For the past couple of months, we've been saying -- anxiously anticipating, really -- football season is just around the corner. Last week, we took another giant step toward that reality with the start of fall training camp for Oklahoma football Team 132.
The Sooners are beginning their third season in the SEC and fifth under head coach Brent Venables. The 2025 season was a breakout year for Oklahoma football in the SEC, with the Sooners reaching 10 wins and earning a coveted spot in the College Football Playoff.
Despite the four-win improvement and playoff appearance last season, for the third consecutive year, Oklahoma was projected to finish in the middle or lower in the pack in the annual SEC Preseason Media Poll. In the SEC, after all, it's more about demonstrating you can do what you did last season on a more regular basis before you can be recognized as a legitimate conference title contender.
The Sooners were a perennial preseason favorite the majority of years Oklahoma was in the Big 12, but this is the SEC, where things are much different. For example, the Sooners are projected to finish seventh this season in the SEC Media Poll. In the first US LBM Coaches Poll for the 2026 season, however, Oklahoma is ranked No. 9 nationally to start the new season. And the Sooners might be higher than that were it not for the fact that four other SEC teams are ranked ahead of them.
The proof will always in the pudding, as the popular expression goes. Venables, his supporting staff and the players themselves believe they have the right stuff to have another strong season in 2026. But they also have another insanely difficult schedule to navigate through, including road contests against three teams ranked in the preseason top 25 in the first five games.
Having the right stuff in the right place and at the right time is what many so-called media experts are not counting on and precisely why Oklahoma is primed to surprise a lot of people when the games begin for real in less than a month.
And here are seven reasons why:
1. John Mateer is back, healthy and as determined as ever to be better
It all starts with quarterback John Mateer. Mateer is back for another season as the Sooners' QB1, injury free and ready to show that his intensive offseason work and physical and mental preparation is going to make him a much-improved player in 2026.
"Keeping your brain calm, keep your body calm, keep your feet calm," Mateer told reporters after practice on Friday. "It's really the feet (that) are the biggest thing. Knowing where your feet need to be, knowing how to get there and then just feeling the pocket."
OU quarterbacks coach John Kuceyeski, who along with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is in his fourth season working with Mateer dating back to their time together at Washington State, says last season there were a lot of different things in play throughout the season, but it was new every week.
"Every week was a new defense," Kuceyeski said. "It was a new scheme that maybe he hasn't played against, and so now it's that calmness of falling into some comfortability with that."
Another reason Mateer will be better this season is because the offense around him is more experienced and with additional weapons.
2. Offensive line should be one of the best under Brent Venables
Oklahoma started three very talented freshmen on the offensive line last season -- former five-star Michael Fasusi, Ryan Fodje and Eddy Pierre-Louis. All three are back and with a year's experience playing in the defensive juggernaut that is the SEC. Additionally, Jake Maikkula returns from injury as the starting center, and the Sooners picked up versatile offensive lineman E'Marion Harris, who can play either guard or tackle, from the Arkansas Razorbacks out of the SEC.
Some believe the OU offensive line could be the best in the SEC this season. Short of that, though, it stacks up as the best in Venables' five seasons as the Sooners' head coach.
3. Huge upgrade at tight end
For the past couple of seasons, productivity from the tight-end position has been a noticeable flaw and sorely absent from the Sooners' once-explosive offense. All that is about to change in 2026.
In a busy offseason, Oklahoma brought in three experienced tight ends from the transfer portal, two of whom have experience playing in the SEC. Hayden Hansen, the likely starter, comes to Norman after four seasons at Florida, and Jack Van Dorselaer saw action last season as a freshman at Tennessee.
Former Colorado State transfer Rocky Beers has also joined the mix. All three transfer additions are touted to be excellent run blockers, which should enhance OU's run game.
The Sooners also changed position coaches at tight end, hiring former Dallas Cowboys' All-Pro Jason Witten to replace Joe Jon Finley, which should enhance future recruiting at the position.
4. OU's rushing attack will be better because of the supporting cast around it
Better and more experienced O-line and TE personnel groupings by extension should deliver better run-game results for Oklahoma in the 2026 season. The Sooners have a couple of talented running backs returning in Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson, but they also have several exciting additions to the RB room with true freshman Jonathan Hatton Jr., Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant and true freshman DeZephen Walker providing more depth to the position this time around.
The Sooners have also added a couple more playmakers to the receiving corps for the coming season, which will give Mateer additional receiving targets and open up the aerial game. The combination of all of these elements can't help but benefit Oklahoma's rushing offense.
5. Expect another OU elite defense
There is little question that Oklahoma's ability to produce 10 wins last season and make the College Football Playoff was largely the doing of the best defensive unit in the SEC and the sixth best in the country. That's pretty ironic, really, when you consider that just a few short years ago the Sooner defense ranked 122nd in the country.
Oklahoma is missing some key pieces from last season's top SEC defensive team, but many believe that with the starting talent the Sooners have returning, plus the emerging talent that existed among the backups a year ago and with Venables continuing to call the shots on the defensive side of the ball, Oklahoma should be as good, if not better, on defense this season.
With the improvements taking place on offense, another elite Oklahoma defense should be a scary thought for the Sooners' 2026 opponents.
6. Outstanding special teams
Special teams can help you win a lot of football games for you and Oklahoma has two of the country's best kickers in 2025 Lou Groza Award winner Tate Sandell and punter Grayson Miller. Sandell was 11th in the country last season in field goal percentage (88.9) and 22nd in scoring, averaging 8.2 points per game. Miller averaged 45.9 yards per punt, best in the SEC and 13th in the country. Speedy Sooner wide receiver Isaiah Sategna, averaged 24.5 yards per punt return a year ago, 10th best nationally. All of these special teams weapons are back for Oklahoma this season.
7. Tough early schedule will make Sooners stronger for the finish
Much has been made of how difficult the Oklahoma football schedule is again this season. Adding to that issue is the fact that the degree of difficulty is severely front-loaded. Three of the Sooners' first five games are against teams ranked in the Coaches Poll Preseason Top 25 (No. 16 Michigan, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas). OU faced an equally tough schedule in 2025, yet it managed to successfully navigate through it and win 10 games.
Read more: Oklahoma 2026 football schedule sets up best for the Sooners' worst-case scenario
Venables is a head coach who truly believes that playing the best teams brings out the best in your team. Playing some big games early in the schedule should only make the Sooners stronger for the finish. And if OU is fortunate enough to win as many as four of those early games, watch out!
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