According to a well-known source in college football, Oklahoma has a legitimate chance to win the national championship in 2026, and I agree
Greg McElroy discussed his SEC football tiers for 2026 on his most recent podcast, as he does with every Power 4 conference. He is really high on the Oklahoma Sooners and what they did in the offseason.
He listed five tiers which include the following-
Tier 1: Teams that can win the national championship
Tier 2: Teams that can make the College Football Playoff
Tier 3: Teams that can spoil Tier 1 and 2 teams' path to the College Football Playoff
Tier 4: Teams that most likely will be bowl eligible
Tier 5: Teams with work to do
Not only does Greg think the Sooners can win the SEC championship, but he also has them as a Tier 1 SEC team for this season. Oklahoma makes his top list along with Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss. "The last team in Tier 1 will probably surprise some people," McElroy said. "I am higher on Oklahoma than most everybody in college football media."
He continues to back up his argument and I completely agree on why he thinks this Oklahoma team could be the 2026 national champions. "A defense this good does not need a ridiculous amount of help to win a championship," McElroy added. "It needs an offense that can just avoid the critical error."
This sums it up perfectly. For the Oklahoma Sooners to raise the national championship trophy on the night of January 25, 2027, they have to avoid turning the ball over. With how well the defense has performed in the first two seasons of being in the SEC, my opinion for 2026 remains the same as it did in 2025. If Oklahoma can score around the 28-30 point mark every game, it has a legitimate chance to win the whole thing.
Just like Greg mentioned in the podcast, I believe this offense will be better. You have John Mateer that has had the offseason to heal from his hand injury and work on his throwing motion. The running back room looks promising even with Jovantae Barnes transferring to Kentucky and Demarco Murray transitioning to the Kansas City Chiefs as the running backs coach.
Just like the running backs for Oklahoma, the receiver room has a lot of potential to be elite. Greg talked about how Parker Livingstone and Trell Harris, both transfers, will be a big relief for Isaiah Sategna. Livingstone adds size to the receiver corps, while Harris adds veteran experience.
In my opinion, one of the biggest rooms that Greg mentioned is the tight end room. "I also look too at the tight end room," Greg said. "They add a three-year SEC starter (Hayden Hansen from Florida). And, by the way, your coach? Jason Witten ... that's an NFL hall of famer." This is huge and it's not just Hayden Hansen I'm excited about. Rocky Beers, the brother of former Oklahoma women's basketball star Reagan Beers, transfers from Colorado State. Just like Hansen, he's also a veteran college football player. Not only can both of them make catches, but they can also use their height and strength to block.
Here is the entire list of Greg's SEC tiers and the teams:
Tier 1: Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss, Oklahoma
Tier 2: Texas A&M, Alabama, LSU
Tier 3: Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida
Tier 4: Missouri, Auburn, Vanderbilt
Tier 5: Kentucky, Mississippi State, Arkansas
