The preseason Coaches Poll put Oklahoma exactly where a lot of people figured it would land: No. 9.
That may not stir much outrage, and for the Sooners, it probably shouldn’t. Ahead of the 2026 college football season, Oklahoma sits behind Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Indiana, Miami and Texas A&M.
Three of the teams ranked ahead of OU - No. 2 Georgia, No.
3 Texas and No. 8 Texas A&M - are on the Sooners’ schedule, which gives Brent Venables’ team a built-in chance to settle any debate on the field.
The full top 25 also included Ole Miss at No. 10, Alabama at No.
11, Texas Tech at No. 12, LSU at No.
13, USC at No. 14, BYU at No.
15, Michigan at No. 16, Penn State at No.
17, Tennessee at No. 18, Washington at No.
19, SMU at No. 20, Utah at No.
21, Iowa at No. 22, Clemson at No.
23, Houston at No. 24 and Missouri at No. 25.
For Oklahoma, the ranking keeps expectations right where they belong: in the College Football Playoff conversation. The Sooners reached the CFP as the 8-seed last season, finished 10-3 and did it while grinding through a brutal schedule. Anything much lower than this would have been a surprise.
The reason Oklahoma belongs in that group starts with the defense. Venables should again have one of the best units in the country, the kind of group that carried OU as far as it could in 2025. But the bigger reason for optimism is that the offense should finally do more to help.
John Mateer is back at quarterback, and Year 2 in offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle’s system should bring more comfort and more production. The Sooners also added help around him that has flown a bit under the radar. Trell Harris and Parker Livingstone join returning top receiver Isaiah Sategna III, giving Mateer more options on the perimeter.
There’s more support coming at tight end, too. The group has been revamped and is now coached by Jason Witten, a move that should help the passing game and could also give the run game a needed boost.
Up front, Oklahoma returns four of five starting offensive linemen from 2025. Whoever claims the final spot will already have SEC starting experience, and that matters in a league where every week can turn into a trench fight. That line will be responsible for protecting Mateer and opening lanes for Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson, both of whom are back.
Put it all together and the Sooners have the look of another CFP team. The real test is whether they can handle a schedule that again looks punishing on paper. The coaches didn’t seem to ding Oklahoma for that, and they probably shouldn’t have - nobody can really forecast the chaos of a season like this in August.
That unpredictability is part of why teams with continuity get rewarded in these polls. Indiana and Miami, who met in the CFP National Championship Game last season, are the only teams in the top 10 that do not return their starting quarterback. In that sense, Oklahoma is in the same conversation as the teams around it.
So no, the Sooners aren’t being overlooked anymore. They’re being measured like a playoff contender. Now they have to play like one.
In Other News...
OU Roster Plans Suddenly Hinge On An Unthinkable 2022 Twist
A federal judge in Colorado has introduced an unusual wrinkle into college footballs eligibility picture, with a ruling that could open the door for players from the 2022 class who are now in NFL training camps to take part in another season of college competition. It is the kind of decision that immediately ripples beyond the legal fine print, because it forces programs and players to rethink plans that already seemed set between the college game and the pro level.
For Oklahoma, the impact could be especially relevant because one of its recent alumni may fall into that group. The Sooners are not just watching a courtroom development from afar here - they may have roster questions tied to it, and the answer could shape how one of their former players approaches the next stage of his career. [Read more 🡒]
John Mateer Now Sits At The Center Of Oklahoma's Playoff Buzz
ESPN analyst Greg McElroy has put Oklahoma in rare company in his latest SEC playoff conversation, grouping the Sooners with Texas, Georgia and Ole Miss in the highest tier of teams he thinks can make a run at the College Football Playoff. The appeal starts with quarterback John Mateer, whom McElroy sees as a player poised to take another step forward, but it also ties into the way Oklahoma has reworked its offense and built around him heading into 2026.
For a program trying to turn preseason optimism into something more substantial, that kind of placement matters. McElroys tiered breakdown separates the true playoff threats from the broader SEC field fighting for bowl eligibility, and Oklahoma landing at the top says plenty about the expectations now attached to Mateer and the Sooners. The bigger question is whether the offense can match the hype when the season starts and the pressure shifts from projection to proof. [Read more 🡒]
Trell Harris Could Change Oklahomas Receiver Ceiling Once Hes Fully Back
Oklahomas Media Day brought the usual start-of-camp optimism, but the most interesting update came from wide receivers coach Emmett Jones and the progress of Trell Harris. Harris has been working his way back through rehab this offseason, and the staff still sees him as a player who can raise the ceiling of the passing game once he is fully integrated into the offense.
Jones said Harris is expected to be running routes soon, which matters because Oklahoma wants him to complement Isaiah Sategna as a true, pure receiver. Even with fall camp opening, the wider question is less about whether Harris fits and more about how quickly he can get back to full speed and into the mix with enough time to matter. [Read more 🡒]