Schedule & Results

Date	Opponent	Result
Sept. 3	UTEP	W, 45-13
Sept. 10	Kent State	W, 33-3
Sept. 17	at Nebraska	W, 49-13
Sept. 24	Kansas State	L, 41-34
Oct. 1	at TCU
Oct. 8	vs. Texas
Oct. 15	Kansas
Oct. 22	BYE
Oct. 29	at Iowa State
Nov. 5	Baylor
Nov. 12	at West Virginia
Nov. 19	Oklahoma State
Nov. 26	at Texas Tech

TCU vs. Oklahoma Game Info

• When: Saturday, Oct. 1, 11:00 a.m. CT
• Where: Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, TX)
• TV: ABC

TCU vs. Oklahoma Past Results

• 2021: Oklahoma 52, TCU 31 (Norman)
• 2020: Oklahoma 33, TCU 14 (Fort Worth)
• 2019: Oklahoma 28, TCU 24 (Norman)
• 2018: Oklahoma 52, TCU 27 (Fort Worth)
• 2017: Oklahoma 41, TCU 17 (Big 12 Championship, Arlington)
• 2017: Oklahoma 38, TCU 20 (Norman)
• 2016: Oklahoma 52, TCU 46 (Fort Worth)
• 2015: Oklahoma 30, TCU 29 (Norman)
• 2014: TCU 37, Oklahoma 33 (Fort Worth)
• 2013: Oklahoma 20, TCU 17 (Norman)
• 2012: Oklahoma 24, TCU 17 (Fort Worth)

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Visit the All Sooners site, another FanNation site, to see what they are saying about the upcoming game with TCU.