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OU Football Up to No. 5 in ESPN’s Post-Spring ‘Way Too Early Top 25’

By Chip Rouse

Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners mascot during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners mascot during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s never too early, it seems, to start getting revved up about the new college football season, especially when the team you root for is considered one of the favorites to contend for the national championship, which is the case for OU football fans this coming season.

Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners players run onto the field before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners players run onto the field before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

The Sooners have arguably the most difficult schedule among Power Five conference teams next season. Their nonconference schedule includes a road trip to play Houston, and their third game of the season is against the Buckeyes of Ohio State, which is one year removed from winning the national championship. And that is before they begin a round-robin schedule against teams from the always tough Big 12 Conference.

The nine-time and reigning Big 12 champions do host Ohio State, and they get Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State at home this coming season, but OU does have to go to TCU in 2016.

With all the issues at Baylor, including the firing of head football coach Art Briles, it would appear that the battle for Big 12 supremacy is likely to be between the Sooners and TCU, with Oklahoma State and Baylor as likely dark horses.

This is the time of year when all the magazine previews start coming out along with their preseason projections for the 2016 season.

ESPN recently updated its “Way-Too-Early 2016 College Football Top 25”, first issued in January after the College Football Playoff championship game with a post-spring edition. Oklahoma was No. 7 in the January ranking, but has moved up to No. 5 in the post-spring “Way-Too-Early Top 25.”

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Besides moving up Oklahoma, ESPN senior writer and analyst Mark Schlabach has Clemson and Florida State changing places from the January version of the “Way-To-Early Top 25.” Clemson was No. 4 in the earlier ESPN projection of the coming season, but Schlabach now has the Oklahoma killers the past two postseasons, the Tigers of Clemson, at No. 2 behind defending national champion Alabama, and has dropped the Seminoles down to No. 4. Rejuvenated Michigan remains steadfast at No. 3.

The Sooners are getting lots of love on several early prognostication fronts, and rightfully so recognizing that they return seven starters on both the offensive and defensive units, not to mention that they have the top quarterback in the Big 12 in Baker Mayfield.

Sports Illustrated, the patriarch of all sports publications, likes Oklahoma’s chances next season so much that it has the Sooners at No. 1 in its power-rankings version of the “too-early top 25.”

Behind the Sooners, SI ranks Alabama, Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State.

A couple of other popular preview magazine preseason polls have the Sooners at No. 3 (Sporting News) and No. 6 (Athlon Sports).

The news keeps getting better for the 2016 edition Oklahoma football the closer we get to the kickoff to the new season.

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