Oklahoma enters the season ranked No. 10 in the preseason AP top 25, but Paul Finebaum isn’t buying the hype.
The Sooners reached the College Football Playoff last year and are trying to get back there again once the season kicks off in August. Finebaum, though, thinks the path ahead is brutal enough to knock Oklahoma out of the top 25 by year’s end.
“They have an elite defense under Brent Venables, but I absolutely hate their schedule,” Finebaum said on Tuesday’s version of Get Up. “They have John Mateer back. He was banged up last year, and they went into a bit of a tailspin, even though they made the playoffs, although they lost at home, giving up a 17-point lead to Alabama.”
He pointed to a gauntlet that could test the Sooners right away.
“I think they could run into a buzzsaw, especially early on, second week of the season against Michigan. They go to Georgia a couple of weeks later.
They have to deal with Texas, which they have been almost unable to beat. The second half isn’t a whole lot better with Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and at Missouri to round it out.”
Finebaum made his stance plain in no uncertain terms: “I absolutely hate their schedule.”
The challenge is real. Six of Oklahoma’s opponents this season are ranked in the preseason AP poll, so if the Sooners do find their way back into the CFP, they’ll have earned every bit of it.
Oklahoma opens its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
In Other News...
Oklahoma May Have Found The Offensive Help John Mateer Needed
During fall camp, one of the quieter developments around Oklahomas offense has been the way the Sooners are leaning into 12-personnel, with two tight ends on the field more often and a fuller package around quarterback John Mateer. Former Oklahoma offensive lineman and podcast host Gabe Ikard has come away impressed by what he has seen, pointing to the addition of three transfer tight ends as a meaningful boost for the run game and, by extension, the passing game.
Ikards read is that the personnel group is giving Oklahoma more ways to stress defenses and create cleaner looks for Mateer, rather than asking the offense to live in the same spread looks all the time. The real question now is whether that early camp promise holds up when the Sooners face a more revealing challenge soon, the kind of game that can show if the tight end room is just a useful wrinkle or a true weapon. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Hatton Jr Is Giving Oklahoma A New Backfield Dilemma
Jonathan Hatton Jr. has made Oklahomas backfield competition a little more interesting than expected. The largest running back on the roster is also earning attention for his speed, and he has quickly inserted himself into a group that already had plenty of names vying for carries. For a Sooners offense trying to sort out roles, that kind of emergence only adds another layer to an already crowded room.
Lloyd Avant has been viewed as a potential starter, Xavier Robinson has led the backfield in camp, and the depth chart picture stays fluid with Tory Blaylock working back from a hamstring injury. Add DeZephen Walker and Andy Bass into the mix, and Hattons push for playing time gives Oklahoma a good problem to sort out as camp moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Adepoju Adebawore Is Suddenly At The Center Of Oklahomas EDGE Battle
Fall camp is winding down in Norman, and one of the clearest battles left for the Sooners has been at EDGE, where Adepoju Adebawore and Danny Okoye are competing to help replace R. Mason Thomas. It is the kind of late-summer decision that can shape how Oklahomas defense looks early in the season, especially with the staff still sorting out how the front end of the line will come together.
Former Oklahoma All-American Gabe Ikard has been upbeat about where Adebawore is heading, pointing to a developmental step forward that could put him in position for a bigger role. He also noted that being surrounded by other talented defensive linemen can make that transition easier, which adds another layer to a competition that is nearly finished and still very much worth watching as the opener approaches. [Read more 🡒]