Oklahoma Football: A Look Ahead to Sooners in 2017

A bowl victory can be a springboard to bigger and better things during the following season. The rousing Oklahoma football victory over Auburn in Monday night’s Sugar Bowl, featuring a rejuvenated defense, has Sooner Nation feeling giddy about the Sooners’ prospects in 2017.

That’s probably to be expected, considering the Sooners passed their Sugar Bowl test with flying colors.

The return of triggerman Baker Mayfield for his final collegiate season means there’s reason for optimism about Oklahoma’s football fortunes in 2017. Mayfield has complete command of Lincoln Riley’s Air Raid attack, as he once again demonstrated with his MVP performance during the Sugar Bowl.

Here’s a look ahead to the 2017 Sooners. While there’s plenty of reason for optimism, a return to the College Football Playoff is far from a guarantee for the Sooners.

Jan 2, 2017; New Orleans , LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws on the run against the Auburn Tigers in the third quarter of the 2017 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Key Returnees Will Pace the Sooners

Obviously, the key returning piece for the 2017 Sooners is Baker Mayfield. He enters 2017 as the undisputed starter and an early Heisman candidate. It’s hard to fathom that Mayfield could get even better, considering he broke the NCAA pass efficiency record in 2016. But another off-season under Lincoln Riley’s tutelage means Mayfield could surpass his stellar 2016 campaign.

Austin Kendall, Kyler Murray and incoming recruit Chris Robison will all be vying for playing time behind Mayfield, so it will be intriguing to see who emerges as the backup in that competition.

Also intriguing will be to see what Lincoln Riley comes up with to get Murray, the former Texas A&M quarterback and five-star recruit, involved in the offense. Murray was required to sit out the 2016 season and will be eager to show what he can do.

The offensive line is young and returns most of the starters, including tackle Orlando Brown (who will hopefully be more disciplined and less penalized). The line, barring any unforeseen injuries or departures, will be a position of strength and continuity in 2017.

Samaje Perine, unsurprisingly, declared for the NFL draft on Tuesday. Sooner Nation now awaits to see whether or not Joe Mixon decides to turn pro.

In spite of his immense talent, Mixon may have a tough time getting drafted, due to the recent release of the video showing Mixon punching a female student in the face. Many NFL front-office personnel have been rumored to consider Mixon “undraftable”. So, odds are at least 50/50 that Mixon returns for one more season, if for no other reason than to rehabilitate his image and put some distance between him and the 2014 video.

On the defensive side of the ball, cornerback Jordan Thomas and safety Steven Parker are both returning, providing some needed continuity to a secondary that will also have freshman Jordan Parker. Outside linebacker Ogbonnia “Obo” Okoronkwo, who is developing rapidly into an impact player, is also expected to return.

And even though Jordan Evans is departing due to graduation, the ongoing emergence of Caleb Kelly and young talent such as Ricky DeBerry hold promise for the linebacking corps.

Overall, this Sooner squad returns plenty of firepower to justify optimism for a return to the College Football playoff in 2017. Add a 2017 recruiting class that currently ranks anywhere from fourth to sixth, depending on which recruiting ranking you consider, there is plenty of help on the way.

Oct 22, 2016; Lubbock, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops calls a time out during the game with the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium. Oklahoma defeated Texas Tech 66-59. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

OU Sooners 2017: The Road Warriors

A potential roadblock to the Sooners’ prospects in 2017 is the fact that the team must go on the road for a number of critical games on the schedule. Of those road games, none looms larger than a Sept. 9 visit to Columbus for a tussle with Ohio State., who will be loaded with five-star talent again next year.

Win in Columbus and the Sooners will enjoy pole position in the College Football Playoff race early on in the season. Lose that game and the Sooners will lose some momentum, even though it is better to lose early against a strong opponent than to lose late.

But a victory in Columbus early in the season would be a fantastic boost to Oklahoma’s fortunes in 2017, so the coaching staff and players hopefully have that early September date circled on the calendar. Time will tell if the ill-effects of the evisceration the Buckeyes suffered at the hands of the Clemson Tigers will carry over into 2017.

On Sept. 23, Oklahoma travels to Waco for a game against what is expected to be a depleted Baylor Bears team. Still, the Bears will have a chip on their collective shoulders and won’t go down on their home turf without putting up a fight. This could be a potential trap game for the Sooners.

October, as usual, brings the annual tangle with Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Texas is expected to improve under new coach Tom Herman, but the question is whether or not the Longhorns will improve enough to challenge what should be a loaded Oklahoma team.

October also features a trip to Manhattan for a matchup with Kansas State. A Bill Snyder team is always ready to play and dangerous, even more so, at home.

Bedlam will come early in 2017. The Sooners travel to Stillwater on Nov. 4 for their annual grudge match with in-state rival Oklahoma State. The Cowboys will be dangerous again in 2017, and looking to avenge the 38-20 loss to the Sooners.

If the Sooners, as expected, emerge through the Big 12 schedule unscathed, a Big 12 Championship game against a conference foe they will have already played will await on Dec. 2. Playing the same team twice is always a risky proposition (e.g. Kansas State in 2003), but that is the method the Big 12 powers-that-be have chosen for bringing back a championship game.

Jan 2, 2017; New Orleans , LA, USA; The drum major of the Oklahoma Sooners marching band performs before the 2017 Sugar Bowl against the Auburn Tigers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Outlook

In the aftermath of Monday’s Sugar Bowl victory, Oklahoma will ride a huge wave of optimism into the offseason and beyond. Barring any unexpected injuries, departures or disciplinary missteps by players, a relatively young Oklahoma team that recovered from 2016’s early 1-2 tailspin and reeled off 10 consecutive wins should enter the 2017 season brimming with confidence.

That confidence will be tested early when the Sooners travel to Columbus for their matchup against Ohio State. Win that one, and the Sooners will blast off into the Big 12 schedule and perhaps beyond.

A key question for 2017 is the state of the defense: Is the outstanding defensive performance against Auburn a true step-change or an aberration? Not to belabor the point, the Sooners will provide an answer to that question quite early.

With Baker Mayfield returning at quarterback and Lincoln Riley entering his third year as offensive coordinator, the Sooner offense is set to accomplish even more in 2017, especially if Joe Mixon chooses to return.

How far this squad goes in 2017, however, will be determined by the defense. If this group jells and becomes an elite defense, there is plenty of reason to believe the Sooners will return to the CFP in 2017. But if the defense falters, the Sooners won’t reach that lofty goal.

Just eight more months before Sooner Nation finds out the answer to that question.