Editor's Note: This is the latest installment of my column series that runs on Sundays. With this series, I typically focus on one big idea and follow it up with one or two smaller notes. If you have any suggestions on something you’d like me to write about, please feel free to reach out or discuss them in the comment section.

Considering how tough 2022 was for Brent Venables and Oklahoma, it’s hard not to be impressed with the way they’ve rebounded.

The Sooners didn’t just sign a top-five recruiting class and arguably their best class in 20 years. They also signed a top-10 transfer class. All of this comes after the Sooners finished with a 6-7 record, their worst season in over 20 years.

It was reasonable to wonder if the Sooners would lose any recruits after a really tough season. They didn’t. Talking to the new freshmen and the transfer players during spring practices, they’ve made it clear that their commitment never wavered. They remained confident in what Venables and his staff are building.

That got me thinking. What are reasonable expectations for the Sooners in 2023? How confident should fans be that things will be better in Venables’ second season?

It’s a little bit of a tricky question. But there’s a few reasons why it’s at least reasonable to be cautiously optimistic.

My prediction? I think a 10-3 record is more than attainable.

First, take a look at last season. Five of the Sooners’ seven losses came by single digits. Of those five, four were decided by exactly three points.

The Sooners had chances to win all four of those games, and they probably should’ve defeated Texas Tech, West Virginia and Baylor. Win even a couple of those, and the outlook on last season changes quite a bit.

It’s statistically unlikely to lose that many close games. That’s one reason to be more optimistic.

The Sooners have a pretty favorable schedule in 2023, too. Their road games — Tulsa, Cincinnati, Kansas, Oklahoma State, BYU — should be manageable.

Also, the Sooners should have better depth next season at key positions on defense, which had more issues than the offense did. Considering the combination of new players — both transfer and freshmen — along with the development of players from last year’s roster, they should have more options at defensive end, defensive back and linebacker.

There are several transfer players that should make an impact right away. That includes, but is not limited to, Rondell Bothroyd, Trace Ford, Reggie Pearson, Dasan McCullough and Jacob Lacey.

There are freshmen who I expect to make an impact almost immediately, too. I’m also particularly optimistic about some of the young guys who were on the roster last year — guys like Gentry Williams, R Mason Thomas, Jaren Kanak and Kobie McKinzie.

The main reason to be optimistic, though, is that Year 2 under Venables should be more cohesive.

There should be better understanding on both sides of the ball. Despite a few big departures from last season, there’s still plenty of key players on the roster who now have a year of experience playing for this coaching staff. During spring practices, players and coaches talked about how much more comfortable everybody is compared to last season.

Plus, Venables knows the Sooners simply have to be better.

“We fell incredibly short of our standards and expectations,” Venables said after the spring game last month. “But this is a group, if they showed something last year through a tough, challenging year, through strain, failure and experience where many of these guys had never had that experience before, they kept swinging. It took a punch — if that’s the right term to describe all of it — and continued to fight, believe, play for another. Played with great pride, and you gotta have that.

“There’s no excuse that’s going to justify having the kind of season that we did. Internally, we feel we know where we came up short, in a lot of different places… I don’t think our guys have stopped believing in what we’re asking them to do and what the vision is and again, what it takes, to be successful and for us to again flip that script.”

There’s still a lot of time before the season. It’s easier to say the right things now. But there’s also reason to expect the Sooners to be much better in 2023.

After the Sooners defeated Iowa State 9-0 on Friday, Cyclones’ coach Jamie Pinkerton offered some high praise for Patty Gasso and her squad.

In fact, he compared them to one of the most dominant teams in MLB history.

“Up and down the lineup, there’s not any holes,” Pinkerton said. “When you play people, you can usually get by a seven-hole or an eight-hole... But with them, you can’t.

“If there’s anything close to the ‘27 Yankees, it’s been OU the last three or four (seasons). It’s just a very good lineup.”

High praise to compare the Sooners to a team that had Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and eventually won the World Series. It’s also pretty accurate.

The Sooners have had such a hold on the college softball world in recent years. I’m always interested in what opposing coaches have to say about them, particularly after a loss. It’s never just coach-speak. It seems like every opposing coach has respect for the Sooners, and they always express it.

That comparison from PInkerton might be the highest praise yet.