Later this month, Oklahoma will kick off its second season as a member of the SEC, the best of the four power conferences in college football. And with a conference schedule that is virtually identical to what it was a year ago, except for where the games will be played, the Sooners will again go up against one of the most difficult schedules in the country.
According to the ESPN College Football Power Index, Oklahoma has the third-hardest schedule entering the 2025 season. And here's why: The 10 most difficult schedules among teams at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level belong to teams that reside in the SEC, based on the FPI metrics, and as many as 10 teams out of the SEC, including the Sooners, are projected to begin the season in the nation's top 25.
Of the 12 games on Oklahoma's 2025 schedule, eight are against opponents projected to be ranked in the top 25, including the Sooners' final seven games of the regular season. ESPN college football writer Chris Low ranked OU's three-game stretch beginning with the annual Red River Rivalry game with Texas as the toughest in college football this season.
There is a good chance the Sooners will head into their annual second-weekend-in-October showdown with archrival Texas riding high and undefeated with a 5-0 record. But that's when the real work begins.
The 4-game stretch that will define Oklahoma's 2025 season
Based on the ESPN 2025 post-spring top-25 projections, Oklahoma will play No. 3 Texas (also with a good chance to be 5-0) on Oct. 11. That contest will be followed by a road game the next weekend at No. 13 South Carolina, and then a home game on Oct. 25 against No. 24 Ole Miss. And you could even stretch this killer gauntlet to a fourth consecutive weekend when the Sooners play at Tennessee on Nov. 1.
The Sooners lost to all four teams a year ago by an average score of 30-8, and three of the four games this season are away from home, where Oklahoma was 1-5 in 2024.
In large part, the Sooners chances of reaching eight or nine wins in 2025 will be determined by the outcome of this four-game stretch over consecutive weekends. As if that won't be difficult enough, OU closes out the season with a road game at Alabama on Nov. 15, followed by back-to-back home games against Missouri and LSU on Nov. 22 and 29, respectively.
The 2025 journey begins on Aug. 30 with a game under the lights at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium against Illinois State.
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