The preseason Coaches Poll ahead of the 2026 college football season was released on Tuesday, and with it usually comes debate about if the Oklahoma Sooners and every other team are too high or too low. The Sooners, though, as boring as it might seem, are exactly where they should be to start the new campaign.
Oklahoma came in at No. 9 in the top 25 behind Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Indiana, Miami and Texas A&M, respectively. Of the eight teams ahead of the Sooners, three (No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Texas and No. 8 Texas A&M) are on their schedule, so if they do deserve to be higher than those squads, they’ll get the chance to prove it. And nothing is proven by preseason rankings but meaningless expectations anyway.
2026 Preseason Coaches Poll
Ranking | Team |
|---|---|
1 | Ohio State |
2 | Oregon |
3 | Georgia |
4 | Texas |
5 | Notre Dame |
6 | Indiana |
7 | Miami |
8 | Texas A&M |
9 | Oklahoma |
10 | Ole Miss |
11 | Alabama |
12 | Texas Tech |
13 | LSU |
14 | USC |
15 | BYU |
16 | Michigan |
17 | Penn State |
18 | Tennessee |
19 | Washington |
20 | SMU |
21 | Utah |
22 | Iowa |
23 | Clemson |
24 | Houston |
25 | Missouri |
No reason for OU fans to be upset as preseason Coaches Poll has Sooners as CFP contenders
Ultimately, that No. 9 spot has the Sooners rightfully with the expectations as College Football Playoff contenders. They should be again in 2026 after making the CFP as the 8-seed last season and going 10-3 while enduring a daunting schedule. Now, if the preseason coaches poll expected anything less than that of the Sooners, then fans would have a reason to complain.
The Sooners should once again have one of the best defenses in the country under Brent Venables, which is the unit that carried OU as far as it could in 2025. Now, the other side of the ball should be able to help pick up some slack with a much-improved offense around returning quarterback John Mateer and in Year 2 of offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle’s system.
It’s been somewhat overlooked this offseason the value the Sooners added to be better around Mateer. They brought in transfer receivers Trell Harris and Parker Livingstone to pair with returning top receiver Isaiah Sategna III. A revamped tight end group now coached by Jason Witten should also bolster the passing game while also helping the run game finally get going.
The Sooners also return four of five starting offensive linemen from 2025, and whoever earns that fifth spot on the line will also already have starting experience in the SEC. That group will protect Mateer and pave the way for a backfield that returns Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson.
Read more: John Mateer keeps giving Oklahoma fans every reason to believe in 2026
That has all the makings for another CFP season for the Sooners. The biggest question mark for OU has been if it can again navigate so smoothly through such a treacherous schedule. However, it doesn’t seem like the voting coaches knocked the Sooners for a tough schedule out of their control and that no one can predict.
Now more than ever, college football is harder to predict and gauge expectations because of fluid rosters. That’s why those with continuity like Sooners were rewarded and tend to be higher in these preseason rankings. Indiana and Miami, who met in the CFP National Championship Game last season, are the only teams in the top 10 that don’t return their starting quarterback. Essentially, no one ahead of OU really has less to start with.
The Venables-led Sooners are no longer disrespected, but they still need to exceed expectations, not just meet them, no matter how accurate they seem in August.
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