There's apparently quite the Debbie Downer over at ESPN when it comes to the Oklahoma Sooners' expectations for the 2025 college football season.
ESPN's Pamela Maldonado recently published advice on how to bet on the season win total of eight trending college football teams with the season about to kick off and preseason expectations concluding. OU was among the teams, with Maldonado advising to take the under on the Sooners' already lowly 6.5-game win total.
ESPN writer advises to take the under on OU's 2025 season win total
According to the article, Maldonado has zero faith in the Sooners after a 6-7 season last year and her confidence in new additions quarterback John Mateer and running back Jaydn Ott behind OU's offensive line matches that.
"Cal transfer running back Jaydn Ott brings name recognition, but he wasn't fully healthy last season and didn't log a 100-yard rushing game. Even if Ott and Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer click in this offense, the Sooners' offensive line is still a major liability after giving up 50 sacks in 2024," Maldonado wrote.
Maldonado then closer her argument against the Sooners with, "For a team that went 2-6 in the SEC last season and still lacks proven playmakers, seven wins feels like a reach."
Despite a disappointing 2024 season, national expectations for the Sooners in 2025 from national pundits that mirror Maldonado's is more of the outlier. On3's Ari Wasserman even just had OU as a College Football Playoff team. And this might be an OU site, but I predicted the Sooners to go 9-3, and even that wasn't too radical.
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