Coming into the 2023 season, there was a quiet confidence about what the Sooners' possessed ahead of what many called a make-or-break year.

There was a wide range of expectations and predictions on what this iteration of Oklahoma was capable of, ranging from a 12-0 regular season and Big 12 Championship to an 8-4 campaign that would leave Sooner Nation anxious about the move to the SEC.

When it came down to it, the near-consensus opinion was that Oklahoma should go, at worst, 10-2, and be in contention to make the Big 12 Championship game on Saturday, December 2 (11:00 a.m. on ABC).

That seemed reasonable enough, given how manageable the schedule appeared from the moment it was released.

However, after the start that Oklahoma has had, it's due time that the expectations for the remainder of the season be adjusted accordingly.

Oklahoma has been impressive. There's no two ways about it. Through the first half of the season, Oklahoma is one of the most statistically impressive teams in the nation. Just take a look at where they rank nationally in key statistical categories:

Offensive Statistics

• Scoring Offense: 4th (45.2 ppg)

• Total Offense: 6th (506.0 ypg)

• Redzone Offense: 25th (.909)

• 3rd-Down Offense: 9th (.519)

• Passing Offense: 6th (341.2 ypg)

• Passing Efficiency: 6th (181.59)

• Sacks Allowed: T-14th (5)

• Rush Offense 55th (164.8 ypg)

• Turnovers Lost: 10th fewest (4)

Defensive Statistics

• Scoring Defense: 11th (14.0 ppg)

• Total Defense: 50th (352.8 ypg)

• Redzone Defense: 9th (.636)

• 3rd-Down Defense: 12th (.289)

• Rush Defense: 32nd (113.7 ypg)

• Pass Efficiency Defense: 23rd (113.58)

• Tackles for Loss: 6th (8.7 per game)

• Turnover Margin: T-1st (+11)

• Turnovers Gained: T-2nd (15)

• Interceptions: 2nd (12)

Special Teams Statistics

• Kickoff Return Defense: 32nd (16.75 yards allowed per return)

• Kickoff Returns: 22nd (25.40 yards per return)

• Punt Return Defense: 5th (-0.60 yards allowed per return)

• Punt Returns: 29th (12.67 yards per return)

However, the Sooners passing the eye test isn't the only reason why the expectations have changed so dramatically after the first six weeks.

For as good as Oklahoma and Texas have looked, the rest of the Big 12 has been unequivocally bad. With nonconference losses to teams like Wyoming, South Alabama, Ohio, Miami (OH), Texas State, and Colorado, the Big 12 got off to a rocky start. To make matters worse, things haven't improved since conference play began.

Every time a team looks to be emerging as a threat to the Sooners and Longhorns, they find a way to squander the momentum. West Virginia started the year 4-1(2-0) with its only loss coming to Penn State in Week 1, but lost to a bad Houston team on a Hail Mary on Thursday night.

Kansas State dropped a game at Missouri but rebounded with a solid win over UCF. But, the Wildcats fell flat on their faces against Oklahoma State in Week 6, losing 29-21. This is also the same Oklahoma State team that lost 33-7 (in Stillwater) to South Alabama in Week 3, so let's not crown them a contender just yet.

Kansas appears to be a legit contender, but their 40-14 loss to Texas in Week 5 suggests that there still might be a gap between the top two teams in this conference and the rest of the pack.

Bottom Line: Oklahoma has exceeded expectations through the first half of the season, but the rest of the Big 12 has been very underwhelming. Outside of Texas, there doesn't appear to be another legitimate Top 25 team among the bunch, and that's a far cry from the conference we've seen over the last several years. Yes, OU has looked very good in Venables' second season and has earned higher expectations, but the lack of good teams in the conference plays a big role as well.

In its first five games of the season, the Sooners outscored opponents 237-54 and looked like one of the most dominant teams in America. Yet, the nation hadn't seemed to notice, because the demolition of teams like Arkansas State and Tulsa only held so much merit.

Until Brent Venables and the Sooners beat No. 3 Texas, the buzz around Team 129 was little more than a cautious murmur. Following a 34-30 victory over said Longhorns, OU has vaulted to No. 5 in the AP Poll and is being touted as a legitimate threat to play for a national championship. Dillon Gabriel has risen to No. 4 in the Heisman odds (+1200, per MGM), while the Oklahoma defense leads the nation in turnover margin (+11) and interceptions (12), plus they rank inside the top 15 of several other key categories.

So, what does all of this mean for the remainder of Oklahoma's schedule and what should you expect from this team going forward?

Let's take a look at what remains on the schedule for the Sooners, plus their chance of winning each game, according to ESPN analytics.

• UCF (3-3, 0-3) | Oct 21 | Norman, OK Chance to Win: 94.2%

• @ Kansas (5-2, 2-2) | Oct 28 | Lawrence, KS Chance to Win: 89.4%

• @ Oklahoma State (4-2, 2-1) | Nov 4 | Stillwater, OK Chance to Win: 93.2%

• West Virginia (4-2, 2-1) | Nov 11 | Norman, OK Chance to Win: 95.1%

• @ BYU (4-2, 1-2) | Nov 18 | Provo, UT Chance to Win: 93.0%

• TCU (4-3, 2-2) | Nov 24 | Norman, OK Chance to Win: 91.0%

According to ESPN's matchup predictor, the Sooners' toughest remaining game is a road trip to Lawrence to take on Kansas, who just lost to Oklahoma State in Stillwater, falling to 5-2 on the season. In any given season, that would be considered a very winnable game, and that remains the case this year as well.

The preseason expectations of 10-2 needs to be updated, because losing two of their final six games as major favorites would be incredibly disappointing.

However, with Bedlam in Stillwater and a road trip to Provo in mid-November, there are potential pitfalls on this schedule, despite how easy it might look on paper.

Even the 2000 team that.seems to be drawing several comparisons to Team 129 had to take down a bad Oklahoma State team 12-9 to keep its undefeated dreams afloat.

In short, the expectation of going 10-2 in the regular season needs to be adjusted. As long as Oklahoma stays healthy, they should be 12-0 at the end of the regular season, but what should happen and what does happen are hardly ever the same thing. The Sooners haven't gone undefeated through the regular season since 2004 despite all the success they've had since then. Somewhere along the way, there's a chance this team drops a game, just given how difficult it is to go through the entire slate unscathed.

Bottom Line: The expectation for Oklahoma the rest of the way is to be 11-1 at the end of the regular season. If OU can get to 11-1, its Big 12 Championship hopes and College Football Playoff aspirations would still be intact. Getting to 12-0 certainly isn't out of the question, but it feels wrong to call that an expectation given how rarely that actually happens. Going 10-2, which was the expectation to begin the year, would mean that something has gone horribly wrong in the back half of the season.

So, if the expectation now is that the Sooners should be 11-1, at worst, at the end of the regular season, does that mean you should start buying tickets to the national championship game in Houston?

Let's hold off on that for a bit and talk about the conference championship.

Oklahoma should go into the Big 12 Championship expecting to win because that's what the Sooners do. Since 1996, there have been 21 Big 12 Championship games and the Sooners have been present for 12 of them. In those games, OU has gone 11-1, the loss being an inexplicable 35-7 beatdown at the hands of Darren Sproles and the Kansas State Wildcats in 2003.

In all likelihood, OU will have to face Texas again to earn the right to be crowned Big 12 Champion one final time. Sure, there's still a chance that Kansas, Texas Tech, or Kansas State finds their way to Arlington, but it would take a slip of epic proportions from Sarkisian and the Longhorns.

Beating Texas once in a season is hard enough, let alone beating them a second time. Despite winning last week's thriller in Dallas, oddsmakers will likely side with Texas to win the rematch, making the Sooners an underdog for just the second time all year.

However, with everything on the line, it would be hard not to side with Venables and the Sooners, especially after how they controlled the game for three quarters in the Cotton Bowl.

To further my point, imagine the narrative if Oklahoma gets to this point in the season and is able to win a Big 12 title just one year after going 6-7. There's a really good chance that Coach Venables would be in contention for all kinds of "Coach of the Year" honors.

Bottom Line: If Oklahoma works its way into the Big 12 Championship Game, it's reasonable to expect them to win it. Historically, no team performs better in that game than the Sooners, and Team 129 hasn't given any reasons to doubt that the moment will be too big for them. Winning that game and getting to 12-1 (or 13-0) likely puts the Sooners into the College Football Playoff without much drama and would also make Venables the runaway National Coach of the Year.

Have we reached the point that it's College Football Playoff or bust for Oklahoma? I'm still reluctant to put it that way, but it does seem to be nearing that discussion at this point in the year.

Back in August, it felt like a stretch to predict the Sooners earning a New Year's Six berth, but that feels like a reasonable expectation after what we've seen, not just from the Sooners but from the rest of the conference.

Even if OU drops a regular season game and then falls in the Big 12 Championship, they would be 11-2. Is there a world where an 11-2 Oklahoma team doesn't find its way into earning a New Year's Six Bowl berth?

Furthermore, If Texas were to win the Big 12 Championship and finish 12-1, it would be headed to the College Football Playoff, leaving the Sooners to fill the Big 12 void in the other New Year's Six Bowls.

If the wheels don't fall off the Conestoga wagon in Norman, a New Year's Six Bowl feels like the floor for this team. If they keep improving week after week, it's not crazy to expect them to earn a playoff bid.

If and when Oklahoma gets into the College Football Playoff, they'll have a very good measuring stick for where this team is heading into the pivotal 2024 season.

Bottom Line: With its win over Texas, it appears Oklahoma has set itself up to have a wildly successful regular season. Because of that, OU appears to be set up for a run at a New Year's Six Bowl and has a clear path to earning a playoff bid. While it won't be easy, this team has as good a chance as anyone in the country to run the table and get to Conference Championship weekend unscathed. If they can do that, there's no telling what this team is capable of in the postseason.