How USA TODAY Sports sees OU heading into 2022

The Oklahoma Sooners came in at No. 9 in the first USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. It’s a spot that feels about right for a team coming off a two-loss season and dealing with an offseason of turnover and change.

The Sooners were the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 as voted on by the coaches but Baylor (10) and Oklahoma State (11) are right behind them. The gap between the Sooners and the rest of the Big 12 narrowed in 2021, and the race for the conference title will be tightly contested again in 2022.

Looking at each team ranked in the top 25, Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports had this to say about the Oklahoma Sooners.

Applying conventional wisdom, there would be an expectation that the Sooners would take a step back after losing coach Lincoln Riley and having several key players, including quarterback Caleb Williams, transfer. Don’t tell that to Brent Venables. The former Clemson defensive coordinator bringing a fresh approach and intensity after being hired that has been embraced by the holdovers. A Central Florida transfer, Dillon Gabriel steps in at quarterback with former Mississippi coordinator Jeff Lebby leading the offense. WR Marvin Mims should have a breakout season, but the running game must improve. DL Jalen Redmond, LB DaShaun White and DB Woodi Washington are key pieces on a defense capable of pushing for a run at the College Football Playoff. – Smith, USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma’s coaching change was anything but conventional. The Sooners won 10 games under Lincoln Riley before he set off for the west coast (Bob Stoops gets credited with the Alamo Bowl win). OU, like Notre Dame and Oregon, are elite Power Five programs that lost their head coaches to another Power Five program. That’s not something you see every day.

While many might think the Sooners will take a step back, the reality is the Oklahoma Sooners were in pretty good shape when Venables arrived.

This team was still pretty good on offense when he arrived, they just…