The standard is the standard. After making it back to the College Football Playoff for the first time in years, this is the new benchmark of annual success for Oklahoma football. Are the Sooners part of the dirty dozen or not? Last season saw Brent Venables' team dominate in SEC play and in the non-conference with its relentless pass rush and an occasionally timely offense against a brutal schedule.
However, what the Sooners have done this past offseason does not appear to be enough in the eyes of one ESPN writer. Craig Haubert, who covers recruiting for them, did not have the Sooners among his "12 teams that improved their 2026 CFP chances with their roster moves". While the article title is a bit clunky, it still did not change the fact that Haubert does not have Oklahoma back in the playoff...
Of the six teams he believes "Who have loaded up for another playoff run?", Oklahoma is not among likely return candidates such as Georgia, Indiana, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon, and Texas Tech. To be fair, those teams feel like early locks to be back next year anyway. He has LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, UNLV, and USC rounding out the field. Those are all fair assessments, but where is Oklahoma?
Well, OU fans can blame it on its No. 24 portal class and its No. 17 recruiting class out of high school.
Brent Venables' staff may not have done enough in recruitment for 2026
Truth be told, we might just be splitting hairs a bit here. Outside of the six teams Haubert mentioned as likely return candidates to the playoff, you would be lying to yourself if you did not think teams that were just on the outside looking in at a berth in Notre Dame and Texas could be serious candidates for spots this season. Add in the Group of Five champion, and we only have three spots left to be had!
So if we really want to get down to brass tax, why are teams like LSU, Michigan, and USC getting in over the Sooners? Along with teams such as Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M, would Oklahoma not be right there in the same cluster of teams with them, too? What Oklahoma has going for it is an ascending team and an emerging superstar quarterback with a chip on his shoulder in John Mateer.
In short, if the defense can somewhat hold steady, and if the offense is even marginally better, how is this not a playoff team? Yes, Oklahoma may not measure up with some of these teams in recruitment, but the game has changed. It is not a prerequisite to have a top-five class out of high school year over year to make the playoff. Yes, it helps, but it is no longer a requirement. Oklahoma is not far off.
To attempt to tie a bow on this, Oklahoma should once again field one of the better and deeper teams in the country, especially in the SEC. If the SEC gets four teams into the tournament, how sure are we Oklahoma is on the outside looking in? What if it got five teams into the field in back-to-back years? The point is Oklahoma may not have had to crush it in recruiting as much as other teams needed to.
Ultimately, this will be the one area where Venables is going to have to own it. If Oklahoma makes it back into the playoff anyway, he and his staff have every reason to be chirping about what they accomplished. However, if OU comes up even a spot or two short of making it back into the playoff, fans will easily look to their recruiting efforts and wonder if Venables could have done more this year.
For now, Oklahoma is among the 24 or so teams in FBS with serious playoff aspriations for 2026.