OU football from A to Z: Everything you need to know about the 2023 Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN — OU opens the 2023 college football season Saturday, taking on Arkansas State at 11 a.m. at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Here’s an A-to-Z guide to get you ready:

A is for Arlington

The Sooners have missed the Big 12 Championship Game in back-to-back seasons (when the game was played) for the first time since making their debut in the game in 2000. Making it back there to end the drought would be a major accomplishment for OU’s final year in the league.

B is for Bill Bedenbaugh

The Sooners’ offensive line wasn’t bad last year, but it didn’t live up to the high standards of OU’s offensive line coach, despite a pair of high draft picks. Bedenbaugh’s group has the potential to be better this season with tackles Tyler Guyton and Walter Rouse anchoring the line.

More: With OU football set for last dance in Big 12, how can Sooners head to SEC on high note?

C is for Conference moves

The Sooners will try to end their Big 12 reign on a high note, with what could be their 15th Big 12 title. No other program has won more than three Big 12 football titles. While the main focus is on this season, there’s also some looking ahead to a much-different 2024, when OU makes the leap to the SEC along with Texas.

D is for Drake

As in Drake Stoops. There has been a Stoops officially involved with the program every season since Bob Stoops arrived in Norman for the 1999 season. But barring something unforeseen, this will be the last season of that streak as Bob’s son wraps up what has been a strong career with the Sooners. Drake has played in 49 games at OU, starting 18.

More: Ranking OU football's most important players for a Sooners turnaround in 2023?

E is for ESPN+

For the second consecutive season, OU will play a game on ESPN+ instead of what had been an annual pay-per-view game. This season, it’ll be the matchup with SMU on Sept. 9, which was quickly scheduled after the Sooners lost what had been a scheduled matchup with Georgia thanks to OU’s impending move to the SEC.

F is for Freshmen

Several first-year players figure to be asked to play significant roles for the Sooners this season, with safety Peyton Bowen and defensive end P.J. Adebawore being the most likely to slide into those spots. Will there be others who emerge as the season goes on?

G is for Graham

After making an unexpected move from the defensive to the offensive side in the middle of last season, D.J. Graham didn’t appear in a game. Now more settled at wide receiver, will Graham be able to break through and find consistent playing time in Jeff Lebby’s offense?

More: What are OU football's best-case, worst-case scenarios for every game in 2023 season?

H is for Halton

As a freshman last season, Gracen Halton appeared in 10 games with 10 tackles, one for loss. Even with a large group of incoming transfers on the defensive line, Halton has an opportunity to break through and carve out a role.

I is for Interceptions

About the only area OU’s defense excelled in last season was interceptions. The Sooners led the conference with 17, at least one in each of the last eight games. While C.J. Coldon led the Sooners with four interceptions, and DaShaun White and Justin Broiles combined for three, the rest of OU’s interception production returns.

J is for Jones

As in Emmett Jones, the Sooners’ new wide receivers coach. Jones has made a big impact on the recruiting trail already, but among OU’s biggest questions going into this season is how Jones will be able to mold a position group that returns little in the way of proven experience.

More: What OU football's McKade Mettauer learned working with Eagles' OL Lane Johnson

K is for Kevin Wilson

The former OU offensive coordinator and assistant coach will face off against his old team Sept. 16 in Tulsa. Will it be Brent Venables’ Sooners or Wilson’s Golden Hurricane who come out on top in the battle of former Bob Stoops assistants?

L is for Linebackers

The position struggled last season, even if Danny Stutsman and David Ugwoegbu in particular put up big tackle numbers. Stutsman is the only starter from last year’s group returning, and the early returns on his development have been positive. What’s really going to determine the success of the group, though, is if the Sooners can develop depth that will keep their starters from being overworked the way they were a year ago.

M is for McCullough

The Sooners’ defensive brother duo could be among the keys to their defensive improvement, both this season and in the future. Dasan, a sophomore linebacker who transferred from Indiana, is the more likely to make a significant contribution as he is expected to be OU’s starter at the “cheetah” position, showcasing his versatility. Daeh, a freshman safety, might need some time to develop, but his high football IQ gives him a chance to contribute as the season wears on.

More: Keeping Marcus Major healthy is a priority for OU football. Here's what Sooners are doing.

N is for NIL

Name, Image, and Likeness continues to be one of college football’s biggest storylines, as programs try to navigate rules that are sometimes contradictory and the structure of collectives shift. It’s also proved a boon to roster depth, as programs like OU leverage NIL opportunities to help walk-ons financially — sometimes causing them to pass up scholarship opportunities farther from home to play for the Sooners.

O is for One Last Time

It’s not just the last time in the Big 12, or the last Bedlam. The Sooners have been in a conference with Kansas and Iowa State since 1920. OU hosts Iowa State on Sept. 30, and travels to Kansas on Oct. 28.

P is for Portal

The Sooners added plenty in the portal, especially the defensive line (with players like Rondell Bothroyd, Trace Ford, Da’Jon Terry and others), and will need quite a few of those new players to become significant contributors.

Q is for Quarterback

Both the present, in Dillon Gabriel, and the future, in Jackson Arnold. Gabriel has a chance to become one of the NCAA’s top 10 all-time career passers with another season like the three he’s had as a starter. The hope for Arnold is that he’s able to get in-game experience this season while Gabriel stays healthy, with a seamless transition as Arnold takes over the spot following the season.

More: 'Sooner than later': Why OU football commit Kevin Sperry decided to play for Carl Albert

R is for Red River Rivalry

The Sooners were embarrassed in last season’s edition of the iconic game, falling 49-0 to Texas. OU’s early season schedule lacks much punch, meaning it might not be until this Oct. 7 showdown where the Sooners will have a chance to prove how real any perceived turnaround is as they close in on the midpoint of the season.

S is for Stillwater

The site of the final Bedlam with both OU and OSU in the same conference. The rivalry is always especially charged when it’s played at Boone Pickens Stadium, and it figures to be particularly electrified this year when the teams meet Nov. 4.

T is for Trace

Trace Ford, an Edmond Santa Fe product, has spent the last four seasons at Oklahoma State, but made the Bedlam switch in the offseason and will play for the Sooners this season. When healthy, Ford has been a force on the defensive line, and OU is counting on him being a difference-maker up front in 2023.

More: For OU football's Zach Schmit, learning from 'really tough' struggles is key to growth

U is for Utah

The Sooners have played teams from the state eight times but have never played a game in the state of Utah. That changes Nov. 18 when OU takes on BYU in Provo. The Cougars are the only program to have beaten the Sooners at least twice without OU beating them at least once. The Sooners lost neutral-site games to BYU in the 2009 regular season and in a 1994 bowl.

V is for Vegas

The hometown of both running backs coach DeMarco Murray and running back Jovantae Barnes, who is expected to be the Sooners’ top running back option this season. Barnes ran for 519 yards and five touchdowns last season.

W is for Woodi Washington

The redshirt senior cornerback is the leader of the defense, having started 23 games over the last three seasons. Washington had a career-high 67 tackles and six pass breakups last season but is looking for even more production in the Sooners’ final year in the Big 12.

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X is for Xavier

Sooners’ defensive analyst Xavier Brewer is a former cornerback at Clemson who started his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Tigers during Brent Venables’ stint, coached cornerbacks at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021 and then moved to join Venables’ staff with the Sooners.

Y is for Youth

It’s not just the true freshman. Several players who redshirted last season could be asked to play more significant roles. Linebackers Kobie McKinzie and Kip Lewis, wide receiver Nic Anderson and running back Gavin Sawchuk are at the top of that list.

Z is for Zach

Kicker Zach Schmit was solid but not spectacular last season, making all 53 of his extra-point tries and going 12 of 18 on field goals with a long of 44 yards. He also had a 73.4 touchback percentage last season. Schmit will once again handle kicking duties for the Sooners.

More: 'I’m still Jayden Gibson': Why this OU football WR is an intriguing breakout candidate

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: 2023 Oklahoma Sooners season preview A-to-Z guide