Oklahoma fans have spent the last two seasons making the same complaint about SEC scheduling, and Phil Steele just said it plainly: the Sooners have not been getting the same break Texas has.
On a recent appearance on The Franchise with Eddie Radosevich and Ryan Chapman, Steele backed up what Sooner Nation has been arguing since both schools entered the SEC ahead of the 2024 season. His point was simple.
"I think if there's a knock on Oklahoma this year, it's gotta be the schedule," Steele said. "...
They've been playing the toughest schedule in the SEC the last two years. I don't know who does the scheduling for the SEC, but Oklahoma and Texas just have not had equal schedules the last couple of years."
That’s been the gripe all along, and Steele’s comments only sharpened it. Oklahoma is staring at another brutal 2026 slate, one that already has Vegas setting the Sooners’ win total at 7.5. The schedule is packed with College Football Playoff contenders and includes road trips to Georgia and Michigan.
The numbers behind it are ugly, too. Based on CBS Sports’ post-spring top 25, Oklahoma has seven possible ranked matchups on the schedule, and five of them come away from Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. USA Today’s post-spring re-rank of all 136 FBS teams painted an even clearer picture: the average ranking of OU’s opponents was 42, with a top-30 opponent waiting almost every week once SEC play starts.
And yet, Brent Venables has already had to live in this kind of pressure cooker. The Sooners have been dealing with a punishing schedule for two straight years, and Venables still guided them to a 10-2 regular season and a CFP berth last year.
Steele still sounded optimistic about Oklahoma in 2026. He expects Venables to again field one of the nation’s best defenses and believes the offense will take a major step forward. But the schedule remains the giant obstacle in the room.
Texas, meanwhile, is about to get the kind of grind Oklahoma has been absorbing. The Red River Rivalry is set for Oct. 10, and the Longhorns also have games lined up against Ohio State, Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss, Missouri, LSU and Texas A&M. College football analysts have gone back and forth over whether Oklahoma or Texas has the tougher 2026 slate.
The difference is that the Longhorns’ path looks a lot more like the one Oklahoma has been forced to walk already. For OU fans who have been saying the schedules haven’t been equal, Steele’s take was the confirmation they’ve been waiting for.
In Other News...
ESPN Just Reinforced Oklahoma's Place Among College Football's True Bluebloods
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The deeper cut was almost as telling, because Oklahoma had 12 more former players turn up as first runners-up. Names like Kyler Murray, Adrian Peterson and Lee Roy Selmon only sharpen the point: this is a program with enough history, and enough elite talent, to crowd the conversation at nearly every number. ESPNs breakdown did not just flatter the Sooners, it reinforced the idea that their place in the sports blueblood class still rests on a long line of players who left a mark that is hard to top. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Sooners, the appeal is obvious. Hall has been in Norman multiple times, and those visits have helped keep Oklahoma in a strong position as the race develops. He is expected to trim his list with a top 10 in August before laying out his next round of visit dates, which should give the Sooners a better sense of where they stand in a battle that is only just starting to heat up. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Fans Have Every Reason To Watch Keldrid Ben Right Now
Keldrid Ben has been one of Oklahomas more important recruiting wins since he committed in December, and now the four-star prospect is back in the spotlight for a different reason. With Florida and Oregon still lingering in the picture, the Sooners have had to keep an eye on a recruitment that has stayed active even after his pledge, which is why his next move is drawing so much attention.
Ben is set to make a new announcement about his recruitment, and the setting points to something more celebratory than dramatic. The expectation is that the moment will play out with his local community in Montgomery, Texas, giving Oklahoma fans another reason to watch closely as one of their top commitments steps back into the public eye. [Read more 🡒]