The college football preseason is nothing but predictions, so why not make three bold ones for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2025 before they kick things off against Illinois State on Aug. 30?
Brent Venables will keep his job
While most of these predictions favor OU, this one could actually be bad news for part of Sooner Nation, while a small majority of OU fans are also still in denial that Brent Venables is even on the hot seat entering Year 4 as the head ball coach.
Venables is undeniably coaching for his job in 2025, and I believe he saves it. Some have put a steep mark for Venables to save himself with the Sooners needing 8-9 wins, and this might spoil my future game-by-game predictions, but I believe Venables turns things around enough to see a fifth season in Norman.
John Mateer will be better than Arch Manning
You can call me a homer for this, but I'm not the only one who believes new OU QB1 John Mateer will outdo Texas QB Arch Manning, who has better Heisman Trophy odds than any player in the country.
Manning has hype, and lots of it, but hype doesn't complete passes for yards and touchdowns. Mateer led all of FBS with 44 total TDs last season in his first year as a starter at Washington State. Now, he's competing against much stiffer competition, but he's also a lot better with a year of experience in Ben Arbuckle's system and has more weapons around him. This will be Manning's year to gain that experience with only two career starts.
Mateer will eclipse Manning in every way this season. That means he'll not only put up more impressive numbers, but yes, even outduel Manning head-to-head in the Red River Rivalry.
Sooners will finish regular season fighting for spot in CFP
The point of expanding the College Football Playoff to 12 teams was to not only give more programs a shot at a national title, but also keep more fan bases engaged for longer. Sooner Nation will be locked in until the very end in 2025.
The Sooners will conclude the regular season with a home game in Norman against LSU, a preseason top-10 team and legit CFP contender. The SEC will certainly beat up on itself, but could also have four teams get into the 12-team field. Even if the Sooners and Tigers suffer some big blows during the SEC brawl, neither will be knocked out before this meeting.
Heading into the season, OU's Week 2 matchup with Michigan has been deemed by many as the most important on the schedule, but by Week 14, this one will be, with the winner sneaking into the College Football Playoff.
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