Preseason AP Top 25 Poll is another eye-opener for what kind of 2026 schedule Oklahoma has on deck

Preseason polls just exist to create expectations, and like we already knew, the Oklahoma Sooners can expect a gauntlet during the 2026 college football season. 

The Sooners came in at No. 10 when the preseason AP Top 25 Poll was revealed on Monday. There’s not much of a storyline there with getting OU ranked about where was expected, but the rest of the top 25 was an eye-opener for what the Sooners will have to get through to reach the College Football Playoff again. 

Read more: Oklahoma's preseason ranking feels right but Sooners still have plenty to prove

The preseason top 25 featured six teams on the Sooners’ 2026 schedule, including No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 Texas, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 16 Michigan and No. 25 Missouri. Florida, South Carolina and New Mexico were also on the outside looking in while receiving votes to be ranked. 

Preseason AP Top 25 Poll

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame
5. Texas
6. Indiana
7. Miami (FL)
8. Texas A&M
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech
13. Alabama
14. BYU
14. USC
16. Michigan
17. Washington
18. Penn State
19. SMU
20. Tennessee
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Houston
24. Louisville
25. Missouri

Brent Venables-led Sooners have overcome SEC gauntlet before

Oklahoma rounded out the top 10, which is definitely not a disrespectful spot and still puts the Sooners in position to make the CFP again. Yet, the Sooners will still have to face four teams that at least start the year ahead of them. A top-10 team entering the season as an underdog in four games, at least based on rankings, is unheard of. 

Most of those projected top-25 matchups should also stick because of the Sooners’ front-loaded schedule. They get all of No. 16 Michigan, No. 3 Georgia and No. 5 Texas within the first five games. Considering how early in the year those games are, none of those teams will experience a catastrophic enough of a fall to be unranked by the time they face Oklahoma. 

Michigan will likely even crack the top 15 by that Week 2 meeting. If Texas beats Ohio State, then the Longhorns could be on top heading into that second week of October. Georgia could also be No. 1 by Week 4 depending on how things shake out. 

All of those games are also away from Norman, with trips to Ann Arbor, Athens and Dallas for the neutral-site Red River Rivalry. 

Read more: Oklahoma 2026 football schedule sets up best for the Sooners' worst-case scenario

That’s the kind of nightmare that had Lincoln Riley running scared to USC before OU’s move from the Big 12. It’s a dream for Brent Venables, though, as he could get the Sooners to the CFP in back-to-back seasons and leave no doubt they belong there.

This is the same preseason storyline the Sooners had last year before getting to the postseason at 10-2 and on a four-game winning streak. Expectations might be set, but expect the unexpected in college football. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow