Through Aug. 22, Sports Illustrated will count down its preseason college football Top 25 with overviews of each team. We start with No. 25: the Oklahoma Sooners.
Conference realignment can be a difficult transition for schools perceived as taking a step up in competition, but the inaugural go-around in the SEC for Oklahoma went a lot rougher than anybody could have imagined. The 2024 team started solidly by winning three of its first four. Then the bottom fell out, losing four league games by double digits and giving away a fifth with two touchdowns allowed in the final 63 seconds to Missouri. The Sooners had injuries hamper the offense to the point where there were virtually no healthy wide receivers, but disappointment is an understatement for a program that prides itself on consistency.
In response, Oklahoma hit the reset button with potentially more change on the horizon. Longtime athletic director Joe Castiglione is set to retire in the near future and former Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy was installed as the Sooners’ general manager with a heavy say over the roster. There’s a new offensive coordinator in Ben Arbuckle and a highly pursued transfer quarterback in John Mateer, both from Washington State. Head coach Brent Venables promises to be even more hands-on with the defense and 11 returning starters make a solid foundation supplemented by a slew of portal additions.
“We’ve had a lot of changes since January,” Venables said. “We’ve also had tremendous retention, which foundationally for me is what it’s all about. Continuity, guys returning with experience and are highly invested in the locker room. They’re attracted to the vision of the program. That’s incredibly important to me. No doubt we’ve improved our roster. Again, I believe that we’ve created a better overall staff with the additions that we’ve brought in.”
It also helps that the schedule is slightly more manageable than a season ago despite road trips to South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama plus a big nonconference home game against Michigan (led by former Oklahoma offensive lineman Sherrone Moore) that should help set the tone early on.
Fast Facts
2024 record: 6–7, 2–6 SEC
Offense: 24.0 ppg (97th in FBS), 4.81 yards per play (124th)
Defense: 21.5 ppg (29th in FBS), 4.94 yards per play (23rd)
On the Headset
Brent Venables, entering Year 4, 22–17 overall record
It is never a good thing when your name is mentioned alongside John Blake in Norman, Okla., but it underscores the standard Venables is being held to by a program which has won double-digit games 19 times since the turn of the century. The longtime defensive mastermind helped the team go 10–3 during its final campaign in the Big 12, but two losing seasons in three years will put any Sooners coach on the hot seat. Venables, despite a large buyout, firmly enters 2025 in one of the most precarious positions in the always turbulent SEC.
It’s hard to go anywhere but up given last season, but simply staying afloat and/or making a middling bowl game is probably not going to be enough for the fan base and new administration.
Key Returning Starter
DL R Mason Thomas, Sr.
Thomas was one of the bright spots for the Sooners in 2024, earning All-SEC second-team honors after posting nine sacks, 12.5 TFL and 11 quarterback hurries—all best on the team—to go along with a pair of forced fumbles. He’ll benefit from continuity up front with two fellow starters back plus high hopes that former five-star tackle David Stone (who briefly entered the portal before coming back) can take the next leap with more playing time.
“When R Mason showed up he was 212 pounds soaking wet. Now he’s over 250 pounds, one of the most fierce and explosive pass rushers in college football,” Venables said. “All-SEC a year ago. Nine sacks. All of his best days are in front of him.”
Key Transfer
QB John Mateer, Jr., from Washington State
Mateer is one of the most fun players in college football to watch and draws Johnny Manziel comparisons with the way he scrambles and tries to make plays happen. He benefits from having his OC join him, so there’s not much of a transition when it comes to the offense he’s operating. He’ll also benefit from having four returning offensive linemen and a quality supporting cast that includes tailback Jaydn Ott and wideout Deion Burks.
Key Departure
LB Danny Stutsman, fourth-round NFL draft pick to the New Orleans Saints
It will be difficult for the Sooners to replace the void in the middle of the defense caused by Stutsman’s departure, but maybe a bigger loss was the linebacker’s leadership. The outspoken Stutsman played a massive role in keeping things together for Oklahoma to even reach a bowl game in 2024, with the defense continually having to carry the team and Stutsman often making just enough plays week after week. He earned consensus All-American honors during his final year on campus and notched triple-digit tackles each of the past three seasons as a starter.
Circle the Dates
- Sept. 6, vs. Michigan
- Sept. 20, vs. Auburn
- Oct. 11, vs. Texas (in Dallas)
- Nov. 15, at Alabama
Bottom Line
It would not be a surprise if Oklahoma became one of the most improved teams in the country simply as a result of having an offense that goes from atrocious to slightly above mediocre. The SEC slate is always difficult, but the overall talent level is better in what promises to be a 2025 season that will go a long way in determining whether Venables’s massive buyout gets paid in December or not.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sports Illustrated’s College Football Preseason Top 25: Oklahoma.