Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners a sleeper national title contender
The Oklahoma Sooners are one of the more popular teams in the nation to see an improvement from their 6-7 record in 2024. Though the opponents are the same, and Oklahoma has one of the five toughest schedules in college football, experts are high on what Brent Venables has done this offseason.
Though there’s optimism the Sooners will rebound from their disappointing season in 2024, the Sooners still have a lot to prove. USA TODAY Sports Blake Toppemeyer believes Oklahoma could be one of the sleeper teams to contend for the national title. The odds are long at +6600, according to BetMGM, but the changes they’ve made could reap huge rewards.
Oklahoma’s roster looks substantially better on the heels of a losing season that sparked Brent Venables to bring in quarterback John Mateer from Washington State. Mateer’s offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, followed the quarterback to Norman to run Oklahoma’s offense. Win-win. Another win: Landing standout running back Jadyn Ott, a California transfer. Oklahoma returned a lot of production, and it surely can’t be as injury plagued as last season. That leaves the manhole, though, of arguably the nation’s most daunting schedule, which could swallow even an improved Sooners team. – Toppemeyer, USA TODAY Sports
For years, Oklahoma had some of the best offenses in college football but were held back by their defense. Last year, it was the other way around. If Oklahoma wants to contend in the SEC and secure a College Football Playoff berth, everything has to come together this year. The defense must be as good or better than it was last year, and the offense must return to what is expected at Oklahoma. And as important as all of that, the Sooners need some good fortune on the injury front.
Brent Venables, Ben Arbuckle, and Jim Nagy made significant additions on both sides of the ball to give the Sooners a boost. But it’s the offensive improvement that drives the optimism with Oklahoma. If John Mateer, an improved offensive line, and Jaydn Ott can find a rhythm early in the season, the Sooners will be tough to beat and a surprise contender in 2025.
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TUSCALOOSA, AL — Oklahoma’s offense did just enough to beat Alabama.
But if the Sooners want to truly dream of a late-season surge through the College Football Playoff, Ben Arbuckle’s unit must round into form.
OU’s 212 total yards were the fewest in a win since the Sooners put up 206 yards in the 14-3 victory over Texas in 2001.
“(Alabama) had their guys ready to play, and we did a lot of really good things whenever it mattered,” Arbuckle said after Saturday’s 23-21 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium. “Big thing we didn’t turn the ball over. That team’s number one in the league and causing turnovers, and we didn’t give the ball back. So that’s a big credit to those kids in there, taking the ball security and the ball respect seriously this week. And so we didn’t do that.”
Taking care of the football was a huge part of OU’s win.
But Oklahoma’s offense can take a bit of the pressure off of its defense by taking a few steps forward.
Quarterback John Mateer threw for 138 yards and completed 15-of-23 attempts.
Before his hand operation, Mateer threw for 270 yards and a touchdown against Michigan and 271 yards and a touchdown against Auburn.
Since the procedure, he’s thrown for 200 yards twice (Texas and Ole Miss), and he’s not thrown for more than 225 yards.
Mateer did score on a crucial 20-yard run two plays after Jaydan Hardy forced a fumble on a punt, though, showing that OU’s offense can still get the job done when the defense hands it favorable field position.
“I thought (Mateer) was really efficient in a lot of key moments,” Arbuckle said. “Didn’t really put the ball in harm’s way — maybe one time put the ball in harm’s way. But other than that, he was really efficient. Didn’t turn the ball over. Thought he ran really tough and ultimately made the plays that needed to be made to win.”
OU’s longest offensive drive of the game was an eight-play, 41-yard series that culminated in a field goal to start the second half.
The Sooners only went three-and-out twice, but OU struggled to extend any lead without getting set up in prime field position courtesy of a defensive turnover or a big special teams play.
Oklahoma couldn’t get anything going on the ground, either.
Xavier Robinson finished as the leading rusher with 34 yards on 10 carries as the sophomore fought through a leg injury that sent him to the injury tent in the second half.
As a team, OU finished with 74 yards on the ground.
“We need to get in the end zone more,” Mateer said, “and it starts with me—just being more efficient, pulling the trigger. I had one, and I missed it. I had a couple, and I missed it. I’ll be better.”
The good news is the offense doesn’t have to be that much better.
Turn one field goal into a touchdown against both Tennessee and Alabama, and the victories get more comfortable in the closing moments.
In the end, the Sooners still notched incredible back-to-back victories at Neyland Stadium and Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Since losing to Ole Miss, OU has been in full playoff mode, and Mateer believes the team has what it takes to keep improving and make noise the rest of November and beyond.
“When you have belief, it’s a powerful thing,” Mateer said. “We don’t fold, and we don’t turn on each other when anything goes bad.”
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama fell to Oklahoma, 23-21 inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday night, snapping the Crimson Tide’s eight-game win streak in the regular season and 17-game home winning streak.
The Crimson Tide had three costly turnovers, missed a 36-yard field goal at the end of the first half and did not force a turnover for the first time this season.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer will speak to the media after the loss.
This story will be updated throughout the press conference with a full transcript and video to be posted following the conclusion.
(latest updates at the top)
The 2025 Oklahoma high school football season continued on Friday, and High School On SI has a list of final scores from this weekend.
Oklahoma High School Football Scores, Results & Live Updates (OSSAA) – November 14, 2025
Ada 34, Fort Gibson 27
Adair 53, Wilburton 7
Allen 31, Woodland 26
Ardmore 28, Elk City 21
Berryhill 27, Holland Hall 28
Bishop Kelley 36, Pryor 46
Bishop McGuinness 42, Guthrie 35
Broken Bow 70, Wagoner 35
Caddo 61, Depew 14
Carl Albert 45, Duncan 17
Cascia Hall 42, Idabel 7
Cherokee 46, Arkoma 0
Choctaw 52, Putnam City North 13
Claremore 28, Coweta 26
Coyle 42, Copan 18
Cushing 63, Hilldale 34
Cyril 32, Boise City 20
Davis 49, Casady 0
Del City 34, Booker T. Washington 31
Dewar 54, Foyil 6
Dibble 57, Hennessey 41
Edmond Memorial 20, Edmond North 0
Elgin 49, Bethany 7
Fairland 34, Wewoka 6
Fairview 26, Hobart 0
Grove 35, Sallisaw 14
Healdton 47, Texhoma 19
Heritage Hall 52, Seminole 34
Holdenville 68, Kellyville 13
Hollis 24, Pioneer-Pleasant Vale 6
Hominy 42, Regent Prep 7
Hooker 34, Frederick 20
Inola 38, Checotah 20
Jones 59, Little Axe 14
Kiefer 20, Chandler 15
Kingfisher 43, Lone Grove 36
Kingston 49, Sperry 14
Laverne 50, Central 0
Lincoln Christian 56, Jay 0
Mangum 57, Wilson 21
Marlow 49, Mount St. Mary 6
Maud 46, Bluejacket 28
McAlester 28, Collinsville 27
Medford 53, Bowlegs 0
Metro Christian 42, Hugo 8
Minco 24, Cashion 14
Mountain View-Gotebo 56, Balko/Forgan 6
Muskogee 62, Northwest Classen 16
Mustang 42, Norman North 17
Newcastle 49, Altus 14
Noble 40, MacArthur 38
Oaks-Mission 60, Maysville 44
Okeene 60, Wetumka 12
Oklahoma Christian 49, Lindsay 7
Pawhuska 48, Panama 6
Perkins-Tryon 48, Plainview 14
Piedmont 53, Bartlesville 28
Pocola 24, Pawnee 20
Pond Creek-Hunter 18, Empire 8
Pryor 46, Bishop Kelley 36
Quinton 64, Drumright 14
Rejoice Christian 48, Morrison 20
Ryan 50, Sharon-Mutual 16
Salina 48, Antlers 12
Sasakwa 37, South Coffeyville 14
Seiling 50, Strother 0
Sequoyah 57, Bethel 6
Southmoore 21, Ponca City 14
Southwest Covenant 28, Konawa 26
Stroud 49, Beggs 21
Sulphur 63, Anadarko 12
Talihina 51, Ketchum 8
Thomas-Fay-Custer 19, Ringling 14
Timberlake 44, Geary 38
Tipton 22, Tyrone 12
Tonkawa 40, Haskell 7
Tuttle 51, Clinton 6
Union 49, Norman 42
Vian 60, Keys 14
Washington 46, Chisholm 6
Waukomis 56, Webbers Falls 30
Waurika 22, Oklahoma Bible 20
Weatherford 28, Blanchard 7
Weleetka 64, Shattuck 14
Wilson 48, Covington-Douglas 28
Wyandotte 21, Valliant 19
Wynnewood 34, Sayre 14
Yale 30, Keota 6
Yukon 24, Deer Creek 7
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