There appears to be some sort of disconnect between the Las Vegas oddsmakers and several of the popular college football preview publications regarding what to expect from Team 132, otherwise known as the 2026 edition of Oklahoma Sooners football.
Most of the win-loss projections that have been publically released have Oklahoma's win total for the 2026 season projected between 7.5 and 8.5, despite the fact that the Sooners are expected to be better than the team that won 10 games and made the College Football Playoff last season.
While it is true that Oklahoma is expected to be stronger on offense and should again feature one of the SEC's and the country's top defensive units, the Sooners' schedule is also again expected to be one of the most difficult in all of college football, especially over the first half of the season. OU's first five opponents in the 2026 season, for example, include road trips to Michigan and Georgia and the annual Red River Rivalry game against Texas in Dallas.
It's those first five games is that has a number of college football pundits and prognosticators concerned that even an Oklahoma team expected to be better than a year ago will be hard pressed to duplicate or better its 10 wins of last season. Sooner fans, though, can take some heart in knowing that not everyone in the college football media universe feels that way.
This is the time of year on the calendar when all of the college preview magazines and digital outlines start flooding the marketplace with rankings and predictions and all kinds of analysis and information to fill the college football news void, but more importantly, to boost fan anticipation and excitement about the coming season.
Among the popular preview publications and major sports media outlets that have already put their stake in the ground as far as what the top-25 national rankings and the conference rankings should look like to kick off the 2026 college football season are ESPN, USA Today, CBS Sports, Athlon Sports and Sporting News.
Here is what these five media outlets are saying about how Oklahoma football will stack up in the SEC in 2026 in its third full season as a member of that elite conference:
National media has Oklahoma in top half of SEC
ESPN
ESPN projects Oklahoma as the sixth-best team in the SEC this season. The Sooners finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the final 2025 SEC standings. QB John Mateer is back and healthy after breaking a bone in his hand early in the season a year ago. The Sooners have improved the supporting cast around their starting quarterback, adding more weapons at running back and in the receiver corps. The question being: How much will the offense improve and what, if any, decline will there be in a defense that is not as deep?
USA Today
The USA Today Sports college football staff projects Oklahoma to finish as high as No. 3 in the SEC this season behind Texas and Georgia, respectively.
"The Sooners are a team to watch after taking a leap into the playoff last season. Having already turned the defense into one of the league's best, Brent Venables now looks for similar growth from an offense that brings back senior quarterback John Mateer and added transfer receivers Trell Harris (Virginia) and Parker Livingstone (Texas) to join established starter Isaiah Sategna III," writes USA staff writer Paul Myerberg.
CBS Sports
CBS Sports projects Oklahoma to finish with eight wins and four losses and in a three-way tie with Texas A&M and Tennessee for sixth place in the SEC standings this season, each with a 5-4 record in conference play.
Read more: Brad Crawford sees Oklahoma walking an agonizing CFP tightrope again
Athlon Sports
Athlon Sports projects the Sooners to finish No. 3 in the SEC standings for 2026 behind Georgia and Texas, respectively.
"After carrying the team to the playoff last year, the defense should have more help from the offense in '26...Quarterback John Mateer should be more comfortable in his second year in Norman, and the offensive line is poised for a step forward...Isaiah Sategna is back, with transfers Trell Harris (Virginia) and Parker Livingstone (Texas) adding key playmakers to the receiving corps. Also, the Sooners have much-needed help coming at tight end in the form of Florida transfer Hayden Hansen," Steven Lassan wrote.
Sporting News
Sporting News has Oklahoma as the No. 10 team in its national rankings to begin the 2026 season and as the fourth-best team in the SEC this season behind Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss.
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