Conventional wisdom says that Tulsa football will be better this season while Oklahoma and Oklahoma State may not be quite as good.

Of course, TU would be hard-pressed to have a worse season than last year when they won two games. OU was one playoff overtime loss for playing for the national championship with a record-setting Heisman Trophy quarterback who was the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. And OSU was near the top of the Big 12 but lost not only a record-setting quarterback but maybe the best receiver in the country (both were drafted).

You have to pull for TU and Coach Philip Montgomery. Last year, they lost to Toledo, New Mexico, SMU, Connecticut and South Florida by a total of 23 points – an average margin of about 4 points. The Golden Hurricane could easily have been 6-6 with a few lucky turns in those games.

Of course, TU got blown out by OSU, Louisiana and Temple.

And Tulsa did beat mighty Houston 45-17 in Tulsa.

Tulsa has some talented football players. Last year, they were very young and they had some untimely injuries plus they had to replace an outstanding quarterback.

This year, the quarterbacks are better and the injury bug is pretty much gone. And one of the reasons that TU hired Montgomery is his track record of developing outstanding quarterbacks.

TU has two winnable nonconference games against Central Arkansas and Arkansas State and two upset possibilities in road games at Arkansas and Texas.

It would be a big boost to morale if Tulsa fans would pack the stadium. That’s hard to accomplish when you aren’t winning a lot.

Quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington are playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Those are big shoes to fill at OSU but Coach Mike Gundy has a knack for developing players to their full potential. Justice Hill could be the best running back in the Big 12 and perhaps in the nation.

The No. 25 Cowboys have seven – count ‘em – home games, including games against Missouri State, South Alabama and Boise State. Boise State will be a challenge but the revamped offense behind quarterback Cornelius Taylor could be rolling by then (September 15).

Oklahoma, already ranked No. 5, is loaded with talent. But quarterback Baker Mayfield is playing for the Cleveland Browns and it will be difficult to match his passing accuracy and his team leadership/enthusiasm.

Kyler Murray and Austin Kendall are talented quarterbacks but either one would be challenged to be as productive as Mayfield, the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.

OU’s Rodney Anderson may be the best running back in the Big 12, if not the nation (I know I said that about Justice Hill, too, but it’s true). OU has some outstanding receivers returning and the offensive line could be the best in America.

The schedule is tough, but not as tough as last year when the Sooners beat Ohio State in Ohio. Oddly enough, OU has seven home games (they usually only have six because the Texas game always is in Dallas).

Florida Atlantic won 10 games last year and is picked to win Conference USA this season. UCLA, with new coach Chip Kelly, also has to replace a drafted quarterback but that could be a dicey game. And Army, believe it or not, is a challenge because they run the wishbone, which OU (ironically) never sees in the pass-happy Big 12.

The Sooner defense could be better and the league may not be as good. Oklahoma could win the Big 12 (as could OSU) and make another playoff appearance but the Sooners are more set up to succeed in 2019.

OU coach Lincoln Riley will get his team ready. Even though there might be a slight downturn this year, the future looks bright with the level of recruits that Riley is attracting.

If you were a high school quarterback and wanted to win the Heisman, why wouldn’t you want to go to Oklahoma, home of Baker Mayfield, Sam Bradford and Jason White? Maybe you could have a statue outside the stadium in Norman some day.

Here’s what could happen.

TU could upset Arkansas and Texas and then make it to a New Year’s Bowl win only one or no losses.

Oklahoma State could crush Boise State and then sail through the Big 12 with a ticket to the College Football Playoff.

Oklahoma’s offense could hold steady with a new quarterback and their defense could finally figure out Big 12 passing attacks. A decisive win over UCLA would be a good starting point.

If you want to do just one thing this college football season to help the sport in this state, take your spouse and kids to a TU home game. It’s inexpensive and it’s quicker than driving to Norman or Stillwater.