Oklahoma Sooners

Big 12
Our colleagues at ESPN.com are taking a look at the future of college football this week, and that includes a ranking of the top 25 teams over the next three years.

You'll need Insider to see the full rankings Insider, which we won't be giving away here, but there's not a single Big 12 team in the top 10. Do you think that's fair? There's a case to be made either way, no doubt.

Texas topped the Big 12 teams making the top 25, closely followed by Oklahoma. The guys at HornsNation and SoonerNation took those rankings a step further with a closer look at both teams. What could help them climb and reach higher than that ranking? What could cause them to slip? You can find out there.

Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU also cracked the list. I'd say a case is to be made for Texas Tech and West Virginia, too, but I don't think I'd argue excluding them. Texas Tech has a lot to prove just yet and West Virginia hasn't handled the transition to the Big 12 very well so far.

Our crews evaluated every program on five criteria: Coaching, current talent, recruiting, title path and program power.

The first three are pretty self-explanatory. The title path deals with the quality of conference and opponent strength, but only accounts for 10 percent of the final number. Coaching and current talent account for 55 percent of the total ranking.

Program power is 20 percent of the ranking, and "accounts for fan and institutional support, facilities, resources and history, in addition to intangible factors."

Really cool project from our Insider team. I'd encourage you to all check out the joint effort from Mark Schlabach, Travis Haney, Brock Huard, Tom Luginbill and Todd McShay.
During the summer months, SoonerNation will take a closer look at each player on Oklahoma’s roster in our Crimson Countdown series. Each day, we will analyze each player’s impact on the program since arriving on campus, his potential impact this fall and his long-term impact. Starting with No. 1 Kendal Thompson, the series will follow the roster numerically through our final analysis of No. 99 Chaz Nelson.

No. 68 Bronson Irwin
Guard, 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, senior



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High three-star offensive tackle Ty Barrett (Dallas/Skyline) recently trimmed his list of schools to seven. Don’t be surprised if he has a top three soon.

Barrett said he is getting closer and closer to making a final decision, and a top three could come by next month.


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For Oklahoma's coaches, it’s clear which player is one of their top priorities to fill in the Class of 2014. It has been clear for more than 13 months.

It’s not just the coaches, though. ESPN 150 quarterback commit Justice Hansen (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe) hasn’t been bashful about his thoughts. The same can be said for ESPN 300 tight end Carson Meier (Tulsa, Okla./Union), who is also a Sooners pledge.


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Video: Aaron Colvin a top-five corner

June, 18, 2013
Jun 18
3:37
PM CT
videoRod Gilmore breaks down his top-five cornerbacks for 2013, and Oklahoma senior Aaron Colvin makes the list.
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