Yahoo Sports' Preseason College Football Top 25: Can No. 12 Oklahoma get back to the playoff in 2026?
College football officially begins this month.
Now that it's August, there are just weeks to go until Week Zero arrives on Aug. 29 and since the season is quickly approaching, we're rolling out our preseason Top 25.
After revealing our teams in the back half of our preseason top 25, we begin our previews of the top 12 teams in the country with a team looking to make back-to-back playoff appearances.
Previously: Teams Nos. 13-25
No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners
2025 record: 10-3
National championship odds: 30-1
Odds to make College Football Playoff: +190
2025 in less than 100 words
The Sooners made a four-win improvement in 2025 and announced that they would be a lot better in Week 2 with a 24-13 home win over Michigan. OU started the year 5-0, but a thumb injury to QB John Mateer derailed any hope of a national championship. Mateer didn't miss much time, but Oklahoma was not nearly as good when he returned to the field.
Losses to Texas and Mississippi in a three-game midseason span didn't derail OU's playoff hopes, however. Wins at Tennessee and at home over Alabama solidified the Sooners' status as a playoff team, but Alabama got its revenge with a 34-24 win in Norman in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The QB
John Mateer
The Washington State transfer was the Heisman Trophy favorite at the time of his right thumb injury. Mateer had thrown for seven touchdowns and rushed for five others in Oklahoma's first four games of the season. But he injured that thumb in the Sooners' 24-17 win over Auburn.
Mateer only missed Oklahoma's easy win over Kent State, but he was not the same quarterback after the injury. He pushed to return for the Red River Rivalry game against Texas, but was just 20-of-38 passing for 202 yards and threw three interceptions in the loss.
After throwing for at least 270 yards in each of Oklahoma's first four games, Mateer didn't come close to that mark until he threw for 318 — and had three interceptions — in an ugly 17-13 win over LSU to end the regular season.
Given Mateer's production when healthy, it's safe to assume that he'll be back closer to the quarterback he was in the first four games of the 2025 this season. Remember, He threw for 29 TDs and rushed for 15 more in his final season at Washington State.
Non-QB to watch
LB Owen Heinecke
Heinecke is among the players who filed suit against the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility after the 2025 season. In April, a federal judge in Oklahoma granted Heinecke an injunction that allowed him to play in 2026. Heinecke had to go through the court system to play this season after the NCAA had said he used a season of eligibility while playing in three games as a walk-on for Ohio State's lacrosse team in 2021.
This season is Heinecke's fourth on the field for the Sooners and he became one of the defense's most indispensable players in 2025. He was second on the team in tackles with 74, and had 12 tackles for loss and three sacks. He'll man the middle again for an Oklahoma defense that should be very strong at both linebacker and in the secondary.
Eric Edholm's 2027 NFL Draft prospect to watch
DT David Stone
The 6-foot-3, 315-pound Stone was one of the gems of OU's 2024 high school recruiting class, and he's developed into a fascinating player with star potential. Stone isn't hard to miss on tape, with a wide, NFL-caliber frame and wearing the No. 0, and his immense traits started turning into production as a sophomore. He was a part-time starter but led Oklahoma's interior linemen in snaps and racked up a highlight tape's worth of flash plays. There's still volatility to Stone's game, and he could stand to add more finesse to his bully-ball game, but with a big season in 2026, he could emerge as a first-round pick.
College Fantasy Football player to watch
WR Isaiah Sategna III
Sategna is the No. 7 ranked WR in Yahoo's College Fantasy Football thanks to a run-after-catch ability that is one of the best in the country. Sategna had 67 catches for 965 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025 and his long catch-and-run was the catalyst for Oklahoma's win over LSU to get the Sooners into the playoff.
The second-team All-SEC selection may also have more receiving talent around him. Oklahoma added Virginia WR Trell Harris and Texas WR Parker Livingstone in the transfer portal, while TEs Hayden Hansen (Florida) and Rocky Beers (Colorado State) also joined the team in the offseason. A healthy Mateer will make Sategna's fantasy value even higher.
Biggest game
Sept. 26 at Georgia
It's too easy to pick the annual rivalry game with Texas. It's always Oklahoma's biggest game of the year. But a Week 4 trip to Athens will be Oklahoma's second road game in four weeks after a Week 2 visit to Michigan.
It's also just the second time Oklahoma and Georgia have ever met on the football field. The first game came over eight years ago, when the two teams played in an epic Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal. The Bulldogs won that game 54-48 in overtime on Sony Michel's 27-yard run.
The stakes won't be as high this time, but it's still a massive game in the SEC standings between teams with serious playoff hopes.
Why Oklahoma is No. 12
Assuming a full season of health from Mateer, Oklahoma could be even better in 2026 than it was in 2025. Can it navigate a gauntlet of a schedule?
In addition to playing Michigan and Georgia on the road, Oklahoma also visits Florida and Missouri and has Texas in Dallas. Ole Miss and Texas come to Norman, too. That's over half the schedule against ranked opponents.
Even though Stone returns and will be one of the best defensive linemen in the sport, Oklahoma does need to reload the defensive line around him. The Sooners had 45 sacks in 2025 and were one of the best teams in the country against the run. Opponents averaged just 77 yards a game on the ground and 4.3 yards per play overall.
The Sooners also went 4-1 in one-score games in 2025. Given the toughness of the schedule, a regression on that front could lead to another regular-season loss or two and put Oklahoma on the outside of the playoff.
