Oklahoma’s place in the AP poll is gone for now, and the timing could hardly be worse.
The Sooners slipped out of the Week 3 rankings after grinding out a 14-6 home win over New Mexico on Saturday night, dropping from No. 24 to unranked as they head into SEC play. It’s a sharp turn for a team that began the season at No. 10 in the preseason poll and was supposed to be building momentum, not trying to find its footing.
The win over the Lobos did little to steady the ship. Oklahoma finished with 299 total yards, but the numbers that really jumped off the page were the ones that told the story of an offense stuck in neutral: just 61 rushing yards, 1.9 yards per carry, two turnovers, no plays inside the red zone and too many penalties at the wrong moments. The Sooners got back in the win column, but not in a way that inspired much confidence.
That’s why Oklahoma landed outside the top 25 this week, despite still drawing votes. The Sooners were one of 17 teams to receive votes and were effectively slotted behind Washington, Kentucky and West Virginia in the AP pecking order.
It has been a fast fall. Oklahoma opened with a 51-0 win over UTEP and only dipped one spot after that, but the 17-10 loss at Michigan in Week 2 sent the Sooners tumbling 13 more places. Saturday’s performance against New Mexico finished the job and sent Brent Venables’ team into conference play without a ranking next to its name.
Now Oklahoma (2-1, 0-0 SEC) heads to No. 2 Georgia next weekend, where it will open league play on the road against a team that has already started SEC action with a blowout of Arkansas. The Sooners will enter that game as an unranked team for the first time since the 2024 season, when they fell out of the top 25 after a 34-3 loss in the Red River Rivalry and stayed out until the 2025 preseason poll.
Sunday’s AP poll also snapped Oklahoma’s run of 20 straight weeks in the top 25.
The SEC, meanwhile, remains stacked near the top of the rankings. Ten league teams are in the poll, including No.
1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No.
4 Ole Miss, No. 8 Alabama, No.
10 LSU, No. 14 Tennessee, No.
19 Missouri, No. 21 Florida, No.
23 Texas A&M and No. 24 Mississippi State.
And Oklahoma’s schedule doesn’t offer much breathing room. Of its nine remaining regular-season games, seven come against teams currently ranked in the AP poll: at No.
2 Georgia in Week 4, vs. No.
1 Texas in Week 6, at No. 24 Mississippi State in Week 8, at No.
21 Florida in Week 10, at home against No. 4 Ole Miss in Week 11, against No.
23 Texas A&M in Week 12 and then on the road against No. 19 Missouri in Week 13.
In Other News...
Former Sooners Are Making Oklahomas Offensive Questions Even Louder
The departure of a few Sooners has only sharpened the conversation around Oklahomas offense, because the production those players are finding elsewhere is hard to ignore. Javonnie Gibson has settled in at Cincinnati and boosted his receiving numbers, Michael Hawkins Jr. is giving West Virginia a real dual-threat presence, Zion Ragins is carving out meaningful work as a pass catcher, and Jake Taylor has emerged as both a starter and team captain at Iowa State.
For Oklahoma, the part that stings is less about the exits themselves than what they suggest about fit and usage. Each player appears to have benefited from a different offensive setup and a clearer role than he had in Norman, which only adds weight to the questions already hanging over the Sooners as they search for more consistency and identity on that side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas Offensive Struggles Just Put Jim Nagy In A Tough Spot
Oklahomas offensive woes have quickly turned into a larger roster question for the Sooners, and it lands squarely on the shoulders of general manager Jim Nagy and coach Brent Venables. The issues are not limited to execution on game day, either. Recent additions have not yet solved the problem, injuries have exposed thin spots, and the overall depth picture on offense has started to look shakier than it did when the roster was assembled.
The concern reaches beyond the obvious offensive struggles and into linebacker, where the Sooners are also feeling the effects of personnel decisions. One part of the discussion has centered on former linebacker Sammy Omosigho and whether keeping him would have helped stabilize the group. For a staff trying to build a more reliable roster, the combination of uneven play, injuries and second-guessing a few key departures makes the current situation more complicated than just finding better production on Saturdays. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas Defense Just Took Another Brutal Hit Before Georgia
Oklahomas defensive front took another troubling turn this week when defensive tackle David Stone went down with a lower-body injury in practice and is set for more testing to determine just how serious it is. The timing could hardly be worse for a Sooners defense already trying to absorb injuries elsewhere, including at linebacker with Kip Lewis.
Stone is expected to miss Saturdays game against Georgia, and the bigger concern for Oklahoma is whether this becomes a short-term absence or something more. For a unit that has been leaning on depth and next-man-up thinking, losing another key piece this late in the week only tightens the pressure heading into one of the toughest matchups on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]