After back-to-back seasons of absolutely brutal schedules in their first two years in the SEC, the Oklahoma Sooners finally have one that sets up beautifully in 2026.
The SEC on Thursday evening released full schedules for every conference member after already announcing future opponents earlier this year. Although the Sooners' 2026 opponents were already known, it was a surprise when the SEC set OU up for success for some of its potentially biggest challenges.
SEC reveals Sooners 2026 full schedule
Sept. 5: vs UTEP
Sept. 12: at Michigan
Sept. 19: vs New Mexico
Sept. 26: at Georgia
Oct. 3: BYE
Oct. 10: vs Texas
Oct. 17: vs Kentucky
Oct. 24: at Mississippi State
Oct. 31: vs South Carolina
Nov. 7: at Florida
Nov. 14: vs Ole Miss
Nov. 21: vs Texas A&M
Nov. 28: at Missouri
With that nonconference matchup against Michigan losing its shine after Sherrone Moore's firing and the Wolverines' possibly losing star quarterback Bryce Underwood, the trip to Georgia on Sept. 26 and the annual clash with Texas in the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 10 will clearly be the Sooners' toughest tasks in 2026.
Baring a major upset, the Sooners and Georgia should both meet Week 4 at 3-0 in what will be OU's SEC opener after the Bulldogs take on Arkansas the week before. Just before that, the Sooners host New Mexico out of the Mountain West. The Lobos aren't a guarantee after going 9-3 this season, but that should still be an easy enough win for the Sooners they can start preparing early for Georgia and make sure everyone is fully healthy.
Having Georgia immediately before Texas initially looks brutal, but that bye week buffer for the Sooners is huge in negating that back-to-back challenge. However, two wins in a row over potentially top-10 teams would still look stellar on a resume to the College Football Playoff committee.
Worst-case scenario is OU loses both of those games to Georgia and Texas. Again, though, the layout of the schedule benefits the Sooners. After that, the Sooners' schedule is pretty gravy, at least by SEC standards. There's plenty of time to recover, and entering the postseason on a seven-game winning streak and finishing 10-2 also wouldn't be out of the question realistically.