SEC · Brent Venables, year 5 (34-21) · Memorial Stadium (Norman, OK) · 86,112 · 83,423 avg in 2026
LastW 14–6 vs New Mexico · Sat Sep 19 · Adepoju Adebawore 1.5 sacks, 1.5 TFL, 4 tackles
Nextat Georgia · Sat Sep 26 · 3:30 pm ET · Sanford Stadium · Georgia by 13.5 · series 0-1 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 22 · through week 3
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 5 | #17 | #212 | -40.5✓ | UTEP | W 51–0 114 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #19 | #18 | -5.5✗ | @Michigan | L 10–17 120 | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #15 | #72 | -21.5✗ | New Mexico | W 14–6 115 | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| 4 | Sep 26 | #18 | #2 | +13.5 | @Georgia | |||
| 6 | Oct 10 | Texas (N) | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | Kentucky | ||||||
| 8 | Oct 24 | @Mississippi State | ||||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | South Carolina | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 7 | @Florida | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 14 | Ole Miss | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | Texas A&M | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 28 | @Missouri |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 | New Mexico | W 14–6 | 299 | 3 | 25:52 | -0.083 | 34.4% | 138.3% | Most explosive |
| Sep 12 | @Michigan | L 10–17 | 289 | 2 | 26:43 | -0.139 | 35.9% | 95.7% | Season-low EPA/play |
| Sep 5 | UTEP | W 51–0 | 401 | 1 | 30:32 | +0.387 | 55.0% | 119.4% | Season-high EPA/play |
| Season average (3 games) | 330 | 2.0 | +0.055 | 41.8% | 117.8% | ||||
The Sooners are the seven-title program that crossed leagues and made the Playoff in year three of the SEC — then watched a 17-0 lead and the doubt they came to bury both slip away in one half against Alabama.
Ever since the leagues changed, the take has been that the Sooners showed up late and out of their depth; the fanbase points to a Playoff berth in year three and says the doubters got the answer…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 10-3 · last season
✓ measured from 13 games · ranks are among SEC teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Mixed. 7-3 over the last 10, and won the last one.
I’m incredibly thankful and grateful for a contract extension and all the people who are responsible
Next Sep 26
vs Georgia · away
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-22
the open questiondoes the recruiting haul translate on the field?
Michael Fasusi (#5 OT nationally) headlines Oklahoma's eighth straight top-20 class as Brent Venables navigates 7 NFL exits and a Texas rivalry that just signed No. 1.
our readfront page
Brent Venables begins his fifth season with a 10-3 record, but the crown program's uneasy fanbase questions if the SEC move can sustain elite-tier consistency.
our readfront page
Oklahoma has slipped from elite-tier consistency — the first time below the top-14% tier since 2024, and the market projects 7.5 wins, raising questions about whether Venables' system can reset.
our readdeveloping
Oklahoma jumped 19 spots in SP+ — the gap between the ranking and its 10-3 record is the story Brent Venables has to answer in Big 12 this year.
our readbackground
Brent Venables begins his fifth season with a 10-3 record, but the program's uneasy fan belief and league shift raise questions about sustaining elite-tier consistency in the SEC.
our readdeveloping
Brent Venables' fifth season opens with a 10-3 record and a 1.0 win total jump, but the program's uneasy fan belief and #14 talent rank signal unmet expectations in a new league.
our readdeveloping
Brent Venables begins his fifth season with a 10-3 record, but the playoff path shifting and uneasy fan belief signal tension as Oklahoma navigates its new SEC identity.
our readdeveloping
Jaren Kanak is used almost exclusively underneath -- a low share of his targets are downfield shots.
our readbackground
Outcome band · Oklahoma · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Oklahoma signed a top-17 recruiting class. It is eighth consecutive top-20 recruiting class. A class ranked in the teens won the trail competition. The depth-chart work starts now. The bulls are loud — the coverage treats this class as a program-level statement.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The optimistic read: the class is real, the program is a destination again.
The 'rankings don't tell the whole story' counter -- development gaps, position holes still open.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
This event was in 215 of 8955 board posts (2%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (477 posts): 16% positive · 36% neutral · 48% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
Oklahoma has slipped from dynasty-caliber territory — down to the top 14% of FBS by three-year power rating, from the top 13%. It is a 26-10 record over the last three regular seasons. The data dipped but the coverage hasn't followed. Either the model is ahead of the room or the room is wishful.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The 'resurgence is real' read: the numbers are starting to back the hype.
The 'wait and see' counter -- power shifts often get overread before the season proves them.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
Oklahoma is a crown program crossing leagues and still carrying the crown.
The program ledger
since 2025Court grants Fely restraining order
Fely wins his restraining order — the legal calendar is now on Oklahoma's roster calendar, and Venables has to manage this cloud while the WR room is still sorting itself out after seven drafted.
Oklahoma TE commit suspended after ejection
A TE commit getting suspended before he ever sets foot in Norman is the last thing Venables needs with 7 draft picks already out the door and the roster still thin at skill.
Livingstone cleared to play
Seven drafted and the WR room still thin — Livingstone getting cleared keeps Venables from having to paper over a real depth problem with freshmen in a debut SEC season.
Roger Denny named OU AD
Denny steps into a seat that carries real weight — OU's climb toward SEC power-program status lives or dies on the AD-to-coach partnership, and Venables needs a full buy-in from above right now.
Oklahoma releases first depth chart
Seven drafted, WR room still under the microscope — Elijah Thomas earning co-starter nod at fall camp is the kind of internal answer Venables needs before the SEC schedule hits.
Eligibility ruling impacts Oklahoma players
The five-for-five ruling buys Venables a critical bridge year — seven starters drafted and a WR room under pressure means every extra snap of eligibility is real depth, not just paperwork.
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
TX leads the 2026 class with 6 commits. National footprint reaching 12 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
100 signees across 25 states, 2023-2026. TX leads the pull.
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Oklahoma player grew up 366 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Memorial Stadium (Norman, OK). Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 107 of 111 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top r/cfb community posts · last 12 months
Fan confidence lower than any point since 2021
4th percentile among FBS programs
52 of 68 AP voters have them ranked, AP ballot, week 3 (2026) — from #14, Bob Asmussen (Champaign News-Gazette), to #25, Scott Hamilton (WNKT). 16 voters left them off the ballot entirely.
Individual AP Top 25 ballots, AP ballot, week 3, 2026 — 68 voters tracked.
0% of tipped/broken-up passes have turned into picks — below the ~19% league average, and due for more.
0 interceptions of 11 disrupted passes (11 deflected, 0 intercepted), 2026 only.
19 penalties committed, 23 drawn on opponents — a near-even trade all season.
156 penalty yards committed vs. 180 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Oklahoma · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026