It's almost here, everybody.

The Sooners open their season at Owen Field against Arkansas State (11 a.m., ESPN). Team 129 will the field facing a lot of pressure to put together a solid campaign before heading to the SEC.

On Wednesday, I announced that I was starting a mailbag and asked for OUInsider subscribers to submit questions. These questions can be about Oklahoma's previous game, the upcoming week, anything OU-related or whatever's on your mind (again, I'm asking primarily for Dallas Cowboys-related questions).

The first edition publishes today, Friday, but moving forward these mailbags will publish on Wednesdays.

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. With that, let's get to it:

It was a bit surprising to see Tawee Walker and Marcus Major listed as co-starters when Tuesday's depth chart was released. I've long maintained that Gavin Sawchuk and Jovantae Barnes will develop a 1A/1B dynamic, with both running backs seeing the field a ton.

However, what the depth chart showed is that the coaching staff is going to make them earn it. And they're giving other players an opportunity to make their case for playing time.

Having said all of that, I remain adamant that Barnes will see the most carries by the end of the season, with Sawchuk close behind. I predict Barnes to lead the Sooners in rushing yards with around 800.

While a bunch of receivers should see playing time, particularly early in the season — Jeff Lebby said 6-7 guys could play — this question is easy. Jalil Farooq should be the undisputed No. 1 option and finish with the most receptions and receiving yards.

The only question is if Farooq records a truly dominant season. Say, can he finish with 60 catches for 800 yards? I think he has the talent, but the Sooners are going to throw a lot of guys on the field. Plus, look at last year — Marvin Mims finished with a team-high 54 receptions, and four other players finished with 33 receptions or more.

Predicting the defensive line in 2023 is a little like Russian roulette. The Sooners listed 17 players on the depth chart at defensive line, and nearly every player had an "OR" next to their name.

The safest bet would be someone like Isaiah Coe or Rondell Bothroyd. However, I'm going go out on a limb a little bit with my prediction. Give me Da'Jon Terry as the Sooners' leader with six sacks.

First, let's look where the Sooners finished in these categories a year ago:

Total offense: 13th

Total defense: 122nd

Sacks: T-63

Tackles for loss: T-4

Interceptions: T-7

Despite the Sooners ranking highly in total offense, I think there's still room to grow. The Sooners had too many possessions last year that stalled out, or the team often played too fast and failed to generate momentum. I expect them to be better in both aspects in 2023.

As far as the defense, it'd be difficult to rank much higher than they did in tackles for loss and interceptions last year. A key reason for that interception number is CJ Coldon, who finished with a team-high four picks.

I do think the Sooners will record more sacks in 2023 and will be MUCH better in total defense. The Sooners got killed on the ground last year, but (on paper) the defensive line has a lot more depth now. Plus, I expect the secondary to be strong. However, I don't expect OU's defense to go from one of the worst nationally in 2022 to one of the best in one season.

Final predictions for 2023:

Total offense: 10th

Total defense: 50th

Sacks: 40th

Tackles for loss: 12th

Interceptions: 15th

I've given my official prediction a couple times but I'll reiterate it here.

The Sooners are a difficult team to project in 2023. You could tell me they finish 11-1 in the regular season and easily win the Big 12, and that wouldn't surprise me at all. You could tell me they go 8-4 and finish well short of a conference title. That would certainly surprise me, but it wouldn't absolutely shock me.

With all of that said, I expect the Sooners to finish 10-2 and earn a spot in the Big 12 title game.

These were two separate questions but I've combined them here. Both are fantastic questions.

To the question regarding my status as a Sooners fan — I grew up a diehard, all-out fan. OU football was like a religion in my household.

I've lived in Oklahoma my whole life. My dad graduated from OU dental school (my brother eventually got his bachelor's from OU, too).

I've seen every OU football game since 2000. My earliest memories are from the 2001 season. I was heartbroken every time OU lost (which was rare). I still maintain that the Sooners should've won it all in both 2003, 2008 and 2017.

There's a part of me that will always be partial to OU. It's too ingrained in my DNA. However, as long as I cover Oklahoma as a journalist, it is my obligation to be as objective and neutral as I possibly can. I take that very seriously. I believe OUInsider subscribers and fans at large deserve that, too, even if it means reporting or saying things that the fanbase doesn't like.

So officially (for now), I am not a fan.

On a lighter note, It's nearly impossible to pick a favorite memory. But if I have to pick one, it's OU beating Alabama in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. That was a magical game. Trevor Knight's performance might legitimately be the best I've ever seen from an OU quarterback.

I really appreciate this question.

So I have a lot of hobbies. I play in an indoor soccer league in OKC with fellow OU reporters Eli Lederman and Ryan Chapman. We are called the Trash Pandas. We're in the midst of a bounce back campaign, so we're not fully living up to our name as of now.

But my main passion is music. I play guitar, bass, drums, piano and I dabble in a few other things. I'm in a band called Brujo and we play gigs regularly around Norman and Oklahoma City.

Shameless plug, but we actually released an album back in February and are in the midst of releasing a new EP in the coming weeks. You can listen to our first album, Razzmatazz Mania, on all streaming services. Here's the link to the Youtube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcxjBFgCHas&list=OLAK5uy_k03nmVzbkbplYnFXQBXU5qWKXM46vYETo&index=2.

Feel free to listen and DM me your thoughts.

Thanks everyone for the questions. Looking forward to Saturday.