Oklahoma is entering the new SEC season with a modest preseason label, but the league’s coaches and media still see plenty of talent in Norman.
In the Southeastern Conference’s preseason media poll released Friday, the Sooners landed at No. 7.
Georgia was picked first, followed by Texas, Mississippi, Texas A&M, LSU and Alabama ahead of OU. Tennessee checked in behind the Sooners at No. 8, with Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Arkansas filling out the rest of the order.
That ranking comes after Oklahoma was slotted 10th in last year’s preseason poll and then finished the season sixth in the conference.
The bigger sign of respect for OU might be the all-SEC recognition. The Sooners placed 10 players on the preseason all-SEC team, including two first-team selections.
Redshirt senior kicker Tate Sandell made the first team as both a placekicker and kickoff specialist, while redshirt senior long snapper Ben Anderson also earned first-team honors.
Oklahoma’s second-team group is loaded with familiar names. Redshirt senior wide receiver Isaiah Sategna was selected at wide receiver and return specialist. Redshirt senior linebacker Kip Lewis, redshirt senior punter Grayson Miller, senior defensive back Peyton Bowen, junior defensive back Eli Bowen, junior defensive lineman David Stone, sophomore offensive lineman Michael Fasusi and redshirt junior defensive lineman Taylor Wein all landed on the second team.
The Sooners open the season against UTEP at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game will air on SEC Network+.
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The Sooners have had their ups and downs from 2022 through 2024, but there was real evidence of progress in 2023, when they went 10-2 in the regular season and pushed back into playoff conversation. Even with the uneven finish to 2024 and the pressure that comes with leading Oklahoma, Venables has kept the program moving forward under circumstances that would test almost anyone, which is why the conversation around him deserves a little more patience than it has gotten. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Suddenly Has Real 2028 Recruiting Momentum In Key Territory
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Brent Venables Just Reopened Oklahomas Most Frustrating Debate
Brent Venables spent part of his reflection on Oklahomas 2024 season circling back to the kind of loss that still lingers because it felt so avoidable. The Sooners College Football Playoff defeat to Alabama, after a fast start that had them in control early, became for him a lesson in how quickly a game can tilt when the simple stuff slips away.
Venables framed it as the oldest football argument there is in Norman: talent matters, but consistency comes from getting the basics right. He sounded optimistic about what Oklahoma can build toward in 2026, with the idea of turning a good team into a great one, but the larger point was hard to miss. For the Sooners, the frustrating part is not some exotic schematic mystery. It is the unfinished business of execution. [Read more 🡒]