The SEC Network's Paul Finebaum is one of a number of college football experts who have spoken positively about the offseason adjustments Oklahoma has made on offense, and because of that, believes the Sooners are primed for a marked turnaround in 2025.
While Finebaum has been bullish about what the Sooners could become in their fourth season under head coach Brent Venables and season No. 2 in the SEC, there is one thing, he says, that could easily derail all of that.
As a guest this week on the "McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning" podcast at SEC Media Days, Finebaum was asked which SEC team that is projected to finish in the middle of the pack this season could end up in the upper tier by the end of the season. The first team that came to mind, he said, was Oklahoma, but the extraordinarily tough schedule makes him question that.
"I really like Oklahoma until I look at the schedule and that's when I get a little bit squeamish," Finebaum said.
OU's schedule worries SEC expert
To Finebaum's point, playing in the SEC, considered by virtually everybody as the strongest football conference in the country, is difficult enough. And the Sooners' 2025 schedule is living proof of that. Of Oklahoma's 12 regular-season games this fall, eight are against teams that are ranked among the top-25 teams in practically every way-too-early 2025 preseason projection.
"With John Mateer and all the things that they have added, they have a chance to, if we're sitting there at the end of November, a little bit like Texas A&M at the end of last year, a legitimate road to the playoff," Finebaum said.
Venables and the Sooners definitely have something to prove this season. It is clear, however, that the schedule also is going to have a lot to say about Oklahoma's prospects for a better season in 2025.
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