Welcome to a summer edition of SEC mailbag mayhem. It’s hot and it’s sticky and a hurricane of enmity is headed for Texas.

Oklahoma and Texas joined the greatest conference of them all last week. The SEC is now 16 teams strong. We know Texas is ready for the big time after last season. Where does that leave the Sooners? Fans had things to say after my column questioning if OU could adapt to the grind of SEC. Let’s brave these turbulent waters together …

Michael Judd writes …

I’m a lifetime OU fan. I am writing in response to your article that insinuates Oklahoma football is already falling behind by its move to the SEC. I guess it already starts with the haters and media “experts” that want to see OU fail.

OU is in as good a shape as Texas is at this moment, but everyone seems to think they are down. They have better athletes at every position than any of [Lincoln] Riley’s teams. Oklahoma will win a national championship before Texas does and OU will be a mainstay in the Top 5 of the SEC, which puts them in the Top 10 of the national polls.

OU won 14 titles, Texas won 4. OU has recruited Texas forever, and done well. They will continue to do so in the SEC. It will only get better — not just recruiting Texas, but the Southeastern U.S. where they got a few kids over the years, but now have the SEC logo to back the winning tradition and national championships and conference titles not many schools can claim.

Nebraska and Oklahoma are not close to the same. And Texas is the all time greatest at doing less with the most. Year in and year out, bet on Texas at your own risk. The SEC is just another league and OU will be routinely playing for titles.

ANSWER: If Oklahoma wins the SEC in its first season in the league, then I’ll drive to Norman and celebrate the title with fans at Ray’s BBQ. I ate at Ray’s during my first trip to Norman a couple years ago. It’s outstanding. OU is a great school and Norman is a special place. Once upon a time, the Sooners had a coach who could lure in the best quarterbacks in the country. Not anymore and unfortunately for OU I’m not sure that current coach Brent Venables is going to be out-recruiting teams for elite SEC-level players at key defensive positions.

Let’s be clear. The SEC isn’t just another league when it comes to defensive linemen and cornerbacks. We’ll count 2024 as OU’s first recruiting class as a member of the SEC. Not bad, but it was ranked 12th behind conference members Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Florida, Auburn and LSU.

William Cox writes …

I thought people went to Auburn because of the family atmosphere. If ever there was a place like Clemson, then it would be Auburn. Maybe that’s just another illusion. Could Dabo have influenced that decision? Could the fear of Alabama and Georgia? Could the history of donor intrusion and recent firing of coaches? Could it be a lack of talent? Your point that he could be in trouble if he can’t beat Auburn implies something … OU is a superior program. Maybe that’s why he waited to take another job.

Certainly being a rookie head coach is going to require some time to adjust. But he will have to grow up soon. At least he got out of the ACC before Dabo. OU should have gone after Dabo.

ANSWER: Auburn was a mess when it approached Venables and things got worse with Bryan Harsin. There’s no denying that Auburn football can go sideways in a hurry. Is OU a better job than Auburn, though? I’m not sure that’s the case anymore in the new SEC. We’re going to learn a lot about both programs and their coaches this fall. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze isn’t shying away from the potential of a new rivalry with OU. I like it. His recent take on the Sooners will add some spice to the game on Sept.28. Freeze said that OU is in for a “great challenge” when it visits Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Ray Lea of Fort Worth, Texas, writes …

As a Longhorn fan for over 60 years, I’ve learned the painful lesson of never underestimating the Sooners. Beware!

D.A. Wilkinson writes …

You must be stupid. No Sooner fan is worried about a team that is 1-3 against us the past four years with their only victory needing an assist from TCU.

Dana Beyerle writes …

I’m still pissed. The refs didn’t call Texas QB Alan Lowry for stepping out of bounds at the Alabama 10 on his way to the winning score in the 1973 Cotton Bowl late in the game. It was as clear as day.

Bill Kling of Huntsville writes …

I enjoy reading and rereading your columns. If anyone can decipher the new landscape of college football, it is you. This may not be worthy of being included into your column, but can you explain why Dabo Swinney wasn’t considered for the Alabama job. It seems there was vocal opposition against him when Alabama was looking for a new head football coach. He is more familiar with the tenor of SEC football, and won two national championships. I wish the new coach at Alabama well, but I remember when a very highly rated Big Ten coach, Bret Bielema, came down several years ago to coach at Arkansas. He was not ready for prime time and failed.

ANSWER: Dabo Swinney hates everything about the changes happening in college football. He’s as old school as they come in this modern age of the sport. He even said he would quit coaching if players in college started getting paid. Welp, looks like Dabo’s days might be numbered. Swinney is more likely to retire than ever coach in the SEC at this point. Bielema was a fun coach and I miss his personality in the SEC. His teams played hard, but his offensive philosophies were outdated. Based on everything we’ve seen, new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer is a national leader in offensive innovation. At this point, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt. Check out my new GOAT coaching metric ratings for proof.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”