Way-too-early top-10 ranking sparks massive 2026 optimism for Oklahoma fans

On the same day of the College Football Playoff National Championship, the first set of preseason rankings for next season from a national outlet was already released to give Sooner Nation extremely early hope for the 2026 season.

On3 on Monday before Indiana and Miami play for a national title revealed its 2026 Way-Too-Early College Football Top 25, with the Oklahoma Sooners just inside the top 10 at No. 10, which would be good enough to earn another playoff berth if true.

Sooners crack top 10 of On3 2026 Way-Too-Early College Football Top 25

The Sooners were one of nine SEC teams On3 included in the top 25, with four in the top 10 as OU was the fourth-highest ranked team from the conference behind No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Texas and No. 8 Texas A&M. Including No. 11 Michigan in an early nonconference challenge, the Sooners' 2026 schedule includes six teams from these early preseason rankings.

Stock in the Sooners drastically rose last week when it was confirmed they would return three of their top playmakers from 2025 in quarterback John Mateer, wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III and linebacker Kip Lewis. It was revealed on the same day that all three would return to play their final season with the Sooners instead of leaving for the NFL early or even hitting the Transfer Portal.

With the trio's decision, the Sooners miraculously managed to return every solidified starter from 2025 that still had eligibility left and was able to. OU has also put together an impressive transfer haul that's headlined by receivers Parker Livingstone and Trell Harris on offense, and linebacker Cole Sullivan from Michigan to pair with Lewis on the defensive side of the ball.

No matter how silly it seems being this premature, this early top-10 ranking shows the dramatic turnaround Brent Venables pulled off at Oklahoma. The Sooners were nowhere to be found in any way-too-early preseason rankings this time last year after going 6-7 in 2024. But then they went 10-2 during the regular season and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff, which has resparked the standard expectations set in Norman.