Oklahoma
Analyst says Oklahoma is an overlooked team in college football
The Oklahoma Sooners surprised the college football world with their breakthrough 2025 season. The Sooners made the College Football Playoff after a 6-7 season in 2024.
The Sooners navigated one of the toughest schedules in college football and still finished the regular season with a 10-2 record. With another offseason of development and the return of several key contributors, expectations are high around Norman heading into 2026. However, that optimism has not carried over to the national conversation.
ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) projects the Sooners will finish with a 7-5 record this season. Despite that projection, FPI still ranks Oklahoma as the No. 12 team in the country. That disrespect likely comes from the up-and-down tenure under head coach Brent Venables. So far, he’s had two double-digit-win seasons, while also having two losing seasons. Oklahoma hadn’t had a losing season since 1998 until Venables took over before the 2022 season.
On3’s Ari Wasserman said that Oklahoma has been overlooked nationally on his show with Andy Staples.
Oklahoma has already shown it can compete at the highest level after making the College Football Playoff in its first season as an SEC member. Now, the challenge is proving that last season was not just a one-year breakthrough.
With a talented roster, an elite defense, and key players returning, the Sooners have the opportunity to exceed national expectations and establish themselves as a consistent contender in the SEC.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on X @jaronspor.
Oklahoma
Main Card Results | UFC Oklahoma City
Du Plessis returns to the Octagon for the first time since losing his middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev last August. Standing across from him is Usman, a former welterweight champion who defended his title five times, with signature wins over Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington. The pair headline a stacked card filled with rising contenders and can’t-miss prospects.
Where To Watch UFC Oklahoma City
Live results, highlights, fight recaps, post-fight interviews and more will be added throughout the event. Preview each matchup below before the action begins. The main card kicks off Saturday at 8pm ET/5pm PT live on Paramount+ in the United States.
UFC Oklahoma City Main Card Results:
Oklahoma
‘ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC!’ Tulsa’s U.V. Okies level up with Nintendo donation
TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa’s U.V. Okies are six-time undefeated Wii bowling champions of the Tulsa Senior Inter-League — and now they’re leveling up.
Nintendo America contacted University Village Retirement Community after the senior bowling team’s story went viral- thanks to their Instagram reels, and features by news outlets like the New York Times and 2 News Oklahoma.
WATCH: POSITIVELY OKLAHOMA: Tulsa Gaming Seniors level up to Nationals:
POSITIVELY OKLAHOMA: Tulsa Gaming Seniors level up to Nationals
Inspired by their story, the company is donating Nintendo Switch 2 systems to each retirement community in the Tulsa league.
Wayne Wall, Life Enrichment Coordinator at University Village, said the outreach came as a surprise.
“I did not expect to hear from Nintendo at all,” Wall said.
GALLERY: “ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC!” Tulsa’s U.V. Okies level up with Nintendo donation
The company reached out to Wall about what the team had come to represent.
“They contacted me and said we’re excited about how Wii bowling is bringing people together at this stage of their life and helping them to have that camaraderie and have fun in this stage of their life and we would like to do something to contribute to that, to be a part of that,” Wall said.
Nintendo donated two Nintendo Switch 2 systems for each retirement community in the league, along with additional gear like extra Joy-Cons, and games. Teams from across Tulsa picked up their gifts at the championship celebration on July 16, 2026, at University Village in Tulsa — and the timing could not have been better. The old equipment had run its course.
“The Wii systems were becoming obsolete and hard to replace,” Wall said.
Come spring 2027, the Tulsa league will make the switch to bowling on the Switch 2. Competing Tulsa teams hope the new systems evens things out.
Fritz Gernandt of the Town Village Strikers had a message for the six-time champions.
“I can only say it once and really loud, look out,” Gernandt said.
The U.V. Okies are not intimidated. Phyllis Wimer, 95 — known on the lanes by nicknames like “The GOAT” and “The Killer” — has already been putting in work on the Switch 2.
KJRH
“I’ve got the new system at home, and I have bowled a 300 on it, and I’m the only one so far that has,” Wimer said.
Dorothy Salen, 101, who led the U.V. Okies in the national league last fall and goes by “Dangerous Dorothy,” is keeping her trademark outlook heading into the new season.
“Always optimistic!” Salen said.
For the U.V. Okies, the game — and the fun — is never over.
The team has one more Wii bowling match planned before their equipment gets retired. They will play the staff at University Village to raise money for Alzheimer’s awareness next week.
2 News Oklahoma was the first to bring you the story of the U.V. Okies success, and we’ve been updating you along the way.
You can learn more about University Village HERE.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere —
Oklahoma
Oklahoma first responders join rescue efforts as deadly Texas floods claim more lives
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklah. — Deadly flooding in Texas has prompted another wave of Oklahoma first responders to head south to help with rescue and recovery efforts as the death toll continues to rise.
Days of relentless rain have battered the Texas Hill Country, an area often called “Flash Flood Valley,” turning rivers into violent torrents that ripped out trees, washed away roads, and left communities underwater.
In Kerr County, floodwaters tore apart a roadway, leaving twisted pavement and debris behind.
The devastation comes one year after catastrophic flooding that claimed more than 130 lives across Texas.
Hundreds of rescue crews from across the nation have mobilized to Texas, including teams from Oklahoma and the United Cajun Navy, to save lives and limit further loss.
On Tuesday, Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management deployed 25 members of Oklahoma Task Force One to Texas. Brad Smith, an Oklahoma Task Force leader, said, “It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. We know what to expect.”
By Thursday, another Oklahoma team rolled south, made up of Oklahoma City firefighters, an Oklahoma City police officer and members of the Yukon Fire Department. Guymon’s specialized swiftwater search and rescue team also responded. “This is a highly trained group of people, very experienced,” Smith said. “We’ve been to out-of-state deployments on this type of thing before and feel very confident in the type of work we’ll be expected to do down there.”
The crews are joining a growing interstate response centered in the Texas Hill Country, now the epicenter of the flooding disaster.
Amy Metz, chief meteorologist with the United Cajun Navy, described the intensity of the flooding and the challenges it has created for rescuers. “They couldn’t get boats to somebody who was submerged in a vehicle in a tree, and so I did hear later after about an hour and a half there were able to get that man to safety,” Metz said.
Metz also described damage caused by the force of the water. “It picked up a barge, one that was there to do some cleanup from last year’s floods, got lifted and thrown down the dam probably a half mile up to a mile away, crashing into a bridge that is now gone,” she said.
At least two people have died, and more than 200 people have been rescued.
Several rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms during the past two days have flooded six Texas counties.
Metz said the rainfall totals have been extreme. “Since Monday, the Hill Country has seen at least 20 inches of rain. That could very well have gone up to 30 in some places and with it river rise. The gauges did show within one hour it shot up 25 feet,” she said.
Metz said the United Cajun Navy is prepared to help with boat ferry deliveries and highway cleanup with chainsaws once flooding subsides.
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