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Oklahoma

OU football checks in at No. 18 in AP Preseason Poll

Eddie On3by: Eddie Radosevich08/11/25
Brent-Venables-reveals-his-hopes-for-first-Oklahoma-scrimmage
© NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In staying with an overwhelming theme of the preseason, there are those out there that are at the very least intrigued by Brent Venables and Team 131 for OU. That is on paper at least. 

After they were left out of the USA Today Coaches preseason Top 25 for the first time in 25 years, Oklahoma checked in at No.18 in the Associated Press preseason poll released on Monday. The Sooners have been included in every AP preseason poll since 2000. 

Texas stands as college football’s unanimous preseason No. 1. Penn State, defending national champion Ohio State, Clemson and Georgia round out the top five. Notre Dame checks in at No. 6, followed by Oregon, Alabama, LSU and Miami. 

Six of the nine SEC schools represented on this year’s annual preseason poll are on Oklahoma’s schedule. 

Venables fourth year in Norman stands as a pivotal year for the program, following two 6-7 seasons in his first three seasons at the helm. 

Following a tumultuous offensive performance in 2024, Oklahoma overhauled its offensive operations in January by bringing in highly touted, 29-year old Ben Arbuckle to run the offense. Along with Arbuckle, comes John Mateer and Cal running back transfer Jaydn Ott. And along with them is a host of expected contributors from the transfer portal in the winter and spring. 

Oklahoma opens the 2025 regular season hosting Illinois State on Aug. 30. The Redbirds rank as the No. 8 FCS team in the country following a 10-4 2024 campaign, falling to UC Davis in the second round of the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs.

But everybody has Sept. 6 circled, and why not? That’s when Michigan is coming to OU. The Wolverines will be the first real test of the 2025 season. Michigan ended 2024 with a bang and enters the preseason poll at No. 14.

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