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Oklahoma will learn quickly whether it has what it takes to return to the College Football Playoff.The Sooners made a surprising run to win the Big 12 title last season before losing to Clemson in the national semifinals. Now, with much of the key talent returning from that 11-2 squad, Oklahoma is poised to finish the job.The Sooners will be tested immediately when they open with Houston at Reliant Stadium on Sept. 3. Two weeks later, they will host Ohio State in one of the seasons biggest games.Theres two of the teams in the top 12-13 in the country, and deservedly so, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said of Houston and Ohio State. Excellent football teams.In conference play, the Sooners will play at TCU on Oct. 1, then will play Texas in Dallas the following week. If the Sooners can get past the second weekend of October unscathed, theyll be in position to have some margin for error if they fall later in the season.Our season, the front part of it is very loaded up, quarterback Baker Mayfield said. We have been preparing to be ready for the season at the very beginning. We cant have any rust to knock off. We have to go in ready to play, and thats how were treating camp right now.Here are some things to watch for this season.HEISMAN HYPE: Mayfield, one of the nations most exciting and innovative players, finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season after passing for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns.He is still striving for improvement.My work ethic has been the same, if not even harder, he said. Ive been pushing myself and I need those guys to see that, because if they were to see me taking a day off or just saying, `Oh, Ive got it figured out, that wouldnt be good for the program. So Ive been working hard and thats how I expect the other guys to do it, too.REPLACING STRIKER: Eric Striker was one of Oklahomas all-time leaders in sacks from the outside linebacker slot, but hes now in the NFL. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound redshirt junior, is in line to fill the void.He is getting his opportunity, defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. Hes played in certain situations the last two years. Hes very fast and explosive. Great rusher.RECEIVING THREATS: Sterling Shepard, one of the schools top three all-time receivers in most categories, has gone to the NFL.Dede Westbrook, last years No. 2 receiver, had 46 catches for 743 yards last season. Mark Andrews, an All-Big 12 selection last season, had 19 grabs, but seven touchdowns. They are the most likely players to receive an uptick in targets. Geno Lewis, a transfer from Penn State, should be a factor.JOE MIXON: The explosive running back burst onto the scene last season with 1,119 all-purpose yards last season. He was one of the conferences top all-around threats, and now that Shepard is gone, hell be expected to do more as a playmaker. Bob Stoops said Mixon could have a bigger role in the passing game.LINCOLN RILEY: The 32-year-old offensive coordinator was given a huge raise in the offseason for helping to make the Sooners one of the nations most productive and balanced offenses. Oklahoma struggled out of the gate last season as the team got used to his version of the Air Raid. Now, the Sooners are comfortable, and Riley has had time to tinker.SEASON OPENER: Sept. 3 vs. Houston at Reliant Stadium.PREDICTION: 12-0 regular season, Big 12 champion.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP . Cheap Juventus Jerseys China . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Cheap Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys China . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. http://www.cheapsoccerchina.com/cheap-borussia-dortmund-jerseys-china_156s.html . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Soccer Jerseys Clearance . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. AB de Villiers has admitted injuries have snuck up on him like a thief in the night but he remains committed to playing international cricket and building the South African culture as the team continues to go through transition. De Villiers will sit out the two-Test series against New Zealand with an elbow problem - while also nursing several other niggles - but was part of the squads pre-season camp where they thrashed out goals for the future.I have five to six niggles at the moment, including the shoulder that everybody knows about which started about eight months ago. I have been hanging in there. I did fool myself a bit in thinking that I could just keep going and keep going and it has sort of caught up with me a bit, de Villiers said at the launch of the series in Durban. Its a big shame that I am losing out a few Test matches. Unfortunately its happened that way. It caught me like a thief in the night. This was not part of the plan.De Villiers admitted playing a lot of cricket in all three formats all over the world definitely played a role in him being sidelined but has dismissed suggestions that he may consider retirement from some formats in order to manage his workload. Rumours of de Villiers hanging up his boots, which dominated last summer, have resurfaced with the imminent release of his autobiography next month but de Villiers is targeting an October comeback.I love playing for my country and I would love to play as long as I can. Youve got to look after your body sometimes and thats happening with the six weeks now. Hopefully after this New Zealand series I will be ready to go and will tackle the Aussies in October. Theres a game against Ireland in seven weeks time. Thats a good time to test where I am physically, he said.South Africa players have a busy 10 months from then with away trips to Australia, New Zealand and England (which includes the Champions Trophy) and a home series against Sri Lanka. They would want to use the fixtures to begin their journey back up the rankings and challenge for major tournament wares. While winning ways are a goal for any team, for this South African team they are particularly important because of the tumble in rankings - from No.1 too No.dddddddddddd7 in Tests - and the political pressures they face. Starting from this New Zealand series, targets regarding the number of players of colour in the team will be enforced, which only adds another level of difficulty to balance the playing XI.To prepare for a challenging period, the team held a camp last week to chart their course. One of the key things about the camp is that we didnt just want the team there, we wanted everyone who could possibly represent the Proteas over the next year or two or three, de Villiers said. We all just chatted about what we feel has gone wrong over the last while, if there are any issues whatsoever because of the dip in form and where we think we are going as a team. We were really honest with each other, which is a great thing. It was for us to revisit our core values and what we want to achieve over the next while. I dont think you can achieve big things if you dont know where you are going.An aspect that came into focus was South Africas penchant for starting slowly, especially if the team has had a significant break as they have now. South Africa last played together in June and last played a Test in January, and this time they want to break the habit. The one thing we did discuss is to throw the first punch. We have always been proud of how we can come back from any position but I feel its time to take a step towards positivity and not be scared to throw the first punch and dominate games of cricket, de Villiers said.The team began training on Sunday and will have five days together before the first Test. It is hardly the month New Zealand have had, with a camp and Test cricket in Zimbabwe, but de Villiers believes his boys will be ready - even without him.Our players have played enough cricket over the last while. The important thing was to really connect as a group of players at the camp we had, to really talk about some important things. You dont want to over-train if you cant get game time, he said. Weve been playing cricket, white ball for some, red ball for others. The boys will be nice and positive. ' ' '