Where are Oklahoma Sooners in new FBS rankings from USA TODAY Sports?

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The Oklahoma Sooners have high expectations for the 2026 season, both internally and externally. As they look to once again be one of the contenders in the SEC and on the national stage, the offseason will be filled with many predicting just what OU could be in the fall.

USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg ranked all 138 teams that will be playing at the FBS level for the 2026 season. His rankings include the 68 teams at the Power Four level (teams in the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12, plus FBS Independent Notre Dame) and the 70 teams at the Group of Six level (teams in the American, CUSA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, and Sun Belt, plus FBS Independent UConn).

Myerberg has OU as the seventh-best team in the country after spring practice, placing the Sooners third in the SEC behind only Texas (3rd) and Georgia (4th). The SEC placed eight teams in Myerberg’s top 20, including Texas A&M (9th), Alabama (12th), Ole Miss (13th), LSU (16th), and Tennessee (18th). Oklahoma will have to play a total of five teams inside the Myerberg’s top 20, as Texas, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and 20th-ranked Michigan are all on the schedule in 2026.

With head coach Brent Venables readying his team for his fifth year at the helm, the Sooners have a lot to like with their returning assets. On offense, both offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer return to give OU some stability at those spots. Leading rushers Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock are back, as are leading receiver Isaiah Sategna III and four starters on the o-line in Michael Fasusi, Eddy Pierre-Louis, Jake Maikkula, and Ryan Fodje.

In the portal, OU found a fifth o-line starter (E’Marion Harris), three tight ends that will revamp that position group (Hayden Hansen, Rocky Beers, and Jack Van Dorselaer), and two wideouts in Trell Harris and Parker Livingstone that should help in the passing game.

Defensively, Venables will be calling the plays again, and he has some strong players returning. Jayden Jackson, David Stone, and Taylor Wein will anchor the front line, while inside linebackers Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke, along with projected starting cheetah Reggie Powers III, will man the second level. Cornerbacks Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory, and safeties Peyton Bowen and Michael Boganowski round out a defense that brings back a lot to like.

The big portal add on defense was Cole Sullivan, who gives the Sooners another strong inside linebacker. However, Oklahoma mainly focused on retention and developing their young players when it came to the defense this offseason. If OU can build back up their defensive depth, and find another strong DE opposite Wein (perhaps Danny Okoye or Adepoju Adebawore), another tough defense could be in the works in Norman.

On special teams, coordinator Doug Deakin is back, along with all of last year’s production. Kicker Tate Sandell, long snapper Ben Anderson, punter Grayson Miller, and holder Jacob Ulrich are looking for a repeat of the 2025 regular season, when they were excellent. Sategna is a very good punt returner, and OU will look to return more kickoffs this year, with transfer Lloyd Avant as the headliner there.

Overall, the Sooners have to feel good about the talent that Venables and GM Jim Nagy have assembled for the 2026 season, and plenty around the country are taking notice of what could be brewing in Norman this fall.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Where do Sooners land in USA TODAY Sports’ new rankings of FBS teams?

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