Even if the real Oklahoma Sooners aren't respectable in 2025, Sooner Nation can still at least enjoy a solid OU team in the video game.
EA Sports on Friday released top-25 team rankings and ratings for CFB26, which releases on July 10. Despite a lackluster 2024, EA Sports still has respect for the Sooners and Brent Venables' ability to turn things around, and ranked OU as the No. 17 team in the country with an overall rating of 85. The Sooners' offense and defense were also ranked inside the top 20 in unit rankings.
Sooners earn respectable ratings from EA Sports
Despite a historically bad offense in 2024, EA Sports surprisingly gave OU's offense a rating of 87, which ranked 14th. EA Sports apparently has faith in the changes Venables made to improve the offense.
Venables hired Ben Arbuckle away from Washington State to be OU's new offensive coordinator. Arbuckle then brought with him quarterback John Mateer, who was the top prospect in the transfer portal this offseason. The Sooners this spring then added running back Jaydn Ott from Cal. Ott was the No. 1 running back in the portal.
However, OU's biggest weakness last season was the offensive line, so the Sooners' real improvement will rely on the big guys up front.
Defensively, the Sooners were solid as a top-25 unit last season despite a losing record. EA Sports expects about the same from OU again, ranking the defense at No. 17 with a rating of 88.
EA Sports' top five teams for the 2025 season are Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame, respectively. No team, though, got an overall rating in the 90s, with Alabama at 89. The SEC had 11 teams included in the CFB26 top 26.
CFB26's top offense will be Texas at 91 and the best defense will be Alabama at 96.
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