Paul Finebaum came into SEC Media Days hearing the same drumbeat everyone else had all offseason: Georgia and Texas, Georgia and Texas. That was the script, and the preseason poll seemed to back it up, with the Bulldogs and Longhorns sitting in a class of their own after the SEC media voting.
But once Finebaum got on the ground in Atlanta, the conversation shifted.
Instead of more talk about the two heavyweights, he started hearing Oklahoma come up again and again.
"It's interesting," Finebaum said on WWLS The Sports Animal." I feel like I follow this sport pretty closely, and I came in here regurgitating everything I've heard all year.
It's a two-team race: Texas, Georgia. Everything I'm hearing here is about Oklahoma."
That kind of buzz runs against the SEC media poll, which slotted the Sooners seventh in the conference, behind Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, LSU and Alabama. Georgia and Texas were the clear front-runners, both collecting more than 2,400 points. The next five teams all landed at least 1,900, a sign that while the top two are separated, the rest of the league is wide open.
Oklahoma’s case is easy enough to see. The Sooners are coming off a 10-3 season and a College Football Playoff appearance, and there’s reason to think they can be better. One of the nation’s top defenses is back, and the offense is expected to take a step forward in Year 2 under Ben Arbuckle.
So while the poll says seventh, the noise around SEC Media Days suggests Oklahoma has earned more respect than the numbers show. Now Brent Venables’ team has to turn that into something real on the field and make a run at the SEC championship picture.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Got A Huge New Roster Question This Offseason
A federal judges latest ruling could create an unexpected layer of uncertainty around Oklahomas offseason roster, opening the door for some players to pursue a fifth college season even after exhausting four years of eligibility. The decision applies to athletes from the 2022 recruiting class and arrives despite the NCAAs planned five-in-five rule, which was not supposed to take effect until the 2027 recruiting class, giving programs across the country another potential round of roster movement to monitor.
For the Sooners, the issue is especially notable because several players on the 2025 roster could fall into that window and suddenly have a choice to make after the 2026 NFL Draft. If any of those players decide college is still the better move, Oklahoma could be dealing with a fresh wave of roster decisions well after the usual offseason business is supposed to be settled. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Enters Camp With One Huge Question Up Front
Fall camp is about to open for Oklahoma, and with Brent Venables heading into his fifth year, the Sooners still have a familiar source of intrigue up front. The defensive tackle room has been reshaped by NFL departures, graduation and transfers, but Jayden Jackson and David Stone are back as the anchors, giving Todd Bates at least a proven starting point in a unit that was among the better-regarded parts of the defense a year ago.
What comes next is the real test, because the Sooners need that group to hold up after losing so much experience. Oklahoma has blended in transfers and freshmen to help fill the gaps, and the early weeks of camp will go a long way toward showing whether the new-look interior line can match the standard the program expects, or whether this becomes the kind of spot that takes time to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas 2026 Offense Hinges On One Long Awaited Change
Fall camp has arrived in Norman, and with it comes a familiar offseason priority for the Sooners: making the run game and offensive line sturdier before the 2026 season gets underway. Oklahoma has spent the buildup adding experience on both fronts, bringing in offensive lineman EMarion Harris and running backs coach Deland McCullough as part of a broader push to add physicality and depth. The goal is clear enough, even if the work is just getting started, with the opener against UTEP serving as the first chance to see whether the changes are showing up where they matter most.
For Oklahoma, this is about more than just shoring up one phase of the offense. The Sooners have returning players mixed with new additions, and the challenge now is turning that blend into a line and backfield that can hold up over a full season. The identity they are chasing is a more dependable, more physical attack, and fall camp will reveal how close they are to getting it before the spotlight tightens in September. [Read more 🡒]