Now that Sooner Nation has had almost two weeks to grieve and recover from the loss to Florida, it’s time to move on and take advantage of the cliché “there’s always next year.”

The Sooner fans received good news when Sam Bradford, Jermaine Gresham, Trent Williams and Gerald McCoy decided to return to school, meaning OU could aim for a possible trip to Pasadena, Cali. in January 2010.

With about seven months until the first game, let’s look into the crystal ball and predict what the 2009 season has in store for the Sooners.

Record: 10-1 (7-1)

Unfortunately, I doubt the Sooners will run the table next season. That’s something that rarely happens.

While looking at the schedule, no one team outside of Texas looks to stand too much of a fighting chance against a Sooner team that put up the most prolific offensive numbers in football’s modern era.

The Longhorns are returning many of their key players from last season, including Heisman runner-up Colt McCoy, but will take a hit in their passing game as Quan Cosby graduated this year.

The three non-conference games already scheduled look winnable, but also potentially dangerous and not to be overlooked. The Sooners square off with Tulsa at home, Miami at Dolphin Stadium and BYU in Arlington, Texas for the season opener.

Outside the Texas game, OU’s conference games should be winnable as the squad plays the normal Big 12 South schedule and a potentially tough Big 12 North schedule as Kansas and Nebraska -— a team many have in their pre-season top 25 — are played on the road. As usual, the team’s season will likely come down to what happens in Dallas.

The Sooners could go undefeated and my prediction of a one-loss season will go out the window if they beat Texas. Still, that Oct. 17 game scares me. I felt somewhat uneasy about this year’s Red River Rivalry as well, and look how that one turned out.

Trap Game: Brigham Young University Cougars (10-3 in 2008); Sept. 5, 2009

Finishing third in the Mountain West Conference in 2008 and, coming off a bowl loss, BYU has a chip on its shoulder after failing to live up to title of BCS buster in 2008.

This season opener is potentially dangerous because of its location, the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas, because the Sooners have not fared well on neutral fields in recent years. Since the game will be played about 200 miles south of Norman, the game can in essence be considered a home game, while the Cougars will travel 1212 miles from Provo, Utah.

Even though this is an early season non-conference game, the Sooners have no reason to overlook the Cougars after the latest debacle in Miami. Also, the Sooners are no strangers to being upset by a non-BCS School. BYU won’t roll into Arlington and expect a thrashing, so neither should OU.

Projected Lineups:

Offense: O-Line: LT: Trent Williams, LG: Brian Simmons, C: Jason Hannan RG: Alex Williams, RT: Cory Brandon; QB: Sam Bradford; RB: DeMarco Murray/Chris Brown; WR: Ryan Broyles, Adron Tennell, Jameel Owens and Dejuan Miller; FB: Matt Clapp

Defense: D-Line: DT: DeMarcus Granger, DE: Auston English, DE: Jeremy Beal, DT: Gerald McCoy; MLB: Ryan Reynolds/Austin Box; OLB: Keenan Clayton Travis Lewis; Safeties: Quinton Carter and Sam Proctor; CB: Brian Jackson and Dominique Franks

Breakthrough Player: Austin Box, Linebacker.

Even though Box got some quality playing time during the regular season before being sidelined for the Big 12 Championship and National Championship games with a knee injury, he was not necessarily a player that opposing offenses were forced to game plan against. That could change in 2009.

Box showed a lot of progress and impressed the coaching staff during his brief stint as a starter in 2008, and he’ll use that conference-play experience to move forward into next season. If Box works hard during the offseason and proves himself during spring and summer practices, he should nab a starting linebacker position and make an eventual and major impact on defense. His major competition at middle linebacker will be oft-injured senior Ryan Reynolds, but look for the coaching staff to find a way to keep Box on the field.