The Oklahoma Sooners aim for a strong 2026 season after a College Football Playoff appearance in 2025, with best-case projections of a 10-2 overall record and 7-2 in SEC play. Key transfers and returning players are expected to enhance their offense significantly.
The Oklahoma Sooners will wrap up spring ball this week with their annual spring game. The Sooners are looking to build upon their College Football Playoff appearance from 2025 with an even deeper run this season. There are reasons to believe the Sooners can have another nice season, but it's understandable to consider a reality where Oklahoma doesn't reach its goals.
CBS Sports' Brad Crawford laid out the best and worst-case scenarios for every team in their top 25. For the Oklahoma Sooners in 2026, Crawford believes the best-case scenario is a 10-2 record overall and a 7-2 record in SEC play.
In his best-case scenario, the Sooners beat Michigan in Week 2 to get off to a strong start to the season. The defense will be good once again, but it's likely the offense that takes the biggest jump in 2026. They made a number of key transfer portal additions in Trell Harris, Parker Livingstone, E'Marion Harris, Hayden Hansen, and Rocky Beers.
That group of players, in addition to the return of John Mateer, leading receiver Isaiah Sategna, and an offensive line that returns five players who started at least six games, sounds like a unit that has taken a big step this offseason.
Oklahoma's offense should be improved. How much? That remains to be seen. If the Sooners' offense can take a significant step and go from 79th in scoring into the top 40 or top 30, they'll have a shot to recreate what they did a year ago but go on a deeper run in the College Football Playoff.
Crawford's worst-case scenario has the Sooners finishing 6-6, with a 4-5 record in conference play. That's a stretch to me.
It's reasonable to think Oklahoma could miss the playoffs, but hard to imagine them getting much worse than they were and falling back four games in the win column. Much of the worst-case scenario has to do with the schedule.
Oklahoma plays at Michigan and at Georgia in the first four weeks of the season. Two weeks after going to Athens, Oklahoma, heads to Dallas for the Red River Showdown. 2-3 or 3-2 isn't hard to fathom to start the season. If Oklahoma can go 4-1 in that stretch, that would be a huge win.
After their first five games, the Sooners still have road trips to face South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi State, and Missouri, and home games against Texas A&M and Kentucky. Florida will be better than the team that beat Texas last year. So will the Kentucky and Mississippi State teams that nearly pulled off upsets of the Longhorns last season.
Oklahoma proved more than capable of going on the road and beating good competition last season, and this Sooners team looks like one that will be as good or perhaps even better than the one we watched a year ago.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: What are the best, worst-case scenarios for Oklahoma Football in 2026?
The best-case scenario for Oklahoma Football in 2026 is a 10-2 overall record and a 7-2 record in SEC play.
Key transfer players for Oklahoma Football in 2026 include Trell Harris, Parker Livingstone, E'Marion Harris, Hayden Hansen, and Rocky Beers.
Oklahoma Football made an appearance in the College Football Playoff during the 2025 season.
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