Oklahoma underrated at No. 7?

It's difficult to imagine Oklahoma ever really flying under the radar. A perennial top-10 team, the Sooners had a rare disappointing season last year.

Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford was returning for his senior season, and one of his favorite targets, tight end Jermaine Gresham was back. Offensive tackle Trent Williams, one of the nation's most dominant linemen, returned as well.

All in all, a BCS bowl game was well within reason, and things were looking great in Norman.

Then, the injury bug struck: Bradford injured his shoulder and played in just three games, and Gresham missed the entire season due to injury. Williams was forced to play all over the place as his fellow linemen went down with injuries throughout the season.

It was the perfect storm, losing starters for 42 total games and suffering three close losses, and it won't happen again, barring freak accidents.

This year, Oklahoma returns nine offensive starters, including now-seasoned quarterback Landry Jones, one of the nation's top receivers in Ryan Broyles and fifth-year senior running back DeMarco Murray, as well as five defensive starters. Even with last year's lousy results, the Sooners outgained their opponents by 133 yards per game.

With its first test in Week 2 against Florida State, we'll get an early look at how strong the Sooners will be. Below is Oklahoma's schedule.

But first, here's an on-the-record bet: Oklahoma to win the National Championship +1000, 1.5 units to win 15 units.

Date Opponent
Sept. 4 Utah State
Sept. 11 Florida State
Sept. 18 Air Force
Sept. 25 at Cincinnati
Oct. 2 vs. Texas (Dallas, Texas)
Oct. 16 Iowa State
Oct. 23 at Missouri
Oct. 30 Colorado
Nov. 6 at Texas A&M
Nov. 13 Texas Tech
Nov. 20 at Baylor
Nov. 27 at Oklahoma State