The Oklahoma Sooners are starting to earn back the respect they lost during a 6-7 2024 season.
ESPN on Thursday released its post-spring Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings, and after an impressive spring, the Sooners finally made the cut. After being left out when ESPN did its last set of rankings on Jan. 20, OU just cracked the top 25 this time at No. 25.
The Sooners were the ninth SEC team listed in the rankings, with Texas topping the conference at No. 3. Penn State was ranked first.
Sooners crack ESPN 2025 post-spring Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings
ESPN's Mark Schlabach, who created the rankings, mentioned OU's looming offensive transformation under new coordinator Ben Arbuckle as a reason to believe OU is back on the come-up.
The Sooners also added quarterback John Mateer, who followed Arbuckle from Washington State and will be playing in the same system after leading the FBS with 44 total touchdowns last season. Mateer was the No. 1 player available in the transfer portal this winter when he committed.
Then, after landing the top transfer quarterback, the Sooners went and got running back Jaydn Ott from Cal this spring, leading to OU's boost in ESPN's most recent rankings. Ott was the No. 1 running back available in the transfer portal.
The Sooners also added Stanford offensive lineman Jake Maikkula, Utah State defensive tackle Ricky Lolohea, UTSA kicker Tate Sandell and McNeese wide receiver Jer'Michael Carter during the spring. Everyone but Lolohea should make an immediate impact in the 2025 season.
While trying to completely redo a horrible offense, the Sooners return a host of talent on the defense side of the ball, including defensive end R Mason Thomas, who is already a projected first-round 2026 NFL Draft pick.
"With home games against Michigan, Auburn, Texas (in Dallas), Ole Miss and LSU, and road games at South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, Oklahoma will have to be much better to be a surprise," Schlabach wrote.
The Sooners will kick off the 2025 season against Illinois State on Aug. 30.
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