Count Paul Finebaum Amongst Oklahoma's Doubters in 2026

Oklahoma appears to be back on Paul Finebaum’s bad side.

The Sooners debuted in the preseason AP Poll ranked No. 10, which sent the unofficial voice of the Southeastern Conference into one of his notorious rants on SportsCenter.

“I don’t know how people realistically think Oklahoma is going to finish in the top 10,” Finebaum said when asked about the biggest surprises in the poll.

“You can say whatever you want about what they have in John Mateer… But their schedule is beyond brutal. Second week of the year they go to Michigan, so Michigan is highly regarded in the top 20. Then what’s going to happen when Oklahoma gets there?

“And that’s not even talking about a road trip to Georgia in September, Red River against Texas. I don’t know how they finish in the top 10.”

"I don't know how people realistically think Oklahoma's going to finish in the top 10."

–@finebaum on the biggest surprise of the college football rankings 👀 pic.twitter.com/Y26z8hmjq3
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 17, 2026

Finebaum is right. Oklahoma’s schedule is brutal.

Half of OU’s schedule landed in the preseason Top 25.

The Sooners will travel to No. 16 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia in the first four weeks of the year, as Finebaum noted, and Texas debuted at No. 5.

Oklahoma is also slated to host No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Ole Miss and travel to No. 25 Missouri.

Three more of the Sooners’ opponents — Florida, South Carolina and New Mexico — also received votes in the poll.

OU hasn’t shied away from how difficult this year’s schedule is, but the Sooners carry a quiet confidence based on how they handled a grueling slate last year.

Oklahoma dispatched Michigan in Norman in the offense’s second game under offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.

The Sooners then ran untouched through their November slate, which included trips to Knoxville and Tuscaloosa to take on Tennessee and Alabama, despite John Mateer playing through a hand injury and the team starting a trio of freshmen on the offensive line.

Those pieces up front — Michael Fasusi, Eddy Pierre-Louis and Ryan Fodje — are a year older and have been joined by veteran Arkansas transfer E’Marion Harris.

OU will watch the health of center Jake Maikkula closely after he sustained an injury during Saturday’s scrimmage, but the Sooners will lean on a defense that projects to be excellent again this fall.

Improvement from the offense, especially on the ground, paired with another elite showing by Brent Venables’ defense gives the Sooners confidence they can follow up on last year’s trip to the College Football Playoff, regardless of how concerned Finebaum is about OU’s schedule.

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