Oklahoma surpassed expectations last year after making the playoffs despite its tough schedule. The Sooners did it despite their QB, John Mateer, not playing at 100% after suffering a thumb injury early in the season. For the 2026 season, Oklahoma isn’t getting any hype, and Pat McAfee believes they’re an ‘under the radar’ team. However, Kirk Herbstreit doesn’t agree with that, especially considering their schedule.

“Look at that schedule at Michigan, at Georgia, at Texas, and obviously in Dallas,” Kirk Herbstreit said on The Pat McAfee Show on July 22. “A game even at Mississippi State, the Cowbells- if that’s a night game, you’re at Florida, and that is at Swamp; A&M at home, at Missouri, if they win all those, SEC championship. I mean, that is a grind; that’s got to be as tough a schedule as there is in the sport.”

Oklahoma has the second-most grueling schedule in college football, behind only Arkansas, according to ESPN. While Brent Venables’ team will have a light start to the season against UTEP in Week 1, the next game will be against Kyle Whittingham’s Michigan. Many Michigan players will remember the loss to Oklahoma during the 2025 season. In a way, the Sooners’ defense was among the first to expose QB Bryce Underwood’s freshman flaws.

And that’s just the start of Oklahoma’s grueling schedule. In Week 4, the Sooners travel to Athens to take on the defending SEC champions, Georgia. After a bye week, they have to face Texas on a neutral site for the Red River Rivalry showdown.

As Herbstreit highlighted, even games against Mississippi State and Florida won’t be easy, as they are at Starkville and Gainesville, respectively. The Sooners will end the season with games against Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Missouri. Two of these teams made the playoffs last season.

However, the upside is that losses to top-ranked teams may not work against Oklahoma at the end of the regular season. What they can’t afford is dropping games to teams like South Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi State.

Last season, Texas lost to Ohio State and Georgia, two teams that received first-round byes in the playoffs. With a 10-2 record, the Longhorns could have easily made a case for themselves to be in the top 12. However, Steve Sarkisian couldn’t justify Texas’ loss to Florida, which cost his team a playoff spot.

Brent Venables would be pleased to see that he’s getting a fully fit John Mateer to start the 2026 season. The roster doesn’t lack talent at any of the spots. Last year, the O-line depth was an issue. However, the Sooners will have enough pieces after portal additions like E’Marion Harris and Peyton Joseph.

Similarly, the other side of the ball also looks good. That is usually never an issue with a Venables-led team. The Sooners return several blue-chip talents and have also added key pieces in Cole Sullivan, Dakoda Fields, and Taylor Heim.