Most pundits are picking OU to win the conference this year, which is understandable coming off of their Sugar Bowl win.
But how good are they actually going to be?
I think Trevor Knight is overrated. Did he play great against Alabama, of course. But to expect similar performances over the course of an entire year is a bit of a stretch. Remember, if it isn't for Blake Bell, OU is not in the Sugar Bowl.
Others have pointed to their defense as being the reason they should be the top team in the conference:
Their average of 5.2 yards per play (given up) on the season is far from elite, as it ranks 4th in the Big 12 and 42nd nationally. And in their last three games their yards per play was one of the 20 worst in the nation.
Using metrics provided by FootballOutsiders, it shows they have a favorable ranking of their defense, as they rank them in the top 15. However, any metric that has Auburn's D in the top 10 is a little bit confusing.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/feidef2013In talking with Dlew12 awhile back, he brought up the point that we generally play OU tougher in Norman than we do here. '09 and '01 come to mind as games we entered with a far either worse or inexperienced team.
Hopefully this year we can do 2012 all over again.