The Oklahoma Sooners may be gearing up for a better 2025 season, but one prediction about their potential turnaround has left many SEC fans in disbelief.
Former Alabama quarterback and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy recently called Oklahoma “one of the biggest sleepers” in college football for the upcoming season. While there’s no doubt the Sooners want to improve, given their 2-6 SEC record last year and an overall 6-7 finish, many are skeptical about just how much they can climb in the conference standings.
McElroy's optimism stems from the Sooners’ new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who previously helped Washington State rank 6th in scoring offense. With Arbuckle bringing in quarterback John Mateer, who put up strong numbers at Washington State, McElroy sees a path for Oklahoma and Brent Venables to turn things around.
“This is a team that I’m wildly bullish on,” McElroy said. “I’m not going as far as to say, ‘Lock them in, they are an SEC championship contender.’ I’m not there yet, but I’m closer today than I was a month ago”.
While it’s fair to expect some level of improvement, calling Oklahoma a major sleeper in the SEC is a bold take. The conference remains as deep as ever, with teams like Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Ole Miss standing in the way. Even if the Sooners do improve offensively, their ability to handle the week-in, week-out grind of SEC competition remains a huge question mark.
While the addition of Arbuckle might give them a more explosive offense, let's not pretend that it's as simple as "plug and play" there in Norman.
Here's a look at Oklahoma's key games in 2025: Michigan, Texas, @ South Carolina, Ole Miss, @ Tennessee, @ Alabama, and LSU. For those tracking along, none of those are "give me" wins and at least five or six of those the Sooners are going to be Vegas underdogs. To win the SEC, you're going to have to go 6-2 in conference, and that just doesn't look all that likely considering the schedule and how those things fall.
Oklahoma does have potential. But if fans are expected to buy into the Sooners as a true contender, they’ll need to see more than just offseason hype. Until Oklahoma proves it can hang with the SEC’s best, this prediction will remain a head-scratcher for many.