The Gould Standard: No. 4 Oklahoma

Sooners take aim at ending their playoff frustrations

The Big Ten and Pac-12 believe it’s not safe to play. The ACC, Big 12 and SEC say, ``Play on.’’ Here at TMG we say, ``Write on.’’ And so, we present our fifth annual Sweet 16 Countdown to the college football season, 2020 edition.

In three seasons at Oklahoma, Lincoln Riley has won three Big 12 championships and earned three College Football Playoff berths.

Three straight 12-2 seasons give him a gaudy 36-6 record at Norman.

And yet, what sticks out to many people is this: He is 0-3 in the playoffs, including last year’s ugly 63-28 loss to LSU.

What’s next for young prodigy Riley, who turned 37 on Sept. 5?

First step: Play games. Riley, who has expressed concerns about playing football in a pandemic, said only one player from an unspecified multi-player position group was available for a recent scrimmage due to Covid-19 testing.

Assuming this virus-threatened season actually happens, OU will be intent on remaining atop the Big 12 and finally breaking through in the playoff.

With Jalen Hurts gone, the first step is to plug in quarterback Spencer Rattler, a five-star recruit in the 2019 class who already is receiving Heisman mentions thanks to his potential and Riley’s skill at developing QBs.

Spencer Rattler? That’s also a five-star name for a college quarterback.

There are also other personnel issues to address, including finding a successor to go-to receiver CeeDee Lamb.

The Sooners’ revised scheduled also has a tough early stretch. On Sept. 26, they are scheduled to face Kansas State, which handed Oklahoma its only regular-season defeat last year. Next up is an Oct. 3 trip to Iowa State, a trendy pick to over-achieve this fall. That is followed by the Oct. 10 Red River Rivalry meeting with Texas, which also is supposed to be in position to have a big year.

Coronavirus permitting, it should be a challenging and interesting season for Riley, who has set the bar high in his first three seasons, and his Sooners.