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Oklahoma football No. 4 in ESPN’s ‘Way Too Early’ Top 25 for 2018

By Chip Rouse

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: A general view of the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: A general view of the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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There will be a changing of the guard in a number of Oklahoma football starting positions next season, but at least one media source projects the Sooners to hold steady and begin the 2018 season as a top-four team.

The 2017 college football season is now in the history books, save for the perfunctory college all-star games, which are more NFL tryouts than anything to do with the college level. Which means it’s time to adjust the rear-view mirror and begin looking ahead some 30 weeks, give or take – oh, my, is it really that long – to the start of the 2018 season.

Some have already begun paving the way for us, with the first of the infamous “Way Too Early” preseason top-25 rankings. The good news is I count at least seven media sources projecting Oklahoma in the top-10 to begin next season.

The better news is that ESPN’s Mark Schlabach has the Sooners No. 4 in the sports network’s “Way Too Early” college football top 25 for 2018.

National champion Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State are the three teams Schlabach projects ahead of Oklahoma to begin next season. Of note, Georgia is projected behind the Sooners, presumably because they lose their dynamic running back duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.

Here is how six other media outlets rank Oklahoma among the top 25 teams this far out ahead of the 2018 season:

CBS Sports: No. 1 Alabama, No. 8 Oklahoma – “The Sooners once again will be prohibitive favorites to win the Big 12.”

Yahoo Sports: No. 1 Georgia, No. 8 Oklahoma – “Baker Mayfield is gone, and this is Kyler Murray’s team now. Expect to see more quarterback-designed runs as Lincoln Riley tailors his offense to Murrary’s talents.”

USA Today: No. 7 Oklahoma – Oklahoma may not replicate this past season’s success, but with Kyler Murray set to offer a different dimension as a runner, the offense should remain as potent as you’ll find in the Football Bowl Subdivision.”

Sporting News: No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 Oklahoma – “Kyler Murray, a Texas high school legend, should be ready to take the QB job, but early tests against Florida Atlantic (yes, really) and UCLA will accelerate that learning curve.”

Sports Illustrated: No. 1 Alabama, No. 8 – “Lincoln Riley’s team should be an offensive juggernaut as always.”

Athlon Sports: No. 1 Alabama, No. 6 Oklahoma – “Kyler Murray should keep the (offensive) unit performing at a high level. Murray’s transition to the lineup should be eased by running backs Rodney Anderson and Trey Sermon, along with receivers Marquise Brown and CeeDee Lamb.”

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