Oklahoma’s return home from Dallas comes with a little more shine on it now.
After pulling off the biggest win of the Brent Venables era, the Sooners are back in Norman for a Week 7 SEC home opener against No. 15 Kentucky, and they’ll do it as a 6.5-point favorite, according to a line released by Circa Sports on Sunday afternoon.
That line sets up a Saturday night showdown at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where OU and Kentucky will kick at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network. For the Sooners, it’s a chance to carry the momentum from their upset of top-ranked Texas into the middle stretch of the 2026 regular season.
Oklahoma is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in SEC play. Kentucky enters at 5-1 and 3-1.
This one also comes with a long wait attached. The Sooners and Wildcats have met just three times before, with Oklahoma holding a 2-1 edge and winning the last two meetings.
Their most recent matchup came all the way back in 1982, when OU beat Kentucky 29-8 in Lexington. Saturday’s game will be their first in 44 years and their first as conference opponents.
Both teams arrive with fresh drama still hanging in the air from Week 6.
Oklahoma stunned then-No. 1 Texas, 27-24, in a Red River Rivalry classic in Dallas.
The Sooners erupted for 17 points in the fourth quarter, with Peyton Bowen’s pick-six giving OU its first lead of the day and Tate Sandell ending it with a 47-yard field goal as time expired. The win snapped a two-game skid against Texas, gave Oklahoma its first victory over an AP No. 1 team since 2008, and marked the program’s first-ever win over a top-ranked Texas squad.
Kentucky answered with its own walk-off finish, taking down No. 10 LSU in overtime, 35-34, in Lexington.
Kenny Minchey finished the game with a walk-off 2-point conversion, and it was the Wildcats’ second straight overtime win decided in that exact way. First-year coach Will Stein had already leaned on that same call in Week 5 against South Carolina.
Saturday also extends Oklahoma’s gauntlet run. The Sooners will be facing a top-15 opponent for the third straight game after matchups with then-No.
2 Georgia and then-No. 1 Texas.
In Other News...
Kentucky Has A Real Week 6 AP Poll Respect Case
The Week 6 Associated Press poll once again turned into a reminder that rankings are about more than just what happened on the field last Saturday. Texas fell from No. 1 to No. 7 after a close loss, while Kentucky stayed buried lower than several other SEC teams with similar records, and James Madison still could not crack the top 25 despite being unbeaten. For Oklahoma fans, the most glaring wrinkle was familiar in a different way: the Sooners remained unranked even after beating the No. 1 team.
The bigger issue is what the poll seems to reward, and what it seems willing to overlook. Preseason expectations and strength of schedule appear to matter as much as recent results, if not more, which is why some teams get the benefit of the doubt while others do not. For Oklahoma, that leaves a clear opening to keep stacking wins and force the voters to eventually catch up, even if the respect does not arrive as quickly as the on-field resume would suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas First Mississippi State Meeting Just Got More Interesting
Oklahomas first trip to Mississippi State now has a set kickoff, with the SEC slotting the Oct. 24 meeting for 2:30 p.m. CT at Davis Wade Stadium. It will be the Sooners first-ever game against the Bulldogs, adding a fresh crossover to a schedule that already has plenty of intrigue as both teams navigate the stretch run of the season.
The matchup carries an extra layer because Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby will see Oklahoma and Brent Venables for the first time since leaving his job as the Sooners offensive coordinator. With both programs coming off recent on-field ups and downs and more games looming before then, this one already has the feel of a late-October game that could mean more than just another SEC date on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Turned Red River Into An SEC Statement Fans Will Love
The Red River Rivalry already carries enough weight on its own, but Oklahoma turned this years meeting at the Cotton Bowl into the kind of result that can linger well beyond October. Peyton Bowen gave the Sooners a huge lift on defense with an interception returned for a touchdown, and Tate Sandell finished the job with a 47-yard walk-off field goal that sent Oklahoma home with a win over the No. 1 Texas Longhorns.
It was the sort of performance that gets noticed well beyond the rivalry itself, and both players were rewarded for it when the SEC handed out its weekly honors. Bowen was named the leagues defensive player of the week, while Sandell earned special teams recognition, a fitting nod for a game Oklahoma turned into a statement in front of a national audience. [Read more 🡒]