SEC Preseason Poll Picked Oklahoma Seventh Despite Its Playoff Run

The SEC preseason poll was released on July 24 and placed Oklahoma seventh with 1,914 points and two first-place votes. The Sooners went 10-3 last season, won at Tennessee and Alabama, and reached the College Football Playoff. No other 2025 playoff team sits lower in the poll.

The same voters put 10 Sooners on the preseason All-SEC team, third-most in the conference. Two made the first team: Kicker Tate Sandell, who won the Lou Groza Award in 2025, and long snapper Ben Anderson. Neither plays defense. Linebacker Kip Lewis, defensive end Taylor Wein, safety Peyton Bowen, cornerback Eli Bowen and tackle David Stone all landed on the second team. Wein led Oklahoma with 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Lewis led the team with 76 tackles and turned down the NFL to come back. Bowen returned an interception 87 yards for a touchdown at Alabama.

Venables spoke on July 20 in Tampa, taking the stage directly after Greg Sankey, and did not dispute the ranking. “The depth of the leadership we have in our locker room right now is as good as we’ve had, better than we’ve probably had here in the five years at Oklahoma,” Venables said.

Brent Venables Believes the Offense Must Improve

Oklahoma reached the playoff on defense. Quarterback John Mateer hurt his thumb four games into last season, which changed what the offense could run, and Venables took over defensive play-calling himself rather than hand it to someone new. The Sooners finished No. 10 in the Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the AP, then lost 34-24 to Alabama in the first round at home.

He put the 2026 fix on the run game. “Make no mistake, we’ve got a lot of improvement to do there offensively speaking, in being able to run the football,” Venables said. “We have to run it a heck of a lot better than we did a year ago.”

Oklahoma hired Deland McCullough to coach the running backs, and returning starters Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson missed most of spring with injuries before returning for summer work. Venables wants the identity changed. “Overall, we’ve got to be a more aggressive, physical, offensive unit running the football,” he said. “It starts with mentality. I want to see people physically running off the football, just like I want to see a defense getting off the rock.” Oklahoma returns Michael Fasusi and Eddy Pierre-Louis up front, on a line that lands in the middle of our SEC offensive line rankings.

The SEC Preseason Poll Also Read the Schedule

Oklahoma plays four of the six teams ranked ahead of it and misses only LSU and Alabama. Three more of its nine conference opponents are ranked in the poll’s top 11. The Sooners open Sept. 4 against UTEP in Norman, travel to Michigan on Sept. 12, host New Mexico, then start SEC play at Georgia and close the year at Missouri.

The SEC preseason poll got Oklahoma wrong a year ago. Voters picked the Sooners 10th in 2025, and Venables went 6-2 in conference play, won at Neyland Stadium and at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and finished sixth. The season before that, Oklahoma went 6-7 in its league debut, a year that nearly cost him the job. He enters his fifth season in Norman, with Ben Arbuckle back for a second year to call the offense.

Venables described why he took the defense himself. “What my options were is name somebody else that’s maybe a first-time play caller in a season that really, I mean, there’s a lot of expectations,” he said. “Nobody should be able to stand out front better than me. And it’s a place that’s very comfortable for me.”