As July rolls on and SEC Media Days and fall camp get closer, Oklahoma’s 2026 season is starting to take shape around three big questions. The Sooners have the kind of expectations that come with being Oklahoma, but they also have to answer those questions fast if they want a shot at the College Football Playoff.
The schedule won’t give them much breathing room. In the first six weeks, Oklahoma goes on the road to face Michigan, Georgia and Texas, so whatever this team is going to be, it has to show up early.
The biggest issue starts with the ground game. If Oklahoma can run the football, it puts everything else in a better place. The Sooners have a young but experienced offensive line, talent in the backfield and a quarterback in John Mateer who can make defenses pay when they have to respect the run.
That matters even more in hostile road environments. It also matters because a stronger rushing attack would help keep Mateer from taking too many hits over a brutal schedule.
If the run game looks a lot like last season’s less-than-average version, that doesn’t automatically sink Oklahoma. But it does make things harder, and it forces Ben Arbuckle to ask more of Mateer. That’s a risky way to live.
OU needs offense that can threaten defenses in more than one way. Not having a single back top 500 yards last season was a problem, and it would be one again in 2026. If the Sooners can’t run it, losses could start stacking up in road games against Georgia, Mississippi State and Florida, not to mention Texas.
That leads straight into the next question: how much can Mateer carry by himself? He absolutely could take over the offense if needed. The real question is whether that’s the bet Oklahoma wants to make.
If the running game becomes a strength, Mateer can be more efficient and more dangerous. If that happens, the Sooners should win plenty of games, and Mateer could even put himself in the conversation for New York City.
Even with Brent Venables pushing a defense-first identity, this is still Oklahoma, and the quarterback still shapes everything. A second-year leap from Mateer in the mold of some Oklahoma quarterbacks before him could point this team toward 10-2 or 11-1 territory.
But Mateer doesn’t have to become one of the top three or five quarterbacks in the country for Oklahoma to succeed. If he’s a top-five quarterback in the SEC, that can still work as long as the defense is elite and the run game does its part.
What the Sooners can’t afford is more mistakes. If the offense lacks firepower and the turnovers pile up, the toss-up games can stop being toss-ups by the second half.
The final question is at tight end, where Oklahoma is looking for someone to give the offense another layer. A real threat there would give Mateer more targets, keep defenses from locking in on Isaiah Sategna III or Trell Harris, and add another blocker to help the run game.
In that sense, all three questions are tied together. The tight end spot may be the least urgent of the three, but it still matters. A strong answer there would help the offense in obvious ways, especially on third down and in SEC road games.
Still, asking three new tight ends to become impact players right away is a tall order. Finding the next Jermaine Gresham among that group is a long shot. Even so, getting more out of the position than Oklahoma has over the last three seasons is a fair expectation.
At minimum, the Sooners need more than what they got last season. If they don’t, it may not completely change the win-loss picture, but it would leave a clear hole in the offense.
In Other News...
Oklahomas Once Historic Recruiting Run Is Suddenly Under Real Pressure
Oklahomas 2027 recruiting class looked like it was building toward something special not long ago, thanks to an early wave of commitments and a strong June that kept the Sooners near the top of the major rankings. But the momentum has cooled in a hurry, and the class has slipped to No. 6 as other programs have surged past after landing key prospects.
That drop leaves Oklahoma in unfamiliar territory for a program that has long treated elite recruiting finishes as the standard, not the goal. The Sooners still have room to climb with more decisions on the horizon, including a few targets who could reshape the class in short order, but they are now staring at the possibility of finishing outside the top 5 for the first time since 2010. [Read more 🡒]
Sam Bradford Is Now Tied To Oklahomas Biggest 2025 Question
Sam Bradford has quietly become part of one of Oklahomas biggest offseason storylines, lending his eye and experience to John Mateer as the quarterback gets ready for his second season in Norman. The former Sooners star and 2008 Heisman Trophy winner has been working with Mateer in the film room, a fitting role for a player whose own career was built on timing, accuracy and command.
For Oklahoma, the appeal is obvious. Mateers first season had its rough edges, and the Sooners are looking for cleaner decisions and sharper execution from the position this fall. Bradfords involvement gives the program an extra layer of credibility, and it also says something about how seriously the next step for Mateer is being taken, even if the full impact of that work will not be known until the games start. [Read more 🡒]
One Hidden Concern Could Change Everything For Oklahoma's Defensive Line
Oklahomas defensive line was one of the SECs most disruptive groups in 2025, finishing among the nations best and producing nine players with multiple sacks. The Sooners should still have a strong foundation up front with juniors David Stone and Jayden Jackson back in the fold, while Taylor Wein and others continue to compete for starting jobs, giving Brent Venables plenty of talent to work with again.
The one spot that could shape how far that unit goes is the depth at defensive tackle, where departures and transfers have left less certainty behind the starters. Trent Wilson and Nigel Smith II are still trying to establish themselves after limited action, and transfer Bishop Thomas arrives with a winding college path that includes stops at Florida State, Colorado and Georgia State, making the interior rotation a spot worth watching as Oklahoma sorts out its next wave of contributors. [Read more 🡒]