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Oklahoma football: Sooners No. 5 in SI 2018 Preseason Top 25

By Chip Rouse

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: The Sooner Schooner is seen before the Oklahoma Sooners take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal 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: The Sooner Schooner is seen before the Oklahoma Sooners take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal 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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The Sports Illustrated 2018 College Football Preview issue is out this week, and this season edition of Oklahoma football checks in at the No. 5 spot in the magazine’s preseason top 25.

light. Related Story. Sooners start out No. 5 in the 2018 Coaches Poll

It’s becoming a nice pattern, with the most recent preseason rankings placing the Sooners in the top five to begin the 2018 season.

Although head coach Lincoln Riley’s squad has been a consensus top-10 pick by all the earlier college football preview magazines and the way-too-early college football prognosticators, the Sooners appear to be picking up ground now that we are just three short weeks away from the kickoff of another season.

Oklahoma also ranked No. 5 in the initial Amway Coaches Poll for the 2018 season, which was issued just last week.

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Clemson is the No. 1 team in the Sports Illustrated Top 25 for the coming season, edging out No. 2 Alabama, the reigning national champion. The Crimson Tide defeated Clemson in overtime last season to regain the championship trophy after losing to the Tigers in the same game the year before.

Wisconsin, Washington and Oklahoma complete the top five.

The Sooners are the highest rated Big 12 team in the SI preseason rankings, although four teams from the conference made it into the top 25 published in this week’s issue of the popular sports magazine.

West Virginia is the No. 10 team in the SI Top 25. TCU comes in at No. 14, and the Texas Longhorns are ranked 22nd.

The SEC and the Big Ten both placed five teams in SI’s Preseason Top 25 rankings, while the Big 12 and ACC placed four each.

This is the third straight year the SI editors have ranked Oklahoma among the top six teams in the magazine’s College Football Preview issue. The Sooners were in the No. 6 spot in both 2016 and 2017.

How accurate is the Sports Illustrated Preseason Top 25? Well, last season, Oklahoma State was the No. 4 team, two spots higher than the Sooners. The editors didn’t make that same mistake this time around.

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