Next month, the annual college football preview publications will begin hitting the newsstands and digital media, and Oklahoma football will likely be included in most of the top-25 projections ahead of the 2025 season.
Athlon Sports has revealed the top-25 teams that will be featured in its annual College Football Preview Guide that comes out in the next few weeks. Oklahoma was at No. 20 in the Athlon Preseason Top 25 for 2025. The Sooners were one of 10 SEC teams in the top 25, including four -- No. 1 Texas, No. 4 Georgia, No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Alabama -- in the top 10.
Athlon Sports ranks Oklahoma 20th in 2025 College Football Preview issue
This is a change from the Athlon Sports way-too-early 2025 Top 25 projection issued back in January, along with the cascade of others that came out immediately following the College Football Playoff national championship game won by Ohio State over Notre Dame. The Sooners were not included in that way-too-early top 25 forecast or in what the staff at Athlon Sports called "The Next Tier" (26 through 30). Oklahoma was, however, listed among a group of 17 other teams under the sub-headline "Other teams to watch in 2025."
It's important to note that the way-too-early top-25 rankings came out before it was officially announced that former Washington State quarterback John Mateer was transferring to OU, where he would rejoin Ben Arbuckle, Oklahoma's new offensive coordinator and Mateer's OC during his breakout 2024 season at Washington State.
The Sooners have also made other major changes to the roster and staff since January, including the hiring of former NFL scout and Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy as general manager. Nagy works closely with head coach Brent Venables to help construct a roster capable of competing at a championship level.
With what ESPN called one of the best offseasons among Power Four conference teams in terms of recruits and transfers, the actions Oklahoma has taken since it played its last game of the 2024 season have drawn the attention and favor of a number or national college football analysts who have said the Sooners will be one of the most improved teams this coming season.
The media is starting to believe. Now the Sooners have to go out and provide proof of concept by delivering the expected results on the field, but have to with five of the 10 SEC teams in Athlon Sports' College Football Preview Top 25, plus No. 15 Michigan on OU's schedule this coming season.
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