What the Sooners need to do in the 2026 season
Predict Oklahoma's 2026 Record
As spring football camp comes to a close, we are just roughly five months away before kickoff for the 2026 college football season. The Sooners held their spring game last Saturday after a one-year hiatus and the Red team showed out with a 31-3 win over the White team.
For Oklahoma to earn back-to-back playoff appearances and have national title hopes, it will have a lot of work to do just like in the 2025 season. Three of the first five games on the Sooner's schedule includes traveling to Michigan on September 12, opening up SEC play at Georgia on September 26, and then heading to Dallas on October 10 for the Red River Rivalry against Texas.
Oklahoma could have an easier task after Texas, hosting Kentucky and traveling to experience the cowbells at Mississippi State. However, the remaining five games will be a brutal test as well. The Sooners will be looking for back-to-back wins against returning dual-threat quarterback LaNorris Sellers and the South Carolina Gamecocks, followed by going south to Gainesville to face off against the Florida Gators. Oklahoma will then close out two more games at home against Ole Miss (defeated OU last season 34-26) and Texas A&M, followed by traveling to Missouri for the regular season finale.
Here is my ceiling and floor for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2026:
Ceiling: 10-2
Although the Sooners lost quite a few key pieces on the defensive side from 2025, Brent Venables still has some solid experience returning this season including the Bowen brothers, David Stone, Taylor Wein, Owen Heinecke, and many others. Not to mention, the offense looks like it will improve with some key additions at tight end and the offensive line. Former head coach Bob Stoops is also excited about John Mateer's potential for 2026.
With all of that in mind, this is an Oklahoma squad that could reach 10-2 once again and claim another playoff berth under Venables. While starting off 5-0 would be more than impressive in front of the playoff committee, 4-1 would still be excellent considering the five-game gauntlet to start out the season.
Starting off 4-1 would also be massive considering the potential trap games following the Red River Rivalry. While Jon Sumrall will be entering his first year as the Florida's head coach, "The Swamp" will always be a crazy atmosphere on the Gator's campus and can never be taken lightly. Even with Lane Kiffin gone at Ole Miss, the Rebels could be a threat once again.
If the Sooners start off 4-1 and drop just one more in the seven games after that, the College Football Playoff Committee will more than likely put the Sooners in the 12-team CFP field. It would be another boost for Brent Venables and the rest of the coaching staff.
Floor: 6-6
During Venables head coaching tenure at Oklahoma, the Sooners have finished with a record of 6-6 (not including the bowl game) in two of his first four seasons. One was in his first season in 2022 and the other was during Oklahoma's SEC debut in 2024.
2025 was very questionable from not only Sooner fans, but the college football world as a whole. BetMGM had Oklahoma's over/under total wins at 7.5. While the Sooners exceeded expectations last season, barely making a bowl game this season would make things questionable again.
If Oklahoma starts like it did in 2024, that could be a pace towards the 7-5 or 6-6 mark. In 2024, the lack of depth on the offensive line and the countless amount of injuries on the receiving core resulted in the Sooners going 6-6. The starting rotation on the offensive line looks much better for this season, but they will have to stay healthy. You also have a solid group of receivers including Parker Livingstone coming in from Texas and veteran star Trell Harris transferring from Virginia. If even half of the receiving core has any major injuries on top of the offensive line, it could be 2024 all over again.
How the Sooners finish in 2026 will all depend on how they start in the first five games. If the offensive line and running game looks promising, Sooner fans should be more than pumped.