Could the Oklahoma Sooners strumble early in the 2026 season?

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The Oklahoma Sooners just navigated one of the toughest schedules in college football on their way to a 10-2 season and College Football Playoff berth. Though they came up short in their loss to Alabama, the Sooners proved to be heading in the right direction under Brent Venables.

But 2026 will provide a new challenge for the Sooners, one that CBS Sports Cody Nagel believes could trip the Sooners up to start the season. Nagel made one bold prediction for each team in CBS Sports' top 25, and for Oklahoma, it's that they could start the season 2-3.

The Sooners' first five games of the season feature games on the road against Michigan and Georgia before closing that five-game stretch in the Cotton Bowl against the Texas Longhorns.

The Sooners will likely be underdogs against Georgia and Texas, and that game against Michigan will have a narrow point spread, even if the Sooners are favored. Coming out of that stretch with a winning record would be huge for the Sooners. If they want to make a playoff run, 4-1 would be even better because the Sooners would still have games against Ole Miss, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and at Florida in the back half of the schedule.

The Sooners made significant moves in the transfer portal to upgrade an offense that was up and down through the 2025 season. And they'll bring back a defense that could once again be among the best in college football. But like they did in 2025, the Sooners will need to make big plays on both sides of the ball to earn big wins in big-time environments early in the season.

Every year in the SEC is going to have its potential pitfalls. 2026 does as well. But if Oklahoma can navigate the first five games of their slate with one loss or fewer, then they'll be in great shape to make the College Football Playoff once again.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: CBS Sports sees potential stumbling blocks early for Oklahoma

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