The Oklahoma Sooners are no strangers to tough schedules, but 2026 is shaping up to be a whole new level of challenging. After a bounce-back 10-3 season in 2025 that included a trip to the College Football Playoff, the Sooners now face a gauntlet that’s already drawing national attention-and not in a way that’s making life any easier in Norman.
According to Crain & Cone, the Sooners have the fourth-hardest schedule in the country for 2026, trailing only Ohio State, Arkansas, and archrival Texas. The rest of the top 10 is a who's who of SEC and Big Ten powerhouses-Auburn, Michigan, Ole Miss, Florida, LSU, and Kentucky.
Not a single team outside those two conferences made the cut. That tells you everything you need to know about where the sport’s gravitational pull is headed.
Third Year in the SEC, and the Heat's Still Rising
Oklahoma is entering its third year as a member of the SEC, and while the move was always going to come with growing pains, 2026 feels like a full-blown trial by fire. The schedule's difficulty spikes early with a Week 2 road trip to Michigan, a heavyweight nonconference clash that could have serious playoff implications. The Wolverines are breaking in a new head coach in Kyle Whittingham, but they’re still loaded and likely to be sitting comfortably inside the top 10 by the time the Sooners roll into Ann Arbor.
Before that, Oklahoma opens the season at home against UTEP on September 5, and after the Michigan trip, they return to Norman to host New Mexico on September 19. Notably, OU and Texas are the only SEC teams without an FCS opponent on their 2026 schedules-another sign that the Sooners aren’t looking for any shortcuts.
Welcome to SEC Play: Georgia, Texas, and No Breathers
Once nonconference play wraps, things escalate fast. The Sooners open SEC play on September 26 with a road game against Georgia, the two-time defending conference champs.
That’s followed by the always-intense Red River Rivalry against Texas on October 10. The good news?
Oklahoma gets a bye week in between those two matchups. The bad news?
That might be the only breather they get all season.
CBS Sports' Cody Nagel has already projected the Sooners to start the year 2-3, predicting losses in all three marquee games-Michigan, Georgia, and Texas. And while that might sound harsh, it’s hard to argue with the logic when you look at the sheer quality of opposition.
The Back Half: Still SEC, Still Brutal
Even after the early-season gauntlet, the road doesn’t exactly smooth out. Oklahoma’s remaining SEC slate includes home games against Kentucky, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M-two of which (Ole Miss and A&M) made the College Football Playoff in 2025 and return veteran quarterbacks. That’s not the kind of schedule that lets you catch your breath.
On the road, the Sooners will travel to Mississippi State, Florida, and Missouri-three teams capable of pulling off an upset, especially in their own stadiums. There’s no such thing as a “gimme” in this stretch.
Can the Sooners Handle the Heat Again?
Last year, the Sooners were staring down a schedule that many thought would derail their season before it even began. Instead, they turned a 6-7 campaign into a 10-3 resurgence and a CFP berth-a season that not only stabilized the program but may have saved Brent Venables’ job.
Now, the question becomes: can they do it again?
The 2026 slate is as unforgiving as they come, but Oklahoma showed last year that they’re capable of rising to the moment. With no FCS fluff, a top-heavy nonconference schedule, and an SEC lineup that looks more like an NFL preseason, the Sooners are going to have to earn every inch this fall.
But if 2025 taught us anything, it’s that this team won’t back down from a challenge. And in 2026, they’re going to get plenty of them.