The setup
- Oklahoma finished 2025 at 10-2, with signature wins over Michigan, Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and LSU at home in Norman.
- The two losses: a Red River shutdown by Texas (23-6) in Dallas and a home stumble against Ole Miss (34-26).
- Year two of full SEC life. The bar just moved from “prove you belong” to “hang with the top tier.”
Last season
2025 was the year the SEC-era Sooners looked like the SEC-era Sooners. Ten wins, two losses, and a résumé with real names on it.
The tone got set in Week 2. Michigan came into Norman and left 24-13. It wasn’t a blowout — it didn’t need to be. It just said, out loud, that the September schedule wasn’t going to bury this team. Illinois State (35-3), Temple on the road (42-3), Auburn (24-17), and Kent State (44-0) rounded out a 5-0 start where nothing was closer than a touchdown.
Then October showed up. Texas 23, Oklahoma 6. That’s the game that will keep showing up in offseason conversations: six points in the Red River Rivalry, in Dallas, from an offense that had just handled Auburn and Michigan. Two weeks later, at home against Ole Miss, the defense couldn’t find a stop and Oklahoma dropped a 34-26 game they were favored in. At 6-2, the season had a real hinge.
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | Illinois State | W 35-3 |
| Sep 6 | Michigan | W 24-13 |
| Sep 13 | at Temple | W 42-3 |
| Sep 20 | Auburn | W 24-17 |
| Oct 4 | Kent State | W 44-0 |
| Oct 11 | vs Texas (Dallas) | L 6-23 |
| Oct 18 | at South Carolina | W 26-7 |
| Oct 25 | Ole Miss | L 26-34 |
| Nov 1 | at Tennessee | W 33-27 |
| Nov 15 | at Alabama | W 23-21 |
| Nov 22 | Missouri | W 17-6 |
| Nov 29 | LSU | W 17-13 |
What happened after that Ole Miss loss is why we’re writing this post. Oklahoma ran the table — and not against nobody. Knoxville: 33-27 over Tennessee in Neyland. Tuscaloosa: 23-21 over Alabama, in Bryant-Denny, at night. A physical 17-6 grinder over Missouri. And a nervy 17-13 finish against LSU at home to close it. Two of the SEC’s hardest road environments, swept. A top-ten offense held to 13. However you feel about the Texas game, this team ended the year playing better football than most of the conference.
This season
The full 2026 slate hasn’t landed in our system yet, so let’s be honest about what this section is: our read of the roster and the conference, not a game-by-game walk. When the schedule lands we’ll come back and mark the ones to circle.
The context that matters most is the one the Sooners just proved on the field. Michigan, Alabama on the road, Tennessee on the road, LSU at home — Oklahoma was in every one of those games and won all four. That’s the résumé you build a Playoff push on. Nobody is walking into Norman in 2026 assuming a comfortable weekend.
Two questions decide the ceiling.
One: can the offense show up in the biggest game of the year? Six points against Texas is the number that hangs in the air. You can put together a 10-2 season with that game on your record. You can’t put together a Playoff seed with it. The Red River game is a fixture on the SEC calendar now, and it’s going to keep being the referendum.
Two: is the defense that closed 2025 the defense we get in 2026? Holding Alabama to 21, LSU to 13, and Missouri to 6 on the way out the door isn’t an accident. If that group holds together — portal, draft, coaching room, all of it — Oklahoma has a foundation almost nobody else in the SEC middle can match.
The 2025 Sooners closed the year like a top-five team. The 2026 Sooners get to find out what that actually costs when everyone circles you on the schedule.
Our take
Homer disclaimer up front: this is a DaqsPickEm site and one of our teams is Oklahoma. Take the temperature accordingly. These are opinions, not predictions with math behind them.
Bold call one: Oklahoma wins double-digit games again. The closing five-game stretch of 2025 wasn’t a fluke — it was the identity of this team. Ten wins is the floor if the defense returns anything close to that form.
Bold call two: Oklahoma gets its Texas game back. You don’t score 6 points twice in a row in that rivalry with this coaching staff and this recruiting class. Whether that means the Sooners win outright or just make it a real game into the fourth quarter, the film-room emergency from 2025 gets addressed.
Bold call three: The Sooners win one of the marquee SEC rematches. Some of those quarterback rooms turned over. Oklahoma’s defensive spine didn’t. Pick your favorite — Alabama, Tennessee, LSU — we’ll be pounding the table for it in October.
The Sideline’s job on Oklahoma this fall is simple: cover the games, keep the takes honest, and don’t pretend a 10-2 season with wins in Neyland and Tuscaloosa was a mirage. It wasn’t. The SEC noticed. Now we get to see year two.