"Oklahoma is being viewed as a second class citizen": Josh Pate has unfiltered take on Brent Venables' team ahead of debut SEC campaign

Brent Venables' Oklahoma Sooners are preparing for their new campaign this fall. The team will debut in the SEC after leaving the Big 12. They will also be joined by their Red River rivals, the Texas Longhorns, in the conference upgrade.

Just ahead of their SEC debut, CFB analyst Josh Pate had an unfiltered take on the Sooners.

"Oklahoma as a program is kind of being viewed as second class citizen," Pate said on his podcast. "It's like an addition to Texas coming into the SEC. And Oklahoma folks are got to be sitting there saying, 'our five-year recruiting average is ninth, theirs is 7.4. Not a huge difference. We've won five of the last six against them, we both won double-digit games last year. We've got three straight top 20 portal classes and their win total is 10.5 and ours is 7.5? They are expected to be playoff contenders and we're expected to exist?'"

He added that the Sooners would want a seat at the table to prove everyone wrong.

What did Brent Venables say about Oklahoma's transition?

Brent Venables expressed his confidence in his team ahead of the spring training in March. He touched upon the team's transition to the SEC, saying he was anxious and excited to watch the guys get on the field.

“This is the time of year where we reinforce all of our processes and how we practice, how we compete and how we play, how we run on and off the field, all the little things – doing the little things right,” Venables said.

Syndication: The Oklahoman: Oklahoma coach Brent Venables watches during a University of Oklahoma (OU) Sooners spring football game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, April 20, 2024.

The Sooners have had a lot of success over the years. Now, they are expected to do it in a new landscape.