Sooner Football Ranks Third in 2016 Preseason Consensus Rankings

What is the consensus average preseason ranking for Sooner football this season?

Nov 21, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) hands off to running back Samaje Perine (32) during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

As always this time of year, we have been bombarded with a plethora of preseason college football rankings and projections. Of course none of this has any meaningful value until the actual games begin, and even then it is subject to change from week to week.

So here we are, two weeks out from the start of another college football season, but where are we really?

Looking at seven of the more noteworthy and popular sources for projecting where the teams stand heading into the 2016 season, there seems to be a strong consensus that Alabama and Clemson are the two best teams in the country, at least to begin the season.

Averaging the top-25 preseason rankings of the same seven sources, Oklahoma is the next team up, at No. 3. Two of the major media sources (Athlon Sports and Sports Illustrated) have the Sooners at No. 6 in their preseason top-25 rankings, but the other five (Amway Coaches Poll, Phil Steele, ESPN, Lindy’s, and Sporting News) all have Oklahoma in the No. 3 spot.

Dec 31, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Oklahoma Sooners tight end Mark Andrews (81) celebrates after a touchdown against the Clemson Tigers during the second quarter of the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

High preseason rankings certainly add a little extra excitement for the fan bases of the teams to begin a new season. As Phil Steele astutely points out in his 2016 College Football Preview magazine, however, starting the season ranked in the top 10 has not been a good omen for Bob Stoops and the Sooners in the recent past.

The last four times Oklahoma began the season ranked in the nation’s top 10, the Sooners ended the season no higher than 15th in the Associated Press poll. Things ended much better when they weren’t that high on the radar screen heading into the new season.

The last three times the Sooners have not been ranked in the top 10 to start the season, they won a national championship, finished 6th in the final AP poll and went to the College Football Playoff.

So I’m not sure whether to be jumping for joy with all the preseason chatter pumping up Oklahoma’s chances in 2016 or heading for cover hoping the storm clouds will pass over without washing out the Sooners’ season. I’m going to choose to stay optimistic and go with the former, realizing that while all good things will at some point come to an end, so too should all bad things.

Five of Oklahoma’s opponents on the 2016 schedule were ranked in the top 25 in three or more of the major preseason polls: Ohio State, who the Sooners host on Sept. 17 have a consensus ranking of No. 5, two spots below OU and one behind No. 4 Florida State. Houston, where the Sooners open the season on Sept. 3, is No. 14.

Baylor’s consensus ranking to begin the season also is 14th, although that comes with a bold-faced disclaimer (two of the top-25 projections for the Bears – Phil Steele nd Lindy’s – were published before the sexual assault scandal hit the news and led to the firing of Art Briles).

TCU and Oklahoma State are virtually tied, at No. 18 on the preseason consensus scale.

Texas earned a top-25 preseason ranking from Phil Steele and Lindy’s. Both had the Longhorns at No. 24.

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