Oklahoma is one of the SEC newcomers and some wonder why they wanted to join in the first place. This is the conference, after all, of Georgia, Alabama and now Texas, too.
But Sooners coach Brent Venables said intimidation is not in his team's vocabulary.
"Oklahoma isn't intimidated as a football program," Venables said, via Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports. "We're running toward the SEC. I think that goes without saying. We've looked forward for the last several years for this partnership, to be a part of an amazing conference, the best conference in college football."
The Sooners open the season Aug. 30 at home vs. Temple. They begin SEC play a few weeks later vs. Tennessee (Sept. 21).
"Those are two really good brands coming in," Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said of OU and Texas' additions.
This is true. As Marcello wrote:
"Both OU and Texas have sampled the SEC plenty in the past, of course, and their trophy cases mirror the SEC's elite. OU won 14 Big 12 titles in 28 seasons and faced three different SEC teams in its four College Football Playoff appearances (and lost). The Sooners claim seven national titles and co-lead the country with seven Heisman Trophy winners. Before the modern era, Oklahoma won 47 straight games in the 1950s, a record that may prove impossible to break in the new era of expanded conferences. Oklahoma is sixth all-time in wins."
In other words, Oklahoma has tradition, upside and many reasons to believe it can contend in the SEC. But man, this place is stacked.
That doesn't matter to the Sooners, though. Just ask their coach.
