Athlon ranks Oklahoma eighth nationally, tabs Sooners as SEC 'Playoff Contenders' for 2026

Athlon Sports analyst Steve Lassan placed Oklahoma in his second tier — labeled 'Playoff Contenders' — in a preseason breakdown of all 16 SEC programs, ranking the Sooners eighth nationally and third in the conference behind Georgia and Texas. Lassan positioned Oklahoma atop that second grouping, ahead of Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Tennessee, noting that four of those six teams, including the Sooners, earned spots in last season's 12-team College Football Playoff field.

The rankings arrive as Oklahoma enters its third season in the SEC and fifth under head coach Brent Venables. The program has alternated between 6-7 and 10-3 records in each of Venables' first four seasons, going 6-7 in 2022, 10-3 in 2023, 6-7 in 2024, and 10-3 again in 2025, when the Sooners reached the College Football Playoff for the first time under his tenure before exiting in the first round.

Will Oklahoma's offense take a big step forward with a healthy John Mateer returning at quarterback?

— Steve Lassan, Athlon Sports

Mateer development seen as critical variable

Quarterback John Mateer's 2025 season was complicated by a throwing-hand injury. He finished with 2,885 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, along with 431 rushing yards and eight scores — a step back from the numbers he posted at Washington State in 2024, when he threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns while rushing for 826 yards and 15 scores. On3 analyst J.D. PicKell said he expects a significant rebound in Mateer's final college season.

I think that John Mateer, going into his second year as the guy in Norman, and going into, I think it's like Year 4 in Ben Arbuckle's offense, will be so much better. I think he's going to be so much better from the neck up playing the game. He's seen the live bullets in the SEC now. He knows what it is to expect from the speed of the game.

— J.D. PicKell, On3 'The Hard Count'

Oklahoma's special teams unit, frequently cited as an underappreciated factor in the 2025 playoff run, is expected to carry over. Kicker Tate Sandell, a transfer from UT San Antonio, went 24-of-27 on field goals and a perfect 35-of-35 on extra points last season, winning the Lou Groza Award. Punter Grayson Miller, who transferred in from Central Oklahoma, averaged 45.8 yards per punt, ranking 34th in college football. Both earned preseason All-SEC recognition heading into 2026, with Oklahoma improving from 41st to 10th in special teams efficiency between 2024 and 2025.

Analysts broadly agree that Oklahoma's defense provides a reliable foundation, but the program's ceiling in 2026 hinges on whether offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and a healthy Mateer can elevate a unit that underperformed relative to expectations in Year 1 of the SEC era.