Dear SEC... From An OU Fan

​As an Oklahoma fan with a very active online presence, I have heard it all from various SEC fanbases. This is my message to the SEC. Specifically to all the teams that have done nothing but hide in the shadows of Alabama and Georgia since the inception of the College Football Playoffs. Two teams carry this conference, and if you don't think Oklahoma will be competitive with the rest of you, you are a fool and don't know ball. 

The SEC is top-heavy. Since 2013, there have only been six divisional winners and two conference winners that weren't Alabama or Georgia. The two teams that did go on to win an SEC title were an Auburn team led by Tre Mason and an LSU team led by Joe Burrow, which one could argue is the best college football team of all time. 

If you exclude Georgia and Alabama from the SEC, several teams have been in the mix to win the conference title since 2013. Missouri, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Kentucky, and Tennessee would all have conference title appearances. 

What is my point here? There is a lot of chatter from the fanbases of SEC teams that haven't made it past Alabama and Georgia in the last decade that genuinely believe Oklahoma will not be competitive in the SEC. In the worst-case scenario, Oklahoma is one of the better teams that can't surpass Alabama and Georgia. To say Oklahoma will finish at the bottom of the conference year after year is foolish, and if you truly believe that, you don't know ball. 

People give Oklahoma's 2022 season way too much weight. We have to remind everyone that nobody had seen a mass exodus of a program like that before. Lincoln Riley took all the best players, coaches, and recruits to USC. The team was dismantled entirely, but the Sooners still found small successes that season. They beat every ranked opponent played in the regular season, and they bounced back in 2023 with a regular season record of 10-2 and a win against the beloved Longhorns. 

Oklahoma had a losing record for the first time since 1998; it was the Sooners' fifth season without winning ten or more games since 2000. I agree with SEC fans when they say Oklahoma won't have ten or more win seasons like they had while in the Big XII. That might be the one reasonable take I've heard come from an SEC fanbase since joining the conference. You cannot dismiss how good the Oklahoma football program has been and has maintained for decades. 

People do not consider the Oklahoma Football Program as a whole, and they are looking very short-term. I've beat this dead horse to dust on this blog. The Oklahoma Football Program is designed to maintain and sustain high levels of football. If your football program hasn't maintained success for the greater part of 70 years, have your University's president read "Presidents Can't Punt" by George Cross, former Oklahoma University President. That book will give you a step-by-step guide on how to build a program that can stand the test of time. 

If Venables doesn't have the Sooners competing at a high level, Oklahoma will find somebody to come in and get the job done. I pose the question, what SEC jobs are more attractive than Oklahoma? Alabama and Georgia, for sure. Maybe Texas because they have so much money, and maybe LSU. Other than those four, I'd like to see someone attempt to make an argument that their school is more attractive. 

Now, I want this blog post to act as something you all can come back and roast me for at the end of the season if I'm horribly wrong, but I believe I'll come back and shove it in most SEC fanbase's face. Before I wrap things up, I have a few words for a few fanbases in the SEC...

To Alabama and Georgia fans, thank you for being graceful in this transition. We understand that you are the top dogs, and you understand that as well, but as the top dogs, you have shown Oklahoma the respect I believe Oklahoma deserves. The fact that you respect your opponents is likely the reason you have had so much success in the last decade. 

To Tennessee and Ole Miss, I understand that you have very talented rosters right now, but your success comes in waves, and more often than not, you are mid at best. While you may get one or two on Oklahoma as we navigate the SEC, you better enjoy it because it will not last long.

To my Texas A&M fans, why must you be so weird? I'm convinced you are some weird cult. While things are looking up for your program, you're lucky to get eight wins in any given season. So please, stop being weird, and shut up. 

To Missouri, I look forward to playing you again! While I wouldn't consider us rivals like you would like us to be, it's nice to have a familiar face to beat up on! Enjoy Brady Cook while you have him because once he's gone, you're back to being mid. 

Finally, to Texas, I think I speak for every SEC fanbase when I say please, for the love that is all things good and holy, shut the f*** up. Until you win something of significance, like the Red River Rivalry (when your opponent isn't handicapped), please know who you are. A team that has yet to hold the Golden Hat for consecutive years since 2009. A team that has three Big XII conference wins since the turn of the century, and you think you're going to step into the SEC and dominate? What a joke. 

As an Oklahoma fan, I look forward to playing in the SEC. The Sooners are wildly underrated, but the teams that haven't done anything since the inception of the College Football Playoffs have done the most talking, and our play on the field in the next few years will shut you up quickly.