Take a scheduling break, Joe C. I got this
Published: 2/13/2012 7:27 AM
Last Modified: 2/13/2012 7:27 AM
Joe Castiglione has a job I could never do. Or want to do, for that matter.
The athletic director at the University of Oklahoma should never have to scramble to piece together a football schedule, and yet that's just what is happening thanks to that wacky, madcap friend of ours – conference realignment.
The last thing Castiglione needs is another suggestion. That's obvious when you fire up Twitter and see the reported possibility that OU could travel to UTEP to open the 2012 season. The times have gotten that desperate? OU at UTEP? Holy (Don) Maynard!
Still, it's hard to resist with everything apparently wide open for discussion. And so I sort of like six nonconference possibilities for the Sooners over the next several years, provided Notre Dame (2012-13) Tennessee (2014-15), Ohio State (2016-17) and LSU (2018-19) stay on the noncon through 2019.
That quartet eliminates the need for any more marquee noncons. We're thinking middle-of-the-pack here. Opponents from BCS conferences with instant name recognition, immediately attractive to ESPN and worth playing in NFL stadiums for the return games, assuming the home-and-home is in play for each.
Opponents good enough to support the Sooners' BCS score without threatening it. And from homes attractive enough to an OU fan base that doesn't mind making weekends out of September road trips.
Opponents who should leap at a shot to play the Sooners – several, in fact, already have – and therefore should make Castiglione's job a little easier after the realignment dust settles.
Here we go…
UCLA
Beatable? Yes. You honestly think Jim Mora is going to turn the Bruins around?
Cool return game? Very. It doesn't get any better than the Rose Bowl. Just make sure the return game is under the sun, not the lights.
Road trip potential for fans? Southern California? They're there, dude.
South Florida
Beatable? Sure. The Bulls won the Car Care Bowl (seriously) in 2010, then slipped to 5-7 a year ago.
Cool return game? Yes. The Sooners love road games in NFL stadiums. They could play this one at the Bucs' "Ray Jay."
Road trip potential for fans? Are you kidding? Who doesn't like the beach in September?
Northwestern
Beatable? The Wildcats went 6-7 last year, 7-6 in 2010 and haven't won a bowl since 1949. I'd say the answer here is "yes."
Cool return game? Northwestern beat the Sooners in the original Soldier Field. Might be fun to see what happens at the remodeled version.
Road trip potential for fans? Chicago beckons.
California
Beatable? The Bears lost last year's Holiday Bowl to Texas and finished 7-6. They went 5-7 in '10. So yeah, they're beatable.
Cool return game? The 49ers' new stadium might not open until 2014. Cal's renovated Memorial Stadium is reopening next fall. Anyone who went to the OU game at Berkeley in '97 will tell you that ain't a bad locale at all.
Road trip potential for fans? Off the charts, with San Francisco a short drive away.
Houston
Beatable? Extremely, now that Kevin Sumlin and Case Keenum are gone.
Cool return game: Could be OU's first at Reliant Stadium since the '02 Big 12 championship.
Road trip potential for fans? Not ideal. I take it everyone has been to Houston. OU alumni down there would sure appreciate it, though.
BYU
Beatable? The Cougars have won four of their last five bowl games, but they've come in the Armed Forces, New Mexico and Las Vegas (three times). They're dangerous, but beatable.
Cool return game: I don't believe the Sooners have ever played in Provo. Yes, this would be very cool.
Road trip potential for fans? One of the perks of having Colorado in the Big 12 was seeing mountains every so often. This would do nicely instead.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
