Phil Steele tabs Oklahoma as sleeper to make College Football Playoff

It was a rocky first season for the Oklahoma Sooners in the SEC. Going just .500 in the regular season, Oklahoma managed to make a bowl game, but lost that. Now, the pressure is up on head coach Brent Venables to turn things around.

In an effort to turn things around, Venables has focused on the offense. That included making several key transfer additions as well as changing the offensive coordinator to bring Ben Arbuckle in. Those moves, coupled with a good defense returning to Norman, made analyst Phil Steele pick Oklahoma as a sleeper to make the College Football Playoff during an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.

“I’m gonna say Oklahoma,” Phil Steele said. “A team that was 6-7 last year. You take a look at Oklahoma. Last year, they had zero returning starters on the offensive line. They were down their top five receivers at one point due to injury. Well, this year, they have a veteran offensive line, a veteran receiving core — they get their injured players back… They add in Jaydn Ott, who was the best running back in the Pac-12. They add in John Mateer at quarterback, they add in Washington State‘s offensive coordinator in Ben Arbuckle.”

Last season, Oklahoma finished 113th nationally in total offense, averaging 331 yards a game. The Sooners were also just 97th in scoring offense, averaging 24 points per game. With those changes on the offensive side of the ball, there’s some hope that the Sooners can take a leap forward to match the production of what proved to be a good defense under Brent Venables.

“Nothing was wrong with that defense last year. They held opponents to 87 yards per game below their average. Number six in the country,” Steele said. “The defense is outstanding. Now they have an offense to go with it.”

Another quirk of the 2025 season that Phil Steele thinks will help Oklahoma is the schedule. The Sooners have more true home games this season than last in SEC play. That is going to make for a more manageable schedule.

“Last year, they had three SEC home games,” Steele said. “This year, they only have three SEC road games. They have the Texas game at a neutral site. Watch out for Oklahoma. They could be that fourth SEC team to make the Playoff.”

Oklahoma will open its 2025 season on August 30th against Illinois State. After that, they’re going to be tested by a Michigan team that is projected by many to be competitive in the Big Ten this season.