2008 Oklahoma Sooners

Written June 25, 2008 by Jason Lowry

The upcoming NCAA football season is right around the corner and professional handicapper Jason Lowry is ready to make his 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football predictions. The Sooners are coming off a pretty impressive season as they were able to go 11-3 and win the Big 12 title over at the time No. 1 Missouri. Things didn’t go so well in the Fiesta Bowl as they got thumped by West Virginia 48-28. Bob Stoops is entering his 10th year as head coach, and he will have 13 returning starters coming back for what should be another good season. The Sooners are loaded with talent all over the field, but it looks like its going to be an interesting season in the Big 12 South as Texas Tech looks better than ever, and Texas has never finished worse than 2nd under head coach Mack Brown. Lets take a look at what the Sooners are expected to field on both sides of the ball before we get into where we think they will end up at the end of the season.

Offense:
With 8 returning starters and great talent at almost every position it looks like this side of the ball will be ready to put up some big numbers in 2008. Sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford was outstanding as a freshman, and it will only get better as he gets older. He threw for 3,121 yards and 36 touchdowns, while just throwing 8 interceptions a year ago. Fellow Sophomore DeMarco Murray looks like he will have a breakout year at running back after he ran for 764 yards and 13 touchdowns, while splitting time with Allen Patrick a year ago. He will have a pretty solid back up as well in Chris Brown who chipped in for 9 touchdowns and over 600 yards last season. Bradford did lose a big time target at wide receiver in Malcolm Kelly to the NFL, but there is plenty to like about senior Juaquin Iglesias who was the leader last season in receptions with 68 and yards with 907. Look for senior Manuel Johnson to step in at the other receiver spot, and we are expecting a big year out of junior tight end Jermaine Gresham who had 11 touchdowns a year ago. Bradford is going to miss the offensive line he has in front of him in 2008. With 5 returning starters that are all seniors, the Sooners should have one of the best lines in the country. Left tackle Phil Loadholt and left guard Duke Robinson two of the best the Big 12 has to offer, and center Jon Cooper and right guard Brandon Walker aren’t too far behind.

Defense:
While most teams would be worried about only returning 5 starters on any side of the ball, but when you recruit like the Sooners do it makes for a pretty easy transition. The defensive line returns most of the starters, as 3 of the 4 are back. With defensive tackles like senior DeMarcus Granger and sophomore Gerald McCoy its going to be tough getting any kind of push against these guys. Junior defensive end Austin English is a beast on the outside and his 9.5 sacks was the best on the team a year ago. The team only returns 1 linebacker in senior Ryan Reynolds, but looks like he is ready for the spotlight. It looks like redshirt freshman Austin Box will start on the weak side with junior Keenan Clayton taking over the strong side. The secondary is probably the weakest on this side of the ball, but they do have some pretty good talent coming back in senior strong safety Nic Harris and fellow senior Lendy Holmes at free safety. It looks as though junior Brian Jackson and sophomore Dominique Franks will team up at the two corner spots to start the season.

Prediction: 1st in the Big 12 South
Not only do we see the Sooners winning the South, we think they will be playing in another BCS Bowl game as the Big 12 champions as well. The offense looks scary and with the talent the defense has up front they should have no problem rolling through most of the Big 12 competition. The avoid Missouri in the regular season, but will likely meet up in the Big 12 Title game once again. The fact that this team gets Texas Tech at home could wind up being the difference in 1st and 2nd in the conference.

For those of you looking to get a head start on the upcoming football season, head over to Bodoglife.com and get an account going today. Also be sure to check back often for more team preview and predictions as the season continues to get closer and closer.

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