College Football Powerhouse Ranks Top Five in SEC Ranking After Bounce-Back Season

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables watches during the Oklahoma Spring Game. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners made a big statement in 2025.

Entering that season, there were major questions. Was Oklahoma ready to handle what the SEC has to offer? This is no longer the Big 12 that the Sooners dominated; this is major college football. Can the Sooners handle that?

What about Venables? Is he good enough to lead a program like this? Can he get the Sooners back to their historic standards? These questions were here because Oklahoma went 6-7 in the SEC in Year 1 in 2024. It also marked the second losing season in three years at Oklahoma. His first losing season in 2022 was the first for the Sooners since 1998.

Oklahoma Quieted Doubters in 2025

However, Venables and Oklahoma answered a lot of those questions this past season. The Sooners were led by a dominant defense, with Venables serving as the play caller, and went 10-3 and returned to the College Football Playoff despite having one of the toughest schedules in college football.

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer (10) carries the ball during a first-round College Football Playoff game. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now the Sooners are preparing for the 2026 season and hoping to build on that positive season, rather than suffer a setback. On3's Chris Low thinks Oklahoma could be in for a big year, ranking it No. 4 in his latest SEC power rankings behind the Texas Longhorns, Georgia Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels.

Brent Venables Built a Playoff-Caliber Defense Again

"The Sooners took the step everyone was hoping for in Year 4 under Brent Venables and made the playoff," Low wrote. "They return 14 starters from that team, most of them key players, and there’s confidence in Norman that the next step will be a deep run in the playoff... Like clockwork, Venables’ defense will again be nasty. Defensive linemen David Stone and Taylor Wein, along with linebackers Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke, and safety Peyton Bowen are All-SEC caliber players."

This ranking would put the Sooners right on the verge of another CFP berth. If Venables manages to pull that off, he will answer a lot of questions about his future. He will end any hot-seat talk if he hasn't already.

John Mateer is the Key to the Leap

Quarterback John Mateer will likely play a big part in that. But he has to stay healthy. Mateer had an up-and-down season, in large part due to breaking his thumb on his throwing hand during the fourth game of the season.

He passed for 1,215 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions through the first four games, while also rushing for 190 yards and five touchdowns. He led Oklahoma to a 4-0 start and quickly entered the early Heisman Trophy conversation.

However, then the injury happened, and he was never the same. In his last eight games, he passed for 1,670 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions, while adding 241 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

If the Sooners can get pre-injury Mateer to return, then they could be in for a special season in 2026.